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robot's mouth movement


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I want to make a robot's mouth move was if talking for halloween during parts of the light show using the servo dog card. Does anyone know how to setup the show so i can play an audio track and have the robot look as if it was talking? If so, how do you program it. This is my first try using LOR as i just recieved my unit this last week.

Thanks,

Rob

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Take a look at www.facebook.com/rollie.and.dan to see what I did with servos. There are some photos of the penguins under construction as well.

Get one of these: http://www.servocity.com/html/dual_servo_driver.html

Best fifty bucks I spent on animatronics. It lets you set up and debug the servo mechanics before getting involved with the servodog board and LOR software. Helps eliminate hardware binding and clearence issues before you try and sync to music.

Be patient. You will be using physics and geometry that you thought you would never have to use...ever. :wacko:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Papa-LF,

 

Excellent job!  Do you have any details of the mechanics that you would like to share?  I would imagine you used a pan/tilt mount for the head, one servo for the mouth, one for the arms and one for the body.  Just wondering how strong of servos you used and the internals.  No plan on building a snowman, but instead a smaller elf.  Thanks!!

 

Wayne

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A few years ago MikeZ gave a great presentation on his animatronics at the Christmas Expo, his link to animatronics and presentations can be found here in the first post. 

 

http://forums.planetchristmas.com/index.php?/topic/47245-expo-class-presentations-handouts-and-free-content/?p=553584

 

Regards,

Mike S

Edited by Techster
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Techster - you’ll notice that Mike Z is in the background of my video - Mike and I work together on our projects - when we can that is.

 

Wayne - Details on the mechanics - I use servos that will push at least 100 inch oz of torque from Servo City. I created the gimbal from scratch with bearings on 1/4 inch hardened rod held in place with Teflon bearing blocks. Hand built bell cranks welded to 1/4 inch collars. Servo on the mouth, one in each arm, and one on the hips. Its built to hold up to years of use, and the weather. I had no trouble when "Lester" was outside in the sustained 50+ MPH wind. Rain and snow doesn't bother him. His body is covered by two layers of material - the white fabric you see, and a layer of (boat storage) heat shrink plastic under that - thus the statement by the news media "The guy used Boat parts to build his snowman".

 

When I teach on projects such as this the intent is to help folks to open their thoughts to different ideas on how to creatively solve problems. For example the covering - this was my second attempt - and it worked, but it took me several months of pondering to resolve the issue. Lester the snowman was a 2 year project. The thought is if they just copy what we have done nothing new has been created, its just a xerox copy.  I get excited when folks take my ideas and "Brand" them with their creativity.

 

I have modification plans for Lester, but the first project is to replace his mouth servo - you see he got Laryngitis two days after Christmas this year. After two years of songs we calculated he moved his mouth over a half million times - that poor servo was just cranking!  I will pull the servo and send it to servo city for examination.  These guys will help me decide on a better resolve.

 

Come by the meeting in Olympia WA.  the first Saturday in May as we share our thoughts and ideas.

Edited by Papa-LF
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Papa LF - great job on the snowman, it is an inspiration. Last year I made a few 3 axis skulls for Halloween and haven't decided about integrating animatronics into Christmas yet.

 

What I have learned is leave time for building and time for sequencing, one without the other doesn't work too well.

 

Thanks,

Mike 

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Perfect!  Thanks guys, that exactly what I was looking for!  Looks pretty involved, but full of great detail.  Hopefully I can pull one of these together this year.  Would also be nice to make it out of town for some of these minis on the west coast.  :)  Thx!

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Really awesome snowman you created Papa-LF!   Movements were outstanding. 

 

Just wish there were {I hate to say it} ready made products like that one could incorporate into their displays.  Especially for those us that either don't have the talents {like me} to build stuff like that, a place to build such items {I don't have that either} or just don't have the time {although I have plenty of that!}.   Although I did hear you say it took you two years off and on to build your snowman, but the completed product was totally worth the talent and time you put into it.  Superior job on the snowman!

Edited by Orville
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Really awesome snowman you created Papa-LF!   Movements were outstanding. ...

 

...  Superior job on the snowman!

 

Thanks -

Something to share - one of the reasons we do this -  a little girl in the crowd watching the show, she appeared different.  Closer examination would show a sweet little girl with a facial disfigurement caused by burns. She was with Grandma and brother, and was very excited and excitable.  Grandma told my wife the girl (about 7) had been intentionally burned (to which she didn't elaborate much). But all she wanted was a picture with the "Frosty Snowman" .  We made that happen and sent the pictures to her.  

 

The laughter of a child - the glimmer in their eye - need I say more.........

 

Yep - I'm an old softee --  but then so is My Lord whom we strive to follow...

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Thanks -

Something to share - one of the reasons we do this -  a little girl in the crowd watching the show, she appeared different.  Closer examination would show a sweet little girl with a facial disfigurement caused by burns. She was with Grandma and brother, and was very excited and excitable.  Grandma told my wife the girl (about 7) had been intentionally burned (to which she didn't elaborate much). But all she wanted was a picture with the "Frosty Snowman" .  We made that happen and sent the pictures to her.  

 

The laughter of a child - the glimmer in their eye - need I say more.........

 

Yep - I'm an old softee --  but then so is My Lord whom we strive to follow...

It's really sad when you hear, read or see stories about children that were hurt intentionally like that.    I don't recall where it happened, may have been in my own state, but saw on our local newscast, think it was quite a few years ago where some sicko poured gas on his dauighter and set her on fire, the reason given, just so he could get back at her mother because of a messy divorce.  Unbelievable.  And reading your story just made me wonder if that may have been the same girl since the child was also disfigured and burned badly.  They could have moved since that story broke, as it was many years ago that this one happened.

 

But on a happier note, the children in my neighborhood had a lot of fun at my Halloween and Christmas displays, they were dancing and singing out front and in our driveway with the songs and just having the best time of their life.  Then when my wife and I came out as Mr. & Mrs. Claus and starting giving out Candy Canes, they were even more excited, laughing, singing, dancing and just enjoying the lights and music.  

 

And that's the reason I do my displays, mostly for the children, but even the neighborhood adults enjoyed the displays as well. 

 

Many told me that they hoped my display would encourage others to be more festive and decorate for the Holidays.   

 

It must have worked, as after my Halloween Display came down, and I stared on the Christmas display,while a work in progress going up, a lot of the residents that have been here much longer than I, they told me that a lot more people actually decorated for Christmas than they had seen in years around here. 

 

Now I just moved into the area in March 2012, and these folks had been here for many years, telling me I really "livened up the neighborhood for Halloween and Christmas, and they can't wait to see what I have in store for my 2013 displays."  LOL

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