30.6.15

Thesis: I have been working on collating the data from the IBDM website concerning animatronic characters I am currently at the year 1980 and I can already see an influx of the implementation of the medium in film during that one year (1980) statistical analysis will ensure when I have reached the current year.

Model: I have been working on getting the eyes to function together in proportion and I have successfully finished augmenting them. The next stage will be to work on the eye-lid mechanism.

Feelings

I am pretty happy with the progress made over the course of the last session. Adding the eye mechanism to the model has given me some more ideas of new areas I may explore and prototype later on in the project. 

Evaluation

The eye mechanism is a little bit out of sync, I think not using the standard servo formation of four servos (2 x linked via splitter leads) is making this a little tougher to get running smooth. But I really want the eyes to look like they are driven from the back of the head where the arduino is placed. I think seeing this mechanism and how it looks aesthetically is more important that how it will function at this stage as I know from my last project there is a few little tricks I can use to align them later on. 

Analysis

The current situation of the project makes sense to me, I am starting to see how the two elements of the project interlink and more importantly how important they are to each other. This is a real exploitative way of building via research and it is proving very interesting to get professional opinion on this. I think using standard practice when creating this model is going to add onto the over all costing of the project so creating a mechanism that uses two servos for eye control rather than four will prove to be more cost effective and also make the system for reliable and easier to replace any faulty parts as changing and finding errors in two servos is simpler than attempting to discover, test and repair four servos. 

Conclusion

In conclusion this session has been an extremely interesting one and have provided me with plenty of food for thought over the next week or so. 

Action Plan

The action plan for the next few days it to install the eyelid mechanisms onto the robot and test the durability of these elements using the r.c remote over the course of a few hours. This procedure proved very useful in the last project as running the system for long periods of time tends to show up any faults or potential hazards in the mechanism.  

20.6.15

Thesis: I am close to finishing the first draft of my methodology, I am currently writing up the approach I used to collect my secondary data from the IBDM website. I will then start looking at the results I have obtained from the primary survey and the IBDM data base.

Build: I have finished constructing the eye mechanism, I have had to use metal compression springs to account for slight alterations in the movement of the eyes during operation. I am still working on getting this element as polished as possible so I can start constructing the framework for the eyelids.

1.1 presents the system in its current state when operated via r.c control. Look closely at the alteration in the eye movement from l-r and u-d and the discrepancies in the angle of the eyes during specific fine functions. I will be addressing these issues over the next couple of days and working on reducing and increasing the size and tension of the springs to align the eyes when in operation.

1.1

Feelings: I am really happy with the progress of the animatronic model over the last few weeks and I will now be returning my attention to writing my thesis until the end of the month. 

Evaluation: This session has been a very interesting experience, there has been considerable tweaking and trying to get things running smoothly which at times has proved frustrating. I am putting this primarily down to not having the funds to purchase the equipment and tools that would make certain elements of this project work better. However the current low budget approach is forcing me to think outside of the box and continually refine mechanisms and approaches. (keeps it interesting, but frustrating) Another issue of the low budget approach is that I have to wait for payday to purchase the equipment and material I need this means that  there is an overlap when waiting for money and supplies. 

Analysis: The current position of the projects make sense I am looking forward to going over the results of my survey in detail and analysing the results. This will be the primary focus my attention over the next couple of weeks when not in university. 

Conclusion: In conclusion I feel that the model is looking pretty awesome the more it comes to life and moves. This makes me feel confident enough to turn my attention away from the build for a while and focus on writing.

Action Plan: Solidify system control before meeting at university and finished methodology / results chapters before the end of the month.  

15.6.15

Thesis: The thesis is on hold for the rest of the week whilst I put my efforts into the animatronic build

Build: Progress on the control system for the animatronic model has progressed exponentially thanks to help from my lecturer. I now have a great base to work from for solidifying and grounding the new control system ready for application in the model. The system works via taking signals from the r.c module and the Ardunio board and using a relay sensor. This will allow accurate fluctuation between autonomous and manned operations. 1.1

1.1

Feelings: I currently feel very happy with the current situation of both projects, I will spend the rest of the week perfecting this system and advancing the eye mechanism.

Evaluation: This session was a good experience it has been a few weeks since I last had a supervision session due to circumstances out of my control. I was very pleased to get to sit down with my tutor again and I feel that things can start getting back on track over the next few weeks before the summer holidays kick in and I have 6 weeks unsupervised. 

Analysis: The current position of the project makes sense, I think I am about on schedule for completion so I will keep trying to progress at this pace. 

Conclusion: I feel that this session has been very progressive there is nothing I would have particularly done differently. However there was an issue regarding the transportation of the model to university. I had a similar issue with my last project when transporting the robot from my house to university. I found the my bad was getting knocked around alot and that I had to place the robot and my bag on the luggage rack. The result of this was that one of the eye loops for the rod mechanism came loose. To address this issue for future transport I will take the robot in a hardcase that I had purchased for the last robotic system. 

Action Plan: Test the mechanism at home and try and get the system grounded and working more solidly. Finish the eye mechanism and test system stability using r.c control. 

8.6.15

Thesis: (Updates coming shortly)

Model:

This is how the character currently sits in my studio, I put them together temporarily to take some measurements for the bust. I think it looks pretty cool and my children are addicted to playing with him.  

Without giving too much away here are a few of the designs I made for the character at the end of last year. The final product is targeted at a synthesis of these designs, but to keep with the fun of revealing the final character at my final review..I will not show the finished designs or molds ect until after this date..

Feelings: I currently feel that the internal mechanics of the animatronic are progressing well but further attention needs to be paid to the external aesthetical properties of the model. I have ordered some sculpey clay to start rendering some of my designs onto a practical maquette. 

Evaluation: This has been an exhausting experience, I have put alot of work into getting the model looking like I want it to and I am starting to feel like it's becoming more difficult to get time at uni and address some of the issues I am having with the control system. 

Analysis: The current situation of the project makes sense I think one I can get time at uni things will fall into place and I can get back on track and improve my current progress on the project. 

Conclusion: In conclusion I feel that I have made alot of progress on my own but I need to arrange some time at university to get some of the issues I am having looked over by another brain. 

Action Plan: Go into uni and go through recurrent problems with tutor. 

5.6.15

Thesis: The next few days are going to be dedicated solely to the animatronics model.

Model: Today i put together and adapted a simple rig I had been working on for the past couple of days. The eyes have pretty good movement on the ball and socket brackets I purchased so it will be interesting to see how they perform using the drive from the rods. This set-up is basically a couple of robot aluminium brackets attached together with the metal rods for the eye mechanism fitted in the central apature. (hole for the servo horn) I will then fit brass rods through the screw holes in the bracket for control of the eye functions. At the end of these rods I will fit a simple swivel joint that will be hooked onto a small eyelet that is set into the back of the eye cast (resin). The mechanism will eventually connect together at the ends via another length of brass with corner connectors in each end. This creates a simple U shape mechanism, the servo horn will then be connected to the end of this mechanism to drive the eyes up/down left/right. I used this system on my last project and really liked to results, however there are much simpler ways of doing this using strong string and various other push/pull motions.. but I just really like how this system looks and works so for now I am sticking with it until I come up with something new. 

Feelings

I have really enjoyed spending time just working on the animatronic model as sometimes I feel like im neglecting this element of the project. So it feels great to finally get some time to work solely on the model. 

Evaluation

The eye rig uses the same foundation as the previous model, this was really simple to put together and it feels pretty solid. I did change the heat shrink seals to electrical tape as it seemed to fit better in the robotic U brackets. The only thing I found was that the milliput ends kept falling off when I was transporting the eye mechanism around. To solve this I simply used gorilla glue and its not budged since. I think this will no longer be an issues and I really tried to pull the ends off after the glue had dried and it did not budge a bit so fingers crossed this will no longer be an issue. I also think the eyes look really nice, I never really examined them in detail until now but they are really well crafted. The site I bought them from listed them are BORE eyes, and I keep thinking that ive never seen a bores eyes before so I have no point of reference. Which is kind of good because to me they look really strange with the bloodshot vein detailing around the iris. This gives them a really strange and uncanny look which I think will add to the overall feel of the robot, as you can glare right into them and they are just freaky. 

Analysis

The current situation of the project makes sense, both elements are still complementing each other really well. The more I explore the material aspects of the project the more I see how the practical and theoretical elements inter link. I really believe it would be impossible to re-create this level of material believably using vfx. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, this has been a very useful session as it has given me food for thought in terms of how the two elements of the project interlink. 

Action Plan

I really want to explore the idea of vfx and practical effects by creating some skins using mud box, I have done this before in other projects and found it very useful (and less messy) than using clay. Although I do love clay and if I could keep my kids away from it for long enough to use I would certainly prefer that to using simulation software. 

1.6.15

Thesis:

I have been working on my methodology this session (mainly on my sampling methods and justification for them). I am also working with the IBDM data base to get some figures for my research.

Build: 

I have been struggling finding space to do my work, this is becoming more apparent as the size and material required for my project increase. To address this issue I have moved my workspace out of my dining room and into the cellar area. It has taken me a few days to clean and clear the place out but now I have a new workspace and I hope this move will improve my progress on the build.

I have been working on a set of prototype eyes (1.1) for the model. I did not make the eyes I purchased them at the start of the year from a company called nissell who specialise in the production of glass eyes. The mechanism I am developing is based on a standard ball and socket mount application however I have implemented a new mechanism that is typically used in model helicopters and I believe it will allow for more stable and direct control of the operations of the eyes. I decided that these eyes would suit the character as they are very strange, inhuman representations and the glass reflects the detail within the eyes really well. Thus adding to the uncanny effect that I am aiming to achieve in this project.  

1.1

Feelings: This session has been interesting but rather dis-jointed, I am hoping that I will be able to get back to a regular pattern with University work now b.a assessments are over and the half term holidays are finished. I am taking time today to re-establish my aims and objectives and set out a time table for the next couple of months. 

Evaluation: This session has had it's ups and downs, It has been rather difficult to balance work, childcare and University this month, which has inevitably effected my progress over this session. 

Analysis: I am now half way through the course, my current word count stands at 13,000 and the robot is about half way finished also. This is about right for my set schedule, however I want to gain some more ground so I have time to play with over the summer holidays.  

Conclusion: I has been a very trying session, and I feel physically and mentally worn out at the moment. However, I know from past experience with type of expression is typical for a lengthy project with many complex elements. I am not worried about the project at the moment as I still feel I have progressed both sides as much as humanly possible over the past month. 

Action Plan:

Finish methodology, advance system functionality and complete eye operations ready for eye-lid construction.