03.10.15 - Making the hand.

Thesis: 

I am now nearing the end of my discussion chapter, I need to go over it again and make sure that iv'e not missed anything but i am feeling pretty happy with how it currently stands. 

Robot:

The robots hand is made from a core of white epoxy resin with large cable ties set into the plastic. The whole hand is then coated in a layer of thermoplastic set with hardener. Running from the tips of the fingers and through the center of the hand is a collection of thin plastic tubing set out in the configuration of the fingers. through these tubes 100lb test wire pulls each individual finger toward the center of the palm.  

Point Tracking. 

This video demonstrate the character ability to track movement using point tracking, as in my last project this will allow the character to follow movements of objects with its head and eyes. 

Feelings: I am very optomistic at the moment, Its basically 4 weeks till the dead line for both parts of the project and I think that its douable if I can get my thesis finished ahead of schedule. 

Evaluation: The kinect sensor works pretty well set inside the robots armour, there is slighting clipping of the sensor range giving the view on the monitor a sort of vinyet effect but it does not appear to affect the functioning of the sensor in any way. I really like the look of the hand and it was pretty simple to put together, once I had made the palm of the hand in while milliput it was simple to mold the thermoplastic around it. I had to cut small slits in the finger joints (cable ties) as they where pretty hard to bend using the fishing line but after this it was really easy to get nice movement out of them. To cover up the slits I simply applied a thing coat of silicone which sort of looked a bit like skin so it actually worked quite well. The arm is made out of robotic aluminium brackets I love these things as they are super cheap and really sturdy, its just the shipping time from china that puts a bit of a set back on things but I cant complain as they also look really nice. 

Analysis: I understand the current situation of the project, I know deadlines are now looming and I have just filled out a form to secure my submission in the university so no turning back or asking for extensions now.

Conclusion: In conclusion I am very happy with how things are working out there is still lots to be done but I think two months is plenty of time for this. I seem to be on a bit of a winning streak with my thesis and there has been no major faults with the robot as of yet so fingers crossed.

Action Plan: I need to wire up the servos into the forearm of the robot, these will control the fingers.