23.09.15

Thesis: On hold for a few days // kind of, I have done some more work on the chapter but only because I was struggling to sleep the other night. I basically started with the very first outcome of the results and worked my way from there.  

Model:

This session is focused on stripping out an xbox kinect control module and fitting it the the plastic robot chassis. This will allow the robot to track movement using the infrared sensor, window view / record using the camera setting and detect vocal responses using the kinects microphone system. As you can see by the pictures it was a bit of an effort to strip out the kinect sensor..especially with a child who kept running off with my tools. I also had to bore holes into the armour to fit the kinects sensors into. I had to do this with a small flat head screw driver and a knife and using a drill would be too much for this material and ma cause it to snap. It took about an hour to make each hole in the armour, it was a very delicate procedure as it required peeling bits off with the knife at each rotation of the blade. I also inserted the four microphones from the kinect sensor into the front of the armour and covered this with a robotic flat bracket I had left over to protect the microphone from damage. 

Feelings: I am pretty pleased with how this session has turned out, it could of gone either way but it turned out really nicely.

Evaluation: It was a tough couple of days taking the sensors apart, watching videos on google to see what I could remove from the sensor and what parts I could extend using wires and a soldering iron but it all worked out well in the end. My arms still ache from making the holes in the armour, it was difficult to get the holes perfectly circular as the knife I was using had a flat edge so naturally made the holes deformed, but I managed to account for this but using the very tip of the blase and shaving tiny bits off at a time using a 2p coin as a template. 

Analysis: The current situation of the project makes sense, time is still pressing and it took a lot longer to attach the kinect sensor onto the body than I had first thought. I had no idea how many different parts where inside the kinect sensor so it took a good while to learn how all the bits work, watch videos and download schematics. 

Conclusion: In conclusion this has been a very fun but very tiring process, I want to get it looking how I imagined it in my head so badly that I was willing to spend a hole day with a screw driver and a knife making holes in body armour. 

Action Plan: Now everything is installed in the chassis I need to check it all works, I have made some pretty big adaptations to the sensor to make it fir nicely into the body so I really need to make sure it still operates correctly. 

19.09.15

Thesis: I have now finished the introduction to my discussion chapter and I am starting to formulate how the meat of the chapter will flow so to speak. I am undecided if i am going to address each outcome individually or just jump in with what I think is the most important findings and work my way from there. 

Model: I made some cool eyebrows for the model simply by stick some robotic claw bits onto the end of a couple of micro servos I had laying around my workshop. This has really added to the expressive functions of the character and I can see it coming to life in front of me... plus my kids love it. 

After watching short circuit 2 I decided my robot needed some crazy eyebrows and came up with this concept. 

Feelings: I am happy with the progress made over the last week or so, I have been focusing more on the writing side of things but I will be looking at spending a good few days working on the robot maybe from tomorrow. 

Evaluation: The eyebrows on the robot look really neat but I need to start focusing more on the bigger picture and that is getting the body sorted. I am waiting on some bracket arriving from china which always take sort of three weeks to get shipped out over here. However, there is still plenty of work to be done fitting the kinect sensor into the chassis and I am going to have to look at the best way of doing this as I am not sure how difficult it is to get inside and take the sensor apart.

Analysis: The current situation of the project makes sense, I think the thesis is still sort of my main focous at the moment as I am still waiting around on stuff for the robot and im not one to be patient enough to just sit and wait for stuff.

Conclusion: In conclusion this has been a very good session, I am happy that I am back on track with my thesis after my speed bump a few days ago. Reading the palgrave study guide I got on writing a M.A thesis really helped me to get an idea of how to go about structuring my discussion chapter and that has really helped with the flow of the whole thing. 

Action Plan:I really need to get on and start doing some serious work on the body of the robot so I will dedicate a few days to doing this. 

15.8.15

Thesis

I have now finished my results chapter and I am writing the introduction to my discussion chapter. I am finding this chapter the most difficult to write as I want to be really precise in what I am trying to get across to the reader as its sort of the last thing they will read and I want it to really encapsulate the whole story as it where. 

Model

I ordered a motor cross torso body shield from ebay, it was pretty cheap and had lots of cracks and scrapes on it..which is great because it makes it look like the robot as been through the wars. I had to strip out all of the padding with a knife and the turn of the bolts to face the other way as they all had logo written on them and I didnt really want that on the robot.

Feelings: I am stressing out a little over my results chapter at the moment, I think this is normal though. I have been reading a few text books on 'structuring your thesis' and that has helped but I still need to get it to flow right. 

Evaluation: The robot does look a lot better with a body, I think the scale of the thing when it is complete is going to be pretty massive. I may need to buy a bigger dining room table to display it all on. I need to start working on putting together the internal parts of the body. For this I am going to use standard aluminium robot brackets and find a place to fit the kinect sensor. I am currently thinking it would look best sat in front on the neck rotational bracket but will have to see if space permits for this as I go along. 

Analysis: The current position of the project makes sense to me, I really think things are starting to move on a lot faster now and its sort of about time this happened as it has been pretty frustrating sitting around waiting to get paid or waiting for parts when all I want to do is work on the robot. 

Conclusion: In conlcusion this has been a both fun and stressful sort of session, ripping the body armour to bits gave me some much needed stress relief and on the other hand I really need to nail my discussion chapter and get it flowing really well. 

Action Plan: Keep working. 

8.09.15

Thesis

The past couple of days have been pretty much dedicated to finishing off what I can of the results chapter of my thesis. I just need to write a few bits more about the data pulled from the IBDM data base and then write a short paragraph the close the chapter and introduce the next. 

Model

I have decided to add a chin guard to the robot using thermoplastic, I wasnt sure about this at first but the more I looked at the robot the more I could see that he needed something to cover up the lower lip mechanism and this seemed a good way of doing it. One of the ways I keep looking at this model is by putting it on top of the toilet whilst I am in the bath, for some reason I seem to be able to think more clearly this way. Maybe its because its the only room in the cottage with a lock on it........

Feelings

I feel happy with the progress made over the past few days, I think the head looks pretty much complete now and i am going to start looking at making a body for the robot. I watched Short Circuit the other night as really loved the film all over again. I watched it so much as a child but its been years since the last time I saw it.

Evaluation

I think as far as the thesis is concerned i am pretty much on track with it all if not slightly ahead of my original time scale. The robot on the other hand still has lots more work to be done on it. This kinda leaves me with two choices 1. finish the thesis and devote the rest of my time to the robot 2. continue on as I am dedicating time equally between the two parts of the project. For now I think option 2 is looking like the most applicable. 

Analysis

The current state of the project makes sense although the theory is advancing over the practical work. I can see the good points of this as my model is built on the theory so anything new that comes up at this stage can still be built into the model or adapted ..whatever. But I am becoming very away of time and 3 months is not a lot in the grand scheme of things. 

Conclusion

In conclusion this has been a very fruitful few days in terms of writing and theory work but It feels like I have little to show for it in this blog entry other than a robotic chin. That said I do like the look of the robot now it sort of reminds me of something out of ghost in the shell, after the skin has been ripped off. 

Action Plan

Get video of new control system, watch the second short circuit film and get my results chapter finished. 

7.09.15

Thesis

I am still working on my results chapter, I am finding it one of the most interesting elements of the project as its great to actually see everything pulled together so to speak. I hope that this work is as interesting to me as it is to others. I am also considering keeping the same internal referencing structure for this chapter as the previous, I think its a nice simple way to find your way around the thesis rather then just vaguely referring to something I said over 200 pages ago.  

Model

I have fitted the head with its own power pack, this is only temporary so it is fixed with sticky velcro tape. I eventually want to head to be attached to a body of some description so I will need to think about weight ratios and the battery packs weigh a considerable amount so it best the I make them removable at this stage. That said it is easier having a portable power supply on the head at this current stage of the build. I have also finished the new control system and inserted two relays into the top of the chassis, it fits really well and the lights look kinda cool. I will record a video of the new control system working when I am next at uni as the light is better in the studio and you can see all the bits more clearly.  

I am getting used to the external covering of the robot now and it has sort of grown on me a bit. I added some decal and purchased some nice black flat head hex bolts to connect it to the aluminium framework and it has made it look more aesthetically pleasing. I also watched chappie for the first time today and I could sort of bits of my robot reflected in some of the special effects in that film so it was kind of interesting to see the dynamics of the vfx and fx in the film. It also made me think that I need to name the robot, it is something that people continuously ask me and I have not even thought about it yet. The E.M.S 30-02 was simply a sort of bar code name I cam up with using my daughter name Edith Margo Strathearn and I was 30 when I made it and she was 2...anyway I am going to start thinking about a name for the model. 

Feelings: I feel happy at the moment, I think the projects are starting to come into their own and I can see the end in sight. There is still lots of work to be down yet but I am up for the challenge and will continue to keep pushing until I have reached above and beyond my original goals.

Evaluation: The new control system is really working well and its nice to see the robot going through its different stages. I have currently just made the jaw the primary target for this system as it was stated in some of my interviews that lip sync is one of the most difficult elements to get right and I think with refinements to my audio trigger in conjunction with the new controller may eventually present a pretty accurate voice tracking system. 

Analysis: The current situation of the project makes sense but I am becoming increasing away of time frame. There is still lots to be done on both elements of the project and I really need to start focusing on getting over these hurdles one step at a time to keep this project on track. 

Conclusion: I conclusion this session has been a very good and informative one, the new control system works a charm and the robot is starting to look very much like a robot so all good.

Action Plan: I need to get a video of the new control system recorded next time I am in uni and I am going to watch some more robot films as it was quiet inspiring to see how other create robots for film.

03.09.15

Thesis

I have been working on the opening part of my results chapter and explaining how I am going to be using the data gained from the analysis and the appropriate approach I will be using the formulate the results chapter. I want to get this chapter really tight with plenty of data pulled from the analysis but I also want to include statements made by the particpants themselves to sort of back up and make this chapter a little easier to read.

Model

I have made a protective shield to stop any damaged to the delicate eye mechanism, I made this by hand using thermoplastic formed using a knife and flat surface, the get the curve shape of the head I used a bowl. I have to admit at this point it would look a million times better had I access to 3D printing technology or the funding to use it. . . but I am still pretty with the outcome and I am sure it will look ok once I have it bolted into place. 

Endoskeleton Parts. (rear panel yet to be fixed)

Feelings

I feel ok about things at the moment, im still not 100% on how the new plastic head piece looks, I sort of envisioned something totally different and sleeker but there you go... that is the nature of doing things within a budget. 

Evaluation

I have found using thermoplastic in this instance quite frustrating as its quick solidifying time does not leave much room for getting things perfect and I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my work so it was all a bit difficult to get the results I wanted. I got close but its still not 100%, that said it does not look out of place on the model its just not as defined as I wanted it to be. 

Analysis

I understand the position of the project now better than ever, I can imagine how professionals use their budget and probably end up in similar situations as me not having the funding to implement exactly what they would like. But at the same time... this does lead to thinking differently and trying new things and experimenting. 

Conclusion

In conclusion this has been both a frustrating session and kind of an eye opener at the same time. Its got me thinking differently but at the same time ive not managed to get the results I had in my head.. ill just have to live with it and carry on with the project.

Action Plan

The action plan is the secure the new head cover and see if I can find a place to fit the relays, I was thinking about attaching them to the underside of the back head cover as there is plenty of room there now.