Advice on extending Robonova torso
Advice on extending Robonova torso
by My Bear
Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:07 pm
I am looking to place a Robonova inside of a puppet for filming. However so that the main body (torso) matches the dimensions of the puppet I will need to fabricate something and extend the length of the body by approx 5cm.
Could anyone recommend what extra parts/ gyros etc I should purchase to aid stability, and any other ideas in achieving smoothish' lifelike movement?
Also Im expecting to fabricate something to achieve the height hike, or is there something available off the shelf?
Many thanks for any ideas or suggestions.
Cheers
Darren
Could anyone recommend what extra parts/ gyros etc I should purchase to aid stability, and any other ideas in achieving smoothish' lifelike movement?
Also Im expecting to fabricate something to achieve the height hike, or is there something available off the shelf?
Many thanks for any ideas or suggestions.
Cheers
Darren
by Tim
Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:24 am
Hi Darren
Sounds like fun! Just up and haven't had my coffee yet so I suspect that the following will look daft in the cold light of day (so please ignore if it does!)
At a guess, you'd need to remake the torso brackets. However !!daft idea alert!!, if it was just a quick bodge you were after and the arms weren't being loaded much, you might get some mileage out shifting the torso servos up so that the bottom of the solder servo brackets are screwed into where the top of the shoulder servo brackets are now (I haven't got my RN-1 to hand to look at so I might have overlooked something important here!). You'd have to move the top plate up as well - this would now just screw into the top of the shoulder servo brackets.
As for smooth lifelike movement, I think we're all working on that one! With the standard software, you'll just have to take the time to craft the moves you need. It has been posted elsewhere on the forums, but check out some stuff by Crab-Fu on you tube with a Kondo - he is an animator and manages to make a fairly fun looking gait, but at the expense of reduced stability.
Having said that, I'm not sure that gyros would be essential here (esp if you're on a budget) because you might find the time taken to tune the gyro up (and avoid the shakes, figure out the different zero settings you need for when the gyro is on/off etc) takes away from the time you could be spending 'smoothing' up the various moves you need.
Looking forward to seeing your pictures!
Cheers
Tim
Sounds like fun! Just up and haven't had my coffee yet so I suspect that the following will look daft in the cold light of day (so please ignore if it does!)
At a guess, you'd need to remake the torso brackets. However !!daft idea alert!!, if it was just a quick bodge you were after and the arms weren't being loaded much, you might get some mileage out shifting the torso servos up so that the bottom of the solder servo brackets are screwed into where the top of the shoulder servo brackets are now (I haven't got my RN-1 to hand to look at so I might have overlooked something important here!). You'd have to move the top plate up as well - this would now just screw into the top of the shoulder servo brackets.
As for smooth lifelike movement, I think we're all working on that one! With the standard software, you'll just have to take the time to craft the moves you need. It has been posted elsewhere on the forums, but check out some stuff by Crab-Fu on you tube with a Kondo - he is an animator and manages to make a fairly fun looking gait, but at the expense of reduced stability.
Having said that, I'm not sure that gyros would be essential here (esp if you're on a budget) because you might find the time taken to tune the gyro up (and avoid the shakes, figure out the different zero settings you need for when the gyro is on/off etc) takes away from the time you could be spending 'smoothing' up the various moves you need.
Looking forward to seeing your pictures!
Cheers
Tim
by My Bear
Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:43 am
Hi Tim
Thanks for the feedback and advice and the acknowledgement that I might in fact be able to achieve this!
There are in fact several characters in the puppet series and the first one is going to be the prototype. Even if the stability is a problem I can support the robot just out of frame, but if it can walk under its own power... it will be amazing, no more crawling around out of shot and hand manipulation.
Just one other quick question: Is there a radio controlled/type play station control mod for the Robonova? Just thinking I could build one in on the initial build and avoid having to strip the puppet body off again at a later date to fit.
Many thanks once again and I'll send a clip of the puppet once complete.
Cheers
Darren
Thanks for the feedback and advice and the acknowledgement that I might in fact be able to achieve this!
There are in fact several characters in the puppet series and the first one is going to be the prototype. Even if the stability is a problem I can support the robot just out of frame, but if it can walk under its own power... it will be amazing, no more crawling around out of shot and hand manipulation.
Just one other quick question: Is there a radio controlled/type play station control mod for the Robonova? Just thinking I could build one in on the initial build and avoid having to strip the puppet body off again at a later date to fit.
Many thanks once again and I'll send a clip of the puppet once complete.
Cheers
Darren
by Tim
Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:00 am
Hi Darren
Yes - I-bot modified a PS2 wireless controller I think.
You can also get bluetooth modules that fit in the chest - in fact, you might find this page of Matt Bauer's of interest . . .
[url=http://www.bauerindependents.com/SUBMAIN/Robotics_Puppeteer.htm]mech puppeteer[url].
You can use standard radio control as well (discussed in some threads fairly recently I think) but this seems to impose some limitations on the number of moves you can perform if you use it like a remcon IR controller that just selects moves. There is some way to go towards parameteristing the RN-1 walking motions so that you can get some kind of RC car-like control (variable speed and turn rate) - if indeed that turns out to be an appropriate direction to go in!
Looking forward to seeing some clips!
Cheers
Tim
Yes - I-bot modified a PS2 wireless controller I think.
You can also get bluetooth modules that fit in the chest - in fact, you might find this page of Matt Bauer's of interest . . .
[url=http://www.bauerindependents.com/SUBMAIN/Robotics_Puppeteer.htm]mech puppeteer[url].
You can use standard radio control as well (discussed in some threads fairly recently I think) but this seems to impose some limitations on the number of moves you can perform if you use it like a remcon IR controller that just selects moves. There is some way to go towards parameteristing the RN-1 walking motions so that you can get some kind of RC car-like control (variable speed and turn rate) - if indeed that turns out to be an appropriate direction to go in!
Looking forward to seeing some clips!
Cheers
Tim
by i-Bot
Thu Feb 07, 2008 2:14 pm
My PS2 controller is here:
http://robosavvy.com/Builders/i-Bot/Rob ... roller.pdf
There is also a PS2 controller for the RN1 in this months Servo Magazine. I didn't get the mag yet, but the software is on their web site.
The Magazine controller uses a Scenix micro, and mine a PIC, so choice may depend on which you can program. The Magazine controller maps the joysticks to moves, while I retain them as variables to use within moves.
Take a look at both.
http://robosavvy.com/Builders/i-Bot/Rob ... roller.pdf
There is also a PS2 controller for the RN1 in this months Servo Magazine. I didn't get the mag yet, but the software is on their web site.
The Magazine controller uses a Scenix micro, and mine a PIC, so choice may depend on which you can program. The Magazine controller maps the joysticks to moves, while I retain them as variables to use within moves.
Take a look at both.
