Sounds interesting Will. A good model for your channel might be James Bruton's. I'm sure you're aware of him. Successful youtube channels all pretty much have the same thing, a steady stream of content. You'll need to put out a couple of videos a week. Maybe this will fit into your schedule. I am sure you have put some thought into this and I wish you good luck. I will be a subscriber for sure.

Absolutely correct. There certainly is a formula and consistency that is expected by viewers. I've seen James's channel. He has grown steadily and the project size and scope have reflected that. I'm pretty sure our subscriber base will be very similar. Hopefully my content will be different enough to set us apart. My main objective it to create great looking "movie style" robots and create quality videos over quantity. Time will tell if it will be enough.

I followed James religiously early on. His projects were really compelling because they reflected things you could do at home as well. Now that he has 'evolved' he now builds things that nobody really has the money to duplicate. Seems like so many new parts are milled out, he uses motor controllers like they are free, and he just solves too many problems with money instead of ingenuity now. Maybe something for you to consider as well.

Looking forward to your future videos Will, sounds awesome!

Yeah his success is definitely reflected over time. But I guess he would have made different choices had he had the budget to start with. Its great to see the his evolution, but I understand how it could alienate those who want to replicate some of his current projects. The robot dog is open source but would cost alot to replicate. I've not felt that its been a successful project.

YouTube can be for some, a place to pass time watching people do things people do. The pressure is on the creator to continue to create and produce and sometimes that means building/buying more expensive elaborate projects, cars, tools and cameras to do that. Build it bigger and they will come?! Keeping up the interest of viewers. Same black hole today's TV shows have. But instead of 350 channels competing for your attention, you have YouTubes 31,000,000 channels.

Ha ha  ya for sure youtube is like finding a needle in a hay stack when it comes to all the millions of channels like now you find everyone's 8 year old kid has their own youtube channel now! As for me I really don't bother trying to get views with all the tricks used. I have some 7 year old videos with only 3 views as I really only make videos when I want to show something off that day and then forget about it 'til the next whacky invention I want to show off on Facebook or something for that day.

Hey Will, good to hear from you!!
I was actually a bit puzzled by your absence, you have always been such a source of creativity here at the forum!
But I had faith in you just holding your breath and reappearing again to show us something that you'd worked on...

YouTube is a though one, but I guess you know this already, especially when it comes to robotics, which is such a narrow field, with such a limited audience!!
But the limitations could also be beneficial, since the platform is not flooded with content yet...

I am looking forward to see how it'll ll come out,  good luck with the channel!
I'll sub and spread the word!!

Will it's nice to see you back, Life can indeed throw you road blocks, I also took care of my Mother who just recently passed away at the age of 106, she wanted to die at home and I made that possible, I don't regret the time.  I had recent health issues, but all that is passed and I am back to working on my Robots. I will definately be following your Youtube channel and Subscribe. The 2 pictures are of my robot head Buddy the one covered with tape is the animatronic head before clay was applied which is the other picture and then skin silicone applied . I will show later with hair etc, and moving and talking.
Sorry Will for stepping on your post, I am bad for that.

Thanks guys. YouTube has become a fairly big business these days. So called influencers. There are managers, agents, camera operators, show runners, editors, even CGI creators for segments of a show. Fortunately all this is very familiar to me, coming from the film TV universe. Lets break down some of mile the stones.

Of those 31,000,000 channels there are about 462,000 that have reached 634 subscribers (my current subscription count). That's still alot of channels to have to sift through. But the count continues to fall the higher the subs. At 100,000 subs (my goal), there are only 54,000 channels that have that count. Then if you get really lucky and hit the magic 1,000,000 subs....there is only 7766 channels that can brag with that number. I find it really amazing that 7700 people with channels have caught the attention of 1,000,000 people each channel. That's a staggering 77 million people watching these channels. Perspective.  That's more people than exist in 216 counties around the world. Only 17 countries have more. That's why YouTube has become a big business model for corporations..and why these people and channels are called "influencers", they have the power to influence masses of people to buy into brands.

@nallycat Yeah thats exactly where I am with my mother. Also great pics...that is how we created animatronics for years in the industry. Clay and sculpting. Nice job! And looking forward to your progress.

Will, your mom is very lucky to have such a loving and caring son. She did a great job raising you. You both have a hard road ahead of you. With you walking next to her it's going to make it much easier. Your going to also have more special times ahead with each other. Hang onto them and enjoy. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what you have in store for your new channel. This is going to be great!

Thanks very much for those kinds words Dave.

Hang in there Will, it will get little easier over time taking care of your mom. I know because Im doing that right now.  My mom had a stroke many years ago, so my dad took care of her. He passed just two years ago, so now Im busy with her care. Luckily,  here in CT, since shes been on state aid, shes allowed a full- time live-in care giver, that attends to her needs while I deal with the paperwor,probate court,medical needs and all the bills. All while I have a full time job as well. So time for myself to enjoy anything is very limited.
I am even in the proccess of trying to build a robot that might help the aids with lifting her for transfers ( ill show that off in another thread when I can).
Good luck with everything you do.

It is great to see this care and love in action. I will subscribe today and look forward to your venture.

I usually prefer reading to videos and podcasts just because I read so much faster than anyone talks, but I will definitely be watching your channel.  Best of luck with it!

Alan

My hat off to you @robohappy! Some days seem insurmountable. Unfortunately we don’t have help with care yet. 

@ellis , thank you!

Hi Wil,
I"m in !  I wish you well and look forward to viewing your channel.

Hey everyone. Just an update on this thread. I am rebranding the channel "Reel Robots" instead of remarkable robots. Since I build robots that look like cinema style robots i've used "Reel" as in film reel and actual real robots that do something.

I broke my foot over the holiday and am behind quite a bit. Prolly won't be until February before first episode is done.

....picking Perry.  I am being nagged by the bot to pick a 'resolved question' and Perry was first to chime in. I so dislike this nagging. I say either create a discussion part to this forum, or include the option for questions or comment when creating a thread.

Hi Will, Sorry to hear about your foot. Hope you heal quickly.
Thanks for the update. Your Reel Robot title is great and does fit your style. I look forward to the series.
Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year.

Will, I love the new title and the play on words. I'm really looking forward to the start of your production. I know it's a big undertaking with lots of prep and production work. However this show biz stuff is now in your blood after all these years and it's apparent that you love it. All the better for us. LOL. 

OUCH on the foot man! That had to hurt. I hope everything heals straight and true with little pain.

You've hit on one of my (few) peeves about this forum. No real way to start a basic discussion thread. I agree, it would be nice to be able to have a Discussion topic added to the few choices in the "Short Cut" list.

I am also sorry about your foot,  but try not to kick robots anymore, they can Hurt.

Life's Challenges And The Future resolved by Perry_S

lol, Big tall bots made out of metal really can hurt, esp when they fall on you...

Sorry to hear about your foot.  Hope it heals quickly.  
Regarding the discussion section of the forum, I brought this up months ago (I think in the Synthiam introduction thread, although can't locate it now).  DJ's answer was that it was such a small percentage of the total conversations that it wasn't worth having its own section, but maybe if we all ask we can get him to change his mind.  (I also still wish we had private messaging.  Sometimes you just want to tell someone something out of the public eye.  I put my email in my profile for that, but not everyone does).

Alan

Ohhhhh, Please, Please, Please, Please, DJ? Can we have a General Discussion Section????? Please, Please, Please, Pleeeeeeeeease? (LOL!! Any one with kids will relate to that one.) 

Now that my foot boot is gone I can get back to business. Getting very close to shooting 'A' roll. 

I'm glad everything is healing well. Nothing more frustrating then a foot injury. 

I love your setup and shop area. This must be where all production, 3D printing and building magic happens. I didn't miss the Emmy Award on top of the toolbox. I know that was not 3D printed! Rightfully earned. 

I'm looking forward to your new robotics YouTube show. I know it will be something special.

Thanks Dave. Keen eye on the Emmy Yeah i have about three main areas I'll be shooting. This is the Intro, outro and assembling area, then I have a drilling, grinding, tapping area and an area for all the electronics assembly and testing. I also finally have a good pipeline for all the editing I'll be doing and another area for my computers to render out all  the videos for the show. Its amazing how much stuff is needed to start a TV show. LOL.

Wow, sounds like you have a real provisional setup there. I wouldn't expect less from you. 

Thanks for the comment about my own show. I don't know if I have what it takes or if I want to work that hard. LOL! However if I could find an  Emmy Award winner to give me advice I may just have a chance. 

Hi fxrtst

How do you get Alexa to access jaw movements in ARC?

@ezang I have not yet downloaded ARC.

It's not a big deal, I just want to learn it.

I want to ask my Alexa a question and have her answer come out of the robot I made.

Hey cool what was the Emmy for? Always good to know pro's in the movie industry,you guys know all the great prop tricks!

fxrtst

I need some skin for my robot like Alan has.  Where to get some?

His skin is silicone. Look to Smooth On for materials.

where to get some?

Hey Google where can i get ....
https://www.smooth-on.com/

Where are you in the US? I am from NY now Tn.

@DJ As most of the robot builds for my show are built around ARC/ARC and the EZB (can you say "free commercial"?), I'd rather not have to start the episodes with ARC then switch midstream to ARC for obvious confusion issues. I don't like to use beta software especially because time is money and I don't have time to troubleshoot when pressed for time per episode.  

So my question, should I just continue with ARC and move over to ARC when its out of beta later in the year? When will ARC be compliant with all the plug ins? What is not working? What is working? Is there a list somewhere? And is there a time line for when its out of beta?

1) ARC is the only way to run plugins

2) ARC will be replaced with ARC stable on 02/28/2020

Good thing i saw this here. There's a thread on ARC here: https://synthiam.com/Products/Releases/ARC-Beta-2020-02-19-00-19052

Oh, i should add - I would recommend using ARC, even in beta. It's far more stable than ARC has ever been. It's faster, and it's actively being developed on.

new version, all good thanks again

@DJ, that sounds great to hear! I'll download ARC and re-edit the video to reflect the changes in software.

I have ARC ARC Beta 2020.02.19.00

Hey guys....my Patreon just went live. I am very close to launching the first video for the channel. It is going to be epic (I hope)

Come by and see the first post on Patreon

When do the episodes come out? Best to have 5-10 out before asking for money. That shouldn't be the first step. I am just referencing people like James Bruton and Gael from inmoov that produce the content, release the STL's and code base, then try to monetize a Patreon account. 
I guess I am just saying it would be good to know what you will be producing and releasing to the public before I would want to commit money. I mean I probably will anyway just because I know you from this site and like your work. Just trying to put it into the context of what similar people are doing with their channels. What is the content besides videos you will be releasing? STL's for ALAN?

Its not an obligation..ever. I'm placing the link only here on Synthiam as someone here or in another thread had asked for it. I've not made this a public announcement on any of my social media platforms.

Patreon is not just a store front where people donate to receive. The very foundation of Patreon is to support a creator in all aspects of creating content. There are bills adding up for all kinds of production costs. Membership helps me create content and pay the bills as I am no long going to a paying job. Robot building is expensive and I have taken on the initial costs. Through Patreon, sponsors, Ads and Youtube memberships creators can afford to create. That is the only way. No one can afford to do this for free and not have a day job. Posting a link here now, will remain active for anyone in the future that visits this thread and would like to support or get more information.. ( I kinda feel like I am repeating what is already said at the opening of this thread, maybe you should revisit the paragraphs above in regards to what I'm creating/offering...under no obligations).

I just signed up for the $10 a month membership. I know I will not regret it. I know I will not miss the money. I know I will think it it's a unbelievable value in entertainment and knowledge.  

This guy, Will Huff, is the real deal. If you are into robotics like me or want to learn, Will is the one to show you how. Admit it, if you weren't into robots you wouldn't be here. I've know Will for years and he has always been there for me, willing to help and advise as I learned and built my full sized B9 Robot form Lost in Space. He has never once asked for anything in return. He has become a good friend over the years and I know he's an honest, dedicated and hard working family man. On top of all that he's truly talented and knows his sh*t in more then most of us can imagine. This is the guy you want to learn from.

Thanks very much Dave! Very kind of you and your check is in the mail :). Seriously, if we set the way back machine, you actually turned me onto the EZ Robot products years ago when DJ was still in his basement and it set a new course for me and Robotics. I certainly have learned a lot, and hope that there are those that can learn from a couple tips I might have, from designing, printing and making the robots move. This first robot for the show will be one for every man cave around the globe! Should be fun!

Here's some thoughts as you open your new educational journey:

Quote:

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered,
you will never grow.

Quote:

If you have knowledge,
let others light their candles in it.
Margaret Fuller
(1810 1850, Journalist, Critic and Women’s Rights Activist)

Quote:

A man can
only attain knowledge
with the help of those
who possess it.
This must be understood
from the very beginning.
One must learn
from him who knows.
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff
(1866 1949, Russian psychologist and scientist)

Quote:

In vain have you
acquired knowledge
if you have not
imparted it to others.
Deuteronomy Rabbah
(c.900, commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy)

Quote:

Share your knowledge.
It’s a way
to achieve immortality.
Dalai Lama
(1357 1419, high lama of Tibetan Buddhism)

Love all those!

Hi everyone, hope all is well, here is my 2 cents...

first, a little background on myself :-)

I was in the entertainment business for over 20 years creating images, clothing, for entertainers. Rock stars, Country stars, movie stars etc... It was a joy to connect with managers and their clients (the stars) to create an image for them. I would connect their new "look" with their music, songs to their markets. A perfect connection.

It has been many years now since I left that arena. :-(

I always enjoyed robots and found EZ-robot. A perfect connection for me.

It has been a year now and I have learned so many things here and other places.

As you all know I created "Roman', the talking head, here in this forum. Some liked it, some said it was scary.
I should have known that, many people are sacred of my Jerry Mahony dummies.  (too many scary movies came out)

So I see the same concept here,  connect the new  "look" with the people for their markets, or simple enjoyment. 

EZ- robot is a great product and I see they understand their market.

fxrtst , I see "talking heads" are for a select market. A broader market would be "talking animals", "talking flowers", talking sun, moon. cars, trucks, etc... See what I mean? Something not threating in any way.

DJ and all of you have been a tremendous inspiration in my new life (one years so far) in robots creations.

I will end here, best of luck to all!

EzAng

A whole lot of people all over the world love the odd, different, unexplained, futuristic and what they think is a little scary. Now, you put all that together under a human like skin like Will has done and then make it incredibly helpful to your regular everyday life and you've got a winner. Get your base customers hooked and talking then maybe later you can offer the flowers and stuffed animals.

I don't mean to speak for Will but he has had many adult and friendly conversations both here and with people around the world about this concept of his robot being odd or scary. It seems that he has taken that in consideration and is banking on it. 

Besides, with all due respect; Will is not selling a talking head here or trying to change his image. He's offering to teach people how to build robots and how to make them work. Given his talent and background I think he's already proven that he's the man for that job and is going to be successful at it. Perhaps after people learn what's behind the mask they will be inspired to buy one of Will's robots or invest in his ventures. Good for Will. Or, perhaps these people will be inspired to build their own robots. Good for them. 

Peace and have fun!

Thanks again Dave,

You know I get maybe two to three pieces of email a day from people around the world wanting somehow to build or buy an Alan or Alena. Some people are lonely some are business people looking for an office worker , some are University professors looking for a test bed for AI. It is amazing that 1000 people a year query about them. Its just unfortunate that I cannot devote the time to seek out investors. Its extremely frustrating to deal with these people. It was disappointing to fail at the Kickstarter as well. I know I built a great product as the Robots in the Kuwait museum have been running 12 hours a day/7 days a week for the past 3 years without fail. Getting them into the wild has been a primary drive for me. So maybe this channel will give me the opportunity to do that. Growing the demand and driving investors to me.

Hi Dave, I know typing can send a wrong message,

I'm in no way trying to persuade or discourage anyone here from their pursuit. Like I said, this was just my 2 cents.

I would always add to my line of products, and test market which ones take off. 

Enough of my typing, sorry if you took me wrong.

I always wish everyone the best.

EzAng

EZAng, No worries brother. I'm not the forum police. Just trying to speak what I think I see. We're all in this together. I'm glad we're all family here and willing to help each other along the path.

Thanks,

Just one last comment, it is always good for a person addressed to answer for themselves any questions.

thanks again bro

EzAng

EzAng, first a little background on myself; I don't usually keep my mouth shut. I do however try to be civil and helpful. I did think this was an open topic. 

If you don't want other people commenting on a open forum topic about things you are posting then send a PM. That's a "Private Message" if you don't know. It's only expected that someone like me will step in and comment on your post if you missed something in the past, it's incorrect or misunderstood. 

With respect to Will, I will now keep my mouth shut about your advice and suggestions. Good luck moving forward.

After thinking this through EzAng, you may be correct. Will's a big boy. He can take care of himself. I should have not have made it sound like I was speaking for or protecting Will. My apologies. I should have only pointed out that the issue had been discussed before on this forum and repeated what I said at the time and what was Will's answer to me and others. 

My apologies also to Will for placing him in the middle. 

Happy building.

Thank you my friend, all is well, 

to show there is no hard feelings lol
I do have a question
by the way, what kind of 3d printer do you use?

I have 8 printers, 3 Robo R1 plus, 1 tevo tornado, 1 creality Max, 1 any cubic photon, 1 Pegasus, and 1 3D systems project 1500. 

No hard feelings everybody. Back to robot building!

wow, I will look them up,

Which one has the least problems?

Haha none I’m afraid. They have yet to produce a one button printer. You need to know a lot about these machines and how to repair when they get stuck, clogged, slip or otherwise refuse to co operate.

How is that Robo R1? I was thinking of getting one.

They are my goto printers. They are die hard and print great parts. Highly recommended.

I haven't taken the 3d plunge yet. Still waiting for them to get more user friendly.

Hi Will, Regarding 3D printers  will a 200 x200 x180 printer be able to be used when you build projects on Reel Robots ,?

Just wanted to know the answer so those who are looking to buy know what size to get.

Dave,  I have yet to hear of a friendly 3D printer. Most can be quite Nasty.

@andy, my experience has been that you can nearly print any 3D object at any size. You can take files and cut them it into smaller pieces to print. And on the flip side if you have a large printer you can merge parts. I remember seeing a guy in the Uk print an Austin Healy car on one printer. With a small print bed.

Some projects will be big and some smaller.

Hello everyone. Today May the 4th, is the official day for Season 1 Episode 1 of REEL ROBOTS. What better day to launch the first episode of a nine part series dedicated to building a Star Wars inspired beverage despising droid?! Standing at at 6 foot 3 inches tall, BD-3 is ready to quench your thirst, by despising three of your favorite beverages by voice command. So be sure to stay thirsty my friends. 

The Episode drops today at 12pm noon Pacific time. Be sure to check it out! And please subscribe if you have not yet done so. It helps me grow the channel. 

Link: Reel Robots

I'll check it out

I will also, thanks

EZang

Oh Boy! I have my pop corn and a soda all ready for this this evening! I've been waiting for this. This is gonna be good!

I will be there once I find out the time zone difference.

It finally finished processing:

I just watched episode 1 of Will's starwar bartender drink dispensor.   It was very well done.  But I would not expect less from Will.  the Robot design was fantastic and his design of the frame and 3D printed parts. were very original.  lots of ideas for my own robot designs. can't wait for episode 2.  Thanks Will

Great!! Will be having a blast watching this for sure!!

Wonderful - everyone at Synthiam just watched it with me. They were pretty excited. Is the servo recorder working for ya? Want to make sure we get all the tools you need for this guy - i'm stoked

Absolutely DJ, Glad everyone was excited. I Couldn't be building any of these robots without your incredible software and products!

Great stuff Wil, want to see the head and neck part also :-)

EzAng

Hi Will,
I was really impressed with Episode 1. The excitement of the build comes through. Seeing it from conception forward is fun. I look forward to a "cold one".

I absolutely loved it. High powered, high energy, it moved quickly but I had no trouble understanding and keeping up. It's amazing you packed all that into little more the 6 minutes . 

I really liked your design to rotate the torso. It would be great to know what motor you used and what parts you used to mount it to make the upper torso rotate. I fell in love when I saw the aluminum you custom cut that is underneath to support the robot's structure and parts soon to be attached. 

Thanks for a great evening. Well done.

Omg, that was awesome to watch. Great job. I so got to get  a newer 3 D printer now

@ robohappy I am so convinced I could print anything at any size with this printer. I have a whole system I came up with (that go into depth in next episode) for dealing with PETG, fixing warping, pinning together parts and making all the parts seamless and fit perfectly together. You, don't want to miss that episode.

@dave there is a title that comes up that tells the motor that I used for the torso rotation. I have it running at 12 volts, but i went ahead and got a 24 volt power supply to up the power if this bogs under the weight as i continue adding parts/more weight.

I have some growing pains in the filming editing department run by...umm me. LOL. I lost a bit of video on building the arm which rotates the upper torso. So that left me with two shots of the arm..drilling it and placing it. I just mounted it the two screws that attach to the rockler bearing on the inside of the waist plate. The hub simply slides over the motor shaft and i tighten the grub screw. Thats all there is to it.

I found some great local guys to cut all my aluminum...great cheap and fast! 

BTW all those metal parts were designed in Zbrush which is nuts because that program it more for organic shapes...but I dont like CAD programs, so all of it is done in zbrush.

Will - my post on linkedin for your first episode is trending in #robotics for ya. Congrats! Hope it brings more viewership and subscribers 

Aww thats awsome! Everything helps. I'm struggling with all the social media....twitter instagram etc. I need my 14 year old Niece to take over for me! Youtube requires 4000 watched hours in 12 months and 1000 subscribers before you can monetize. I only have 600 watched hours, but I am approaching the subs fairly quickly. Hopefully the more episodes I get up the faster I can rack up those hours. Now back to more editing...it never stops.

A lot of You Tubers also kickstart the monetization by doing live streams...its a lot easier that way to reach the watched hours cap I guess!
Also I heard, you should try to make the episones a bit over 10 minutes, because its better if you want to put adds! 
Might be something for the future though? 

Great show, professional, educational and entertaining!!

Actually he’s right. A lot of video creators do live streams and use the recorded content in their final production. 

Have you thought of just turning on a live stream and build? Make mistakes and learn / people love that. Think how many times in my live streams that I had to fix plugins or write code. You learn a lot from that and people see the real you

I'll look into live streaming. Prolly wont happen for this build as I'm three episodes ahead of the show, for purposes of padding time for 3d prints etc. I will always be 3 to 4 episodes ahead of the broadcasted show. So maybe its streaming an unrelated build. Would be fun and makes since that you can get your watched hours. Do that a couple times and should be able to reach that 4000 hour mark quickly. I'm at about 600 now. Great tip.

I knew the first episode would be under 10 as it was just as an introduction and the frame. The second episode is massive in comparison. By pushing past the 10 minute mark Youtube allows you to add in 2 ads instead of one doubling your ad revenue (when you are monetized).  That's the reason alot of people ramble on or repeat themselves on their videos so they can to reach that magic 10 minute mark. Fortunately i just have alot of info and footage to show.

A little late to comment, but I watched it and really enjoyed it.  You are a very good presenter.

Alan

Episode 2 drops Tuesday morning at 5 am eastern time, 7 pacific time.

Looking forward to see the progress!!

That head looks great already!!

Something went wrong with Youtubes auto private to public scheduler. Video is now live.

Great work Wil - fxrtst

thanks,

EzAng

@fxrtst I just saw part two of you youtube build, it is very impressive.  I like your method of joining PETG parts using a soldering gun.  what thickness of outer shell are you using?   I wish I had your CAD skills.  You are as I said the Robot Master.   Thanks Will

@nallycat Thanks. I'm using 3 to 4 shells for most parts. All these prints were .3 layer height, so they were pretty groovy..looked like an old record. But, the spot glazing putty and the radial sander fixed those issues quickly. I'm very confident I can build a robot any size now, with the Creality CR-10 Max and the techniques I've come up with.

@ezang Thanks.

@Fxrtst  Thanks Will  I saw in your video you are using several Resin Printers, What are your opinions on this type of printing, is it worth having one, what model of resin printers are you using and would you recommend them.  Do you think we will be able to pour our own drink using your robot through Exosphere in the future.

Haha that would be cool! 

I would recommend a resin printer for everyone printing parts. What I like to do as seen in the video is add another level of detailed parts that you can't get on a FDM printer. For example in the video you see me adding details to the side panels. It just adds a few parts that draw your eye and are high resolution. The parts are not as durable as PETG, so i don't use them for functional parts. But great for details.

I've had many many resin printers and infact had a few of the early prosumer models by 3D systems (cost was $10k and $15k each!). but now all the 27 year patients have run out everyone is making them.

To start with if you are thinking about getting one...go with the Anycubic Photon printer. Its a small foot print and bed size is about the size of a cell phone. All my detailed parts in this video were done on this very affordable printer. ($249) You can get good deals on resin too. 

Printer: https://amzn.to/2zQztRu
Resin: https://amzn.to/2yfCbzm

Hey,
wow fantastic development skills:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4lY2uBorwA#t=10m36s

Hey Master Will How do you code so fast ? There's no doubt your bartender makes great cocktails

hahahahhahaha.....AND with two keyboards! Ta Da!

And a missing key!! Wore it out with all the zeros and ones

you got mad finishing skills. I respect your patience and attention to detail. I could never achieve those results with my hot glue gun lol! Can’t wait for episode 3

..bahahahah missing key, zero and ones ..lol. Yeah I smoothed those parts out like butter!

Man, this episode was level up...which I did not expect because it seemed to be impossible to raise the bar after episode one!!

Grear show, great content!!

Makes me want to build robots!!

And I guess I am not the only one!!

great video Will, all the best.

Me too Micky666Maus



EzAng

Will, I can't say more then what has already been said. I am thoroughly enjoying your videos. You never cease to amaze and teach me things.

How do you get the light on the mouth to go with the voice?

EzAng

I’m going to go deeper into how I did... in the beginning of the next episode.

I'm thinking about a live stream on Youtube, to show how and why I use Zbrush to design my robots. In the stream I am thinking about going over why I use it instead of CAD software, how to kit bash and quickly build parts, how to convert files to DXF for water jet or laser cutting aluminum flat stock parts. How to create highly detailed parts for 3D printing fast. Would this interest anyone?

If there are other live streams you would like to see leave a comment.

@fxtst  I think your live stream on youtube is a really good idea, I would like to learn about Zbrush and robot design.  count me in.

Yeah count me in too, I am always curious about the building/designing techniques and processes of my fellow robot builders :D.

I would totally be up to it, depending on the time you'll be streaming, I might only be able to watch the canned version though...

Me 2  -  :-)

EzAng

Episode 3 drops tomorrow. Mega Star Wars fans will get it.

OMG, lets get hammered with robots...I keep a cold beer on the side while watching!! Great!!

Finally live....enjoy

@fxrtst  I just watched part 3 and I am still laughing.    I think Droid is a Marvel of engineering, and I congratulate  you on your skills.  can't wait for part 4, I know we have to wait. I just posted a link to your You Tube series on the Inmoov english facebook site and I hope it increases you viewing as I asked them to Subscribe .  hope this helps.

Thanks I appreciate the compliment! And glad you are laughing!

Funny as can be, thanks for sharing your amazing robot

EzAng

Haha I love that intro!!! Can't wait to watch the rest. Just wanted to tell you the hook worked with me!

@Nallycat Thank you!

@Fxtst  You are welcome.. Can I order some blue milk with a side of  Green eggs and ham.   Forget that I would like Green Beer, it's not St patrick's day but hay i'm Irish.;)

That was awesome. It would be really fun to test it out at a real bar someday. It would be fun to see peoples reaction to it.

@robohappy It sure would! I already figured out a way to hide a partial keg under his skirt for beer! (Somehow that sentence sounded like it came from a university dorm!) LOL.

Love the videos!
Really enjoy watching them.
You are one fast programmer... lol.

I think you need Alan on the table next to you giving some advice ... lol.
 Keep up the great work!

Great to see this evolving!!
Well paced, good content and a fantastic build!!

Will, I can't say much more then has already been said here. It's all true. However after all these years of seeing you design and build your robots and the artisan talents you put into them I still stand amazed. I know I shouldn't be surprised after all this time but it dazzles me. 

Have you ever thought about going into acting? You have obviously picked up a lot of good tips from the pros that have brought your natural talents to the surface. You're very smooth and enjoyable to watch.

Hahahah...thanks for the Kudos. My biggest fear is being on the other side of the camera..and now I'm here. I'm beginning to have some fun and show my goofy side...I hope some people are enjoying it. But I still feel like Cindy on the Brady Bunch TV episode when the cameras go live:

HOORAY....COOKIES !

What a great Robot !


Super job Will, another enjoyable episode.

@Fxtst  Will I think it was EzAng that asked you how did you sinc the mouth led with the voice, I am guessing you put the positive from the led to the control wire and the ground from the led to ground on the port 0 on the controller.  I am using the mouth and led's together on COG, can I connect the mouth servo and led to the same port on the Controller, do you think this can work?  thanks Will

I had planned to cover that in the last episode it’s was getting to choppy so I’ll cover it in an upcoming episode. The leds use 12 volts so I have it connected to a reed relay. The signal comes from the audio servo controller that I use often. Similar cheaper device to the scary terry board. Overkill for this project but I have boxes of audio servo control boards. I always try to use what I have around the shop. But there are really cheap audio to led boards for super cheap on eBay.

I don't know if you all would find this useful but there's a chap in my B9 Robot Build's club that designed and sells a voice interface board. It does just what it sounds like it would do and works wonderfully. It flashes Neon, LED's or incandescent bulbs to music or voice signals. He provides wiring schematics for each method and sweet installation instructions. It's very small (a little bigger then the size of half a credit card) and inexpensive (Fully assembled $35 USD, Self assemble (21 USD). I've already installed one in a B9 Robot I'm rebuilding for a friend and I was amazed how simple it is to install and how great it works. It never misses a beat once (easley) tuned in. Here's a link to Steve Neal's vendor page with lots more info.

For some reason this forum won't link to that page so if you are interested please cut and paste this into your browser:

b9robotbuildersclub.com/pub/parts/B90658/index.html

Just in case it's me here's the hyperlink :
http://www.b9robotbuildersclub.com/pub/parts/B90658/index.html

Don't let the face that he's selling these for B9 Robots fool you. They will work in other applications. Also Steve is in Australia but shipping is fast and cheap. $3.00 without tracking, $14 with tracking. I've bought two and each time they arrived within a week to the USA. 

Here's a (long,) video I made of installing this system into the B9 robot I mentioned above. You can skip ahead to mark 33:40 to see Steve's board wired in and 59:00 to see how nice the flash syncs to the voice. I even got it tuned in better after this video:

This was a woops. Nothing to see here. Sorry

@Dave Schulpius  Hi Dave thank you for your quick reply, Yes that audio board sounds great, But I have a Scarry Terry board I did not want to use it and was hoping for a quick and simple solution as COG my new Robot does not have that much room for electronics, I mean hanging extra wires, I read on synthiam that you could connect LED's to a regular servo port with just the control wire and ground.  I have not tried this but COG has a mouth and there are LED's in the eyes and I wanted them to flash and the mouth move at the same time.  maybe someone would know if this can be done.  Love your Posts. Thanks
Bruce

Just an update. I am still working on Episode 4. Hoping to have it out in a week. Alot things happening put me very far behind. Its definitely worth the wait though!

Take care of business Will. We'll be here when your ready.

Update..lol...so I had a "oh noooo" moment today, that has put me behind a bit. I was hoping for a Tuesday release, but looks like might be a few more days beyond that. When I started this robot build I was three weeks ahead on my episodes, but the arms (which I had not yet figured out) turned out to be a beast to design and execute in the small spaces I provided myself. LOL. I managed to pull it off but I am many months behind. Hopefully all the other robots will be fully envisioned before I start adding episodes to YouTube...and probably should not have started with a 6 foot 3 inch (190 cm) robot! Doh!

FINALLY! What a marathon. Hope you enjoy....episode 4!

I just watched episode 4 Will. and it is exceptional.  I  put a notice at the Imoov facebook site,although your next video may attract more interest as making inmoov robots with autonomous capabilities has a lot of interest for inmoov builders.  Your design capabilities has me floored, I wish I had just a small amount of your talent.

Thank very much!

YAY ! Loved watching that. So many cool parts went into building those arms. Which 3d printer have you been using? I see the Robo3D one in the back ground, is it any good? So wish I had more time to make such cool improvements in my current design. Looking forward to next time

Thanks. I also have the Creality CR-10 Max...its massive! I converted it over to a direct drive and it works great!

Great segment, great work, a true robot builder :-)

Are you using the same setup as Dave for the voice / lights?

EzAng

No I’m using the audio servo controller..it’s like the scary terry board.

which audio servo controller?

EzAng

I really hope your channel will grow, its amazing how persistent you are pushing it...this is next level work!!

Your channel deserves to skyrocket!!

@EzAng:

Quote:

which audio servo controller?

type audioservocontroller.com on a browser. Can't be more easy than that.

@Will:
Nice build! So how many DOF per arm? did you weight the arm ?

Will great job again, a true robot builder

ptpt

audioservocontroller.com  looks a little questionable, I don't use PayPal

maybe Will has a better idea

if not, I will look up other options

EzAng

@EZANG, PTP gave you the correct address. The maker Jack is a friend, he is reputable and builds great boards. You can also look up Tucows scary terry board...does the same thing, but higher priced.

@PTP 6 DOFs not including the fingers. Each arm came in at 4.5 pounds

FXRTST

very cool robot.i see you using extention wires.here are some from 90 cm long.

extention wires

Thank you nomad.

@fxrtst. I know you are going for the 10K subscribers,  I am not trying to criticize.  I actually have not watched the videos.  Here is why, and am not sure why youtube video makers do this, but if the thumbnail ad for the video shows someone pulling a face, or over exaggerating a gesture or acting peculiarly it just turns me off.  It seems the maker is NOT taking his video seriously or the work he has done.  Is this something they teach you in youtube school?

Your videos are about robots, you should have a spectacular thumbnail showing off your robot doing something.  Your thumbnail on the latest video seems it's about you (pulling a face).
I'm not trying to be a Negative Nelly here. I want you  to get to 10K subscribers but if it turns me off, there might be a lot more people my age >(over 30) that just pass you by.  Good Luck.

OMG. I'm blown away. Amazing foresight and design. Only 7 weeks to build these? It took me two years to build my B9 arms! Do you think these arms will slip into your B9 rubber arm skin?

@ 3dguy You don't have to be serious to produce good content. I'm not a serious guy. And if you don't like my goofy pictures you will really hate me after a few cocktails. And I'm 54.

Enjoy not watching the videos.

@Dave!  Thanks so much.  I have even bigger plans for the B-9 arms! Using similar designs.

Sweet Will! I'm really looking forward to what you're going to pull out of the trunk for the B9.

I forgot to mention that your added levity is refreshing and really adds to the enjoyment of watching your flicks.

@fxrtst  Hi Will just let me say I have watched and have enjoyed your 4 episodes of building your star war droid bartender.  You have created the videos in a very informative and creative way, you are pulling a lot of your creativity from your exposure in the film industry.  I have learned a lot from your construction techniques and design skills. and because of your talents I try to encourage inmoov builders on the english inmoov builders facebook site by giving them notice when your episodes come out.  I have quite a few members with only positive responses.  It also helps Synthiam and our Program ARC to get more builders joining us.  their method of robot control is arcanine at the least, as they demand the computer be in the robot not through WIFI and I have told them that they can also have an onboard PC. using ARC.  I like WIFI. I don't have to go to my inmoov and enter the next command every time I want the next response.  we are closer to autonomy then they will ever be.  As for members who like to Critique your work I suggest they get by their peculiarities, even for a short period and just watch your episodes. I think they will enjoy what  they see.    "building" robots have a limited  following and I aplaude Will in trying this.  it will be difficult getting his 10K subscribers. but I know you can do this.     Just my thought if you sold the STL files of Allen to only people who subscribe to your channel not only will you make me happy but those only interested in 3D printing may become roboticists.

The channel is growing organically (exponential) as you would expect it to. Although this video has brought a ton of new people to the channel which may show change is coming.

Thanks for the nice words nallycat.

I’m really impressed with the design details of these arms, Will! Also, really great (and funny) intro. Got a kick out of it!

Thanks DJ! It was a challenging build, but very happy with the results. Things should go quite quickly now, install the latte panda / touch screen and sew him space skirt to go with his space belt....then the fun time of painting him...I have some really neat paint designs.

I'm looking forward to this next episode. Installing the computer onboard the robot is something I;ve been wanting to do for years now. The thing that is stopping me is voice recognition. I'm real interested in how you will overcome the noise issues.

The mic will be set away from the robot. There is something I’m building to compliment the robot. That thing will also house the sonar and mic. Avoiding the issues with noise. It’s works for this but still would be an issue for b9. Especially with his background sound bite.

Good evening fxrtst - Will, 

I told Dave the other day, between you and him, I really fell like a novice of 2 years, coming from knowing nothing.

I learned many things for all of you, 

Thanks for being here.

EzAng

@fxrtst
Has there been an issue with background noise? I ask only because I think sometimes my bot will leap forward if it hears any noise. Ive tweeked to acticate on a couple commands, but once activated I think any outside noise seems to make it do things on its own, until i tell it to stop. lol

@ezang We all started as novices when we got here years and years ago. That’s what is great about this community, I’ve learned so much from so many people and I’m glad some of what I’ve learned has been passed on!

@robohappy On the b9 ( lost in space robot) there is always a background sound that was played in the show and on our robots have the same sound..so it hard to have a hot mike active on the robot as it will pick up this sound.

My hope was to be able to have a "hot mic" open for anyone to be able to chat and command my robot. I tried many different types of mics. The best desktop mic I found for this purpose was the Big Blue Snowball. It seemed to give the best False Accept Rate. Still it was frustrating when he would hear something he thought he needed to respond to - falsely. Other times he wouldn't respond at all. I decided on getting a headset and be the only one to be able to command my robot. My percentage of False Accept Rate went almost down to zero. My choice was a ear headset used for cell phones. It's the Plantronics VOYAGER 5200 UC Headset. Amazing connection to my robot. Only drawback is the only person he'll respond to now is me because he can only hear me. Here's the headset I am using:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G49I2FA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Taking this track I don't have to worry about the noise the robot makes. The headset allows me to talk to the robot from my headset to the computer where it's bluetooth connection is between it and the headset and then the computer sends the wifi command that ARC generaties to the robot.   

I also have a "Wake up word" set like Amazon uses for their Alexa. I use the name "Robot". In my ARC project I have a Windows Voice Recognition control  installed. The only word it listens for is the name "Robot". I have a script written in it that when the Windows Voice Recognition control hears "Robot" it will wake up the Bing Voice Recognition control and start listening for scripted commands I've written in that control. All I need to do after I say "Ropbot" is wait a second to let Bing initialize before I start the command I want my robot to perform. To aid me in this wait I have a light pattern run on the robot to show me when to start speaking and how long I have to say it.

I really like how you set that up.. I like the wake word connected to unpausing bing...really great idea.

...yeah so this happened.....:D !!!!!!

That can't be live from the Space Station. Nothing floating around.

Whhhhaaaaaaaaaaaatttttt!?!?! An Adam Savage meet-up? So awesome!

Appearance on his channel or him on your channel Will? Or a Zoom meeting?

A meet and greet - "cave" to "cave" meeting

was that at a show or event you had?

EzAng

It was a virtual meeting.

@Will, you hang with all the cool kids. Can I be your wingman?

Hey there. I've just dropped a new video segment I'm calling "Slice". It covers things like questions, robot news, product reviews etc. Enjoy.

Love it, Will! Thanks for sharing. That's quite the impressive list of films you've been on set for, even for one of my favorite movies of all time, A.I.!

Wow, another "epic" production Will. It gave me Goosebumps. 

Keep looking at the camera my brother.

....quick episode covering the unboxing and impressions of the Anycubic Photon Mono X resin 3D printer. I'll be using this to add details to my robots. It has a 4K resolution mono screen....

Seems like a lot oversights on the design and experience. Like, why do you have to type in the IP address? Can't it scan or broadcast O_o

Goes to show how much design and forethought goes into a product!

Wil l as usual you are very impressive. I think I liked all the movies you worked on.  and you product reviews are most helpful.  I was thinking about getting a resin printer, and I think I will wait a little longer. especially for the anycubic.

I know. And this company has been around for awhile and has many other printers. I’m always disappointed when a company feels the need to rush and compete in the market. And overlook completing their product before it ships.

They could also have been experiencing financial difficulties and needed to get it out there to save the company. While we all expect the future to be a happy robot/diy friendly place, there's actually very little funding in that space. For due reason to, there haven't been many (if not any) success stories. Most funding goes to social media and fintech. Until someone can demonstrate great financial success in the robot/diy market, we'll continue to expect low quality high cost products like that

...boy you said it! Its not a mole hill to have to climb, its a majestic snow capped sky high mountain to traverse! When we were at CES, you could see the market leaning toward Elder care. We were approached by AARP and had some interesting conversations with them. But really its as you said, purse strings are tight until there is a new robot success story. Currently funding seems to be DARPA and and the s*x industry. Kill'em or love them!

Haha - well, even the warfare robots aren't getting a lot of funding either. The trouble comes down to user experience (people need phd's to use most robot products) and compatibility (no robots or software are compatible). So the idea of having 1 robot complete ALL the tasks you can dream up is likely not going to happen in my life time. However, having a million robots that each can perform a small task is far more likely. It would be neat if all robots could communicate with each other to complete tasks - AND - be assisted by humans... That's what Exosphere is growing to become but good/reliable hardware is difficult to come by.

I had to make a decision and focus on either hardware or software last year when I split ez-robot and Synthiam. Doing both wasn't sustainable any longer so I had to choose one. I choose Synthiam and here we are. The trouble now is we don't produce any revenue, yet. So that's something we're working on - otherwise, I'll just shut this down and go get a job somewhere

Either way, I'll never compromise user experience or compatibility - those are things are super important to me because I believe the success of this industry requires maturity in those two areas. 

Even that 3d printer you reviewed - it demonstrates no compatibility and therefore low user experience. Why does every hardware company make their product not compatible with anyone else? I fought for a long time to make ARC (now arc) compatible with other robot products and arduino. It took a long time to make that happen when the company grew out of control.

Thats right. The successful robots are those doing a single task..cutting grass, sweeping floors, cleaning pools. It goes without saying that successful consumer robots are those replacing mundane chores. But prices are still out of reach for these luxury robots and limits who can use them. So we end back at B to B solutions where pockets are deeper, but even there, you need a robot that saves money for the corporation.

Yeah I'm sure you're at a cross roads. I know this sounds ridiculous but maybe EZ Builder should have been a different product from ARC. EZ Builder would support all the zillions of EZ products and education systems. Then ARC could have been a pay to play solution for B to B and advanced DIY builders? At least Synthiam could then have another source of revenue, besides Exosphere? I'm completely ignorant on this software stuff. I'm just throwing out thoughts based on not knowing anything at all, including non compete. etc that may have been in your the EZ sale. 

I hope there is a solution...would hate to see you "go get a job somewhere." These are tough times in general. Everyones got an opputunity to hit the "re-set" with this virus. To take a look behind you and set a new path ahead. You've always been uncompromised with your products and determined to drive forward, paving the way for robotics. Hopefully we all weren't here too early to the show?!

..and lastly I agree with you on why the heck aren't these devices compatible. They all take the Apple approach of creating hardware and software proprietary and not compatible or creating a standard. Much is open source though and maybe eventually there will be some kinda of compatibility.

The only successful robot (and I use that term loosely for this) is iRobot roomba. Not a single other robot has been successful. And even iRobot is a much much smaller company now than it was during its peak. 

All the robots you listed that are grass cutting or what not are tiny little companies that sell a few dozen per year. It’s crazy to put that into perspective but the sale volume of robot products is very low. 

There will always be a free version of ARC - I’ve committed to that. Providing the base features is probably the easiest way to get away with it. And having a paid version supporting newer features. That’s most likely the best option moving forward

that way everyone gets what they’re used to and can pay to experience the newer stuff

My wife loves the robot sweeper....I had to buy another one because ours broke and she said "I can't live with out it" Dramatic, but I'm sure those words were spoken when the washing machines break or any other labor saving replacement device. They certainly were ways ahead of the curve. As with any marketable device, once you saturate the market, you better have the next best thing ready to go. Consumers love the next best thing.

...I think you are on the right road! I have no problem paying for advanced features in ARC. I would gladly pay knowing they are supporting and advancing new features, the software and Synthiam. I bet most users here would also agree.

Someone here has to build the next best thing and power by arc. I’ll get you funding if it works

I will head over to your unboxing in a bit...am about to get me that printer too, or the Elegoo Saturn? Still not completely sure about it!!

You guys are both putting so much energy into robotics, which in return gives so much to us here in the forum!!! I would hate to see it going down the drain...

If some paid content helps, I am sure that everybody would be fine with it...or setting up a fundraiser or Patreon maybe?

I hope things will be evolving in a good way, this is such a nice place...not being entangled with the big tech companies is such a rare thing these days!

Keep up the good work, this is great and unique!!!

Yes, Agreed, both og you need to keep up the good work.  I like how ARC is free, its amazing as whats ben put into in only  a few years( that Ive been using it), abd would be willing to pay something if it means many new and cool features are to be had.

I too am amazed that irobot has been one of those sucessful commercial ventures. But correct me if I am wrong here, growing up, and recently, I have heard, thru medial mostly thru the years that robots are as common as the cellphone in places like Japan. I could be way off on this, would love to hear your thoughts. 

I would love to see how Exosphere could be used as designed to control JD or the many robots we all have building around here. When I started building HEMI, the idea was it to be useful in the healthcare system (as you guys were talking about  AARP and such earlier). I even approached InventHelp once to see an idea thru. Building HEMI has been fun , but the original idea of it being able to lift a person from a wheelchair has proven to be alot more involved that I thought. Getting the gait movemenst (so as not injure someone) just right is more complicated than I imagined, so for now,until I can enlist some help, I will back burner that idea for another time.

Im not sure we will ever get to the level of the NX5 as seen in I,Robot movie but forward thinkers will find a way, and yea, when that day comes... if I could transfer my mind into the body of a robot, I would in a heartbeat,,,,

As smart speaker technology continues to evolve, most people want the choice of personalization. Want another voice for your Echo? Tired of Alexa? Samuel Jackson is the first celebrity voice to replace "some" of Alexa's tasks. Released in 2019, you had invoke Samuel by asking Alexa to ask Samuel. Not intuitive at all. Is Amazon scared to loose their brand Alexa? As of September 2020 , you can now use the wake word "Hey Samuel" to ask him to do things. Novelty or the beginning of something new?

In this video I'm channeling Samuel through Alan...this is the clean version, Sam drops alot of "F" bombs in the explicit setting.

Will that is great, unfortunately, this service is only available for the U.S. not available in  Canada sorry DJ , JER,  and the rest of us backward Canadians.
Will get those subscribers so I can print Alan

...I don't understand why a company would geo- isolate these kinda functions? I think the chat bot is also US only?! Wouldn't it makes since to have all cultures and people to test these "skills"? I really don't get it.

As for Alan files...things are going exceptionally well on the channel and many of the videos are gaining popularity and I'm picking up alot of subscribers. But not nearly quick enough for me. I've officially been on since early May. So not too bad for 5.5 months.

But the main issue is getting people to subscribe. That's the reason you see every person say over and over "Subscribe" during their videos. On my analytics you can see how many people do not subscribe. This is the last 28 days. 87% are not subscribed that come to view videos. But that same group makes up 90% of watched hours.

@Canadian Friends:
Please don't complain..... can you imagine if you had to live with the 1988 Alexa version...

That version of Alexa brings back not to found memories.  I remember installing Corel draw using real floppies 30 of them it only took over 40 hours.

PTP, that was hilarious!

As many of you know I use a program called Zbrush to build my robots virtually. These are the models that go out to the 3D printers for final printing. Each year the makers of the software Pixologic, have a Summit, where artists around the world gather and show how they use Zbrush in their work flow. I've been invited to participate in this years virtual Summit. I will be presenting live for an hour in the evening 7:45-8:45 Nov. the 10th (Pacific time). I will be showing how I use Zbrush to make the robot parts for my robots. I will hopefully I will have more info (links) as it becomes available.

Let us know Will, I'd be interested!

Cool. Looking forward to it. Please let us know and I'll watch for sure.

Definitely be interested in learning more about Zbrush, and watching your session.

OMG!!!! You are invited to ZBrush Summit!!

Its just getting better and better!!!

Final details have been set for the Zbrush Summit:

Here is the page I'm toward the bottom. If you click on presenter you'll see a bit more about me and the talk.
Summit

You can also click "remind me" on this link. And you will get a reminder when the presentation starts.

https://pixologic.com/zbrushlive/events/will-huff/

Hope some of you can make it. But don't worry it will be available on Youtube and Twitch after the show.

That's amazing, will!!!!!! You'll be excited for AIML2 (i should have it done today!!!!)

PTP, I laughed WAYYYYYY harder at that then I should have.  That was EPIC!!  Is it wrong that I kind of want a retro Alexa? 
HA
HA     HA
      HA
                                                    HA                                      HA
                         HA

Will here you go: https://synthiam.com/Support/Skills/Artificial-Intelligence/Bot-Libre?id=19936

It's the first draft but boy it's really awesome. Can't believe the power of AIML2 though. We'll really need Perry to teach us more about it. There's so much configuration ability and customization.

This looks very impressive,  the avatar sort of looks like Jer.  but yes I think we could use Perry's help.

Looking forward to testing it soon!

It’s not entirely useful until I put the control commands in. I’ll do that tonight maybe if I can keep my eyes open lol

Hey guys....I did a podcast a few weeks ago and its live now. I cover getting in to the film industry and how I got into robotics.

Link: PodCast

Oh nice - Hey i know that guy!! i'll give it a listen this weekend

Just a reminder I will be streaming live on the Zbrush Summit tonight from 7:45-8:45 pacific time. I will be demonstrating my techniques for using Zbrush as my main design tool for robots and I'll be demoing Alan, Alena and the Soda droid. The stream will be recorded, so you can watch it when ever you want!

Link:

https://pixologic.com/zbrushlive/events/will-huff/

Nice, that it is also available in my timezone...I will tune in later!!

Woo! I might be at dinner but i'll check if i can. Either way i'll be watching the recorded stream

I'll have to watch the rebroadcast. This is going to be great!

That was a lot of fun! Went really well. About 80 min long. Not sure how it’s archived. If it’s the whole day I’m second to last of the day!

where is the video?

EzAng

Here is the final video edited from the summit.

So awesome Will! I didn’t get to watch last night but I watched today and enjoyed it. Impressive things you’ve done with ZBrush. I’m definitely gonna have to check out that software.

Hey Will that starwars Droid was amazing to watch live there,Fantastic work,keep it going!:)

Will, I really enjoyed your segment. If I took anything away from your presentation it was that the more I learn about your talents, the more I'm amazed with what you are capable of doing.

Thank you very much Dave! I appreciate that!

Very awesome! I'm super impressed with your knowledge and passion. It is really reflected in everything you say and how detailed you are.

OH - and thanks for the mention!

Thanks DJ, glad you enjoyed the process!

Thinking about this fella in 2021. Here he is in Zbrush. Upper body would animated with side to side hip movement....total animated prop build. What ya'll think? (7 foot 3 inches (221 CM)! Its a ton of filament...looking for a filament sponsor for this one..lol!

OMG!!! That would be awesome!!
I wish I had the time to do a project like this!!! 
I am sure, your channel will grow exponentially on this build!!!

Is YouTube handling the Copyrights on Disney material for you? Or is it not applying for one of a kind build?

And why dont you put some nice little ZBrush related tutorials to a dedicated playlist...like "New Features In Version 2021" or "How To Move, Scale And Rotate In ZBrush 2021", "Quick Tip On Showing The Wireframe In Zrush 2021"? This type of content is fast and easy to produce and will generate a lot of views and a constant feed, which the YouTube algorithm likes!

Since it is one of your most used tools for creative output, it would also make sense as a complementary playlist in tandem with those projects!

Absolutely on my to-do list! Pixologic said they would promote any videos I make. Funny thing is my most successful video was the review of the 3D Printer!  It has like 6400 views and 500 hours of watch time! lol. Killing myself making robots and youtube viewers want reviews of products..go figure. So Zbrush tutorials would prolly explode on my channel.

As far as I know Disney doesn't seem to care as long as you are not selling them...and even then they don't care if you are a small guy making a few ....many things on Etsy that are from Mandalorian, armor, the child etc.

Next episode is out.....enjoy!

I love the disclosure. I almost fell out of my chair. I REALLY enjoy your productions. Thanks for the enjoyable vid.

Ron

Your design skills are absolutely incredible!  Is that really your workshop or is it a studio reserved exclusively for your videos? No one could possibly have a functional workshop that looks so pristine.

Wow that turned out great! What a clean installation, Will. 

I second what Nink said - your workshop is way too clean lol

Oh PS, you can stop the Greeting window from displaying everytime by unselecting this checkbox..

Excellent video Will, Really like the way you do detailed demo of your connections from Panda /Arduino to EZB .I have the same stuff and never tried using the Arduino side but you make it look easy as cake!

Thanks guys! The shop is just my garage. But I'm lucky to have high ceilings (12 ft) and I have alot of stuff to organize, because I have Make up effects stuff, Robot stuff and B9 rubber parts stuff. I also like rubber floors, because i always drop stuff. LOL. But during projects things get very messy, then i have to tidy up to find things. 

@DJ thanks for the tip on the start up screen!

@nink thanks !

Very nice. That was fun to watch. The NeoPixels loooks cool. I was thinking of getting the new RGB 8x8 from EZRobot now that its finally released. am waiting for the neo controller next. Totallyt loved how you mounted the entire touchscreen and sbc. Looking forward to whats next

GREAT video again Will, I love the idea of using magnets to clip things in place, I might reconstruct the display on my Inmoov using this idea.

The build Quality is out of this world!!

Great work Wil - always


thanks for sharing

EzAng

All programs with start screens have that do not show again checkbox, so I thought it was clear. Maybe I’ll think of some way to make it more clear in future updates if people don’t know. Hate to see everyone having to hit ESC for all the start screens every time the software loads lol

It’s probably just me. With 1 trillion thoughts going through my mind as I’m building..like a lemming I’m just mindlessly clicking through screens without actually reading and observing. Careful observation would eventually lead me to clicking it. But I probably would have done it a 100 times before I actually read it... lol.

Hey Will are you going to be selling that Starwars Bot as a kit? People like me without a 3d printer and love the Bizarre larger robots could be a market! I know I would!

I’ve been thinking about STLs but selling a kit would be difficult unless I can find a 3D printing company to license my robots to and they could print kits. Not sure what that would cost the customer. 

I have plans for a fleet of robots much easier to build and 3D print. I’ll have to start researching 3D printing firms.

Ya for me it was always frustrating growing up to see so many wild robots in sci fi movies but then only litte toys could be bought or else would be so out of reach in cost like 2000 dollars.with 3d printing becoming widely available, it is certainly better now out there.

@robo rad - If Will built and sold these they would cost much more than $2000 I would imagine. Things really add up.

3D printing companies are Uber pricy. You’d have better savings on buying a bunch of printers lol 

I liked your Alan a lot. But mostly out of cool factor. Application wise I don’t think it appealed to the masses. Now, I did have a few people I ran across that thought the robot would be a neat Alexa add on. IF the masks and personality was configurable to real movie characters. Meaning you can give Alexa your favorite sci fi character a personality. So you talk to c3p0 or iron man. That would be a huge hit since Amazon is running out of Alexa ideas. It’ll end up like roomba soon. 

back on track. But I think this new robot, given it does something useful to general consumer would make a good Kickstarter. Now that you’ve learned a lot

oh and I’d lend a hand if ARC was used

I should mention we have a great relationship with rock pi x to bring volume pricing down for your bom

OMG, I am late to the party...
Thanks Will, its been a pleasure to watch!! I cannot believe how good this turns out...so much work, all this prototyping!! 
You make it seem to be so easy!!

Well cut, neat episode!! If this channel does not make it, I will loose my faith in YouTube!!

And thanks for the NeoPixel Animation tip!! Little gems like that are making the episodes even more enjoyable!!

Oh my God, I can't believe I haven't found the time in my day to watch this yet. I have been so looking forward to it. I need to sit down and just watch it as soon as possible. I agree with Perry, if Will sold this it would be more than $2,000. Way, way, way, more. Without a doubt.

I will definitely he watching this as soon as I possibly can.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American Pals. Don't eat too much today. LOL. To the rest of my robot building friends around the world I'll just say, peace health and happiness to you.

@mickey666maus Thanks, glad you liked the LED tip. I’ve been searching for years for a site like that. So cool it’s all web based. I’ve been a little taken back by how little subscribers were getting. I have 100% likes on all my videos. And read the comments some people saying I should have 1000s more subs than I have. I’m looking into a paid campaign next year to get the subscribers through exposure on different social media and news outlets. I also have a grand total of 7, yes 7 Patreon supporters in 6 months! So unless things change, I won’t be doing YouTube beyond middle of next year. When my budget runs out.

@dave hope you enjoy the video! Happy Thanksgiving to you too.

YouTube is weird the way it displays/suggests videos to people. It does it by trending. Meaning, the more views your video gets the more people it’ll show it to. But that’s a chicken and egg because you need them to show the video to get more views.... ugh

The way you tubers generally work is having their videos posted externally. YouTube rewards content creators for bringing new users to YouTube. So if you can post your videos elsewhere on websites, it’ll increase views and YouTube will give you love 

I’ve never focused on YouTube as being a validator for my efforts. Mainly because I’ve never considered myself having much social media influence. But, I did learn that about YouTube when I would share my videos by posting them on other websites. 

for example, I had accounts on every robot forum I could think of. And I would post a video sharing the robot I made. I did that for years until my company grew and it became a conflict of interest. 

so ya, I’d recommend doing that post it on forums everywhere. The worse they can do is delete it - but why would they? Because they want content to

Once again a perfect job Will. Do you plan to use a camera to interact with people?

Will, Proteusy has a cool idea.  Once you have everything running it would be wild to have it recognize the person and ask if they want the "usual". 
I look forward to the continuing videos. You alway share ideas which we can use on our robots. Thanks.

Yeah there is a camera in the center of his chest. I filmed installing it but it didn’t make the cut of this last video. I’ll cover it in part 6.

Use the cognitive face to recognize the person. That’ll be awesome

Here is a pic of  the cut scene installing the camera.

Just got back from beach house and Thanksgiving with family so now I can reply from computer..instead of phone.

@DJ 

Quote:

3D printing companies are Uber pricy. You’d have better savings on buying a bunch of printers lol

Yeah I'm taking about finding print services from guys with printers in their garages. Many people set up print shops in spaces in their homes with 20 or 30 printers, forming a print farm. The 3D print Hub used to be a service to help you find such places, but later they dropped individuals from the service. Hey I found something for you to do to your empty dock area in back of your warehouse! LOL.





But with my cold casting and molding system, 3d printing is not really needed beyond my prototypes. All parts are high temperature epoxy shells. Much stronger and durable compared to 3d printed parts and plastic mold injection.

Quote:

I liked your Alan a lot. But mostly out of cool factor. Application wise I don’t think it appealed to the masses.....

Oh it did. I have thousands of emails to Robomodix asking where to buy one to prove that statement wrong. The problem was producing a version that was cost effective to the consumer.

Quote:

But I think this new robot, given it does something useful to general consumer would make a good Kickstarter.

Absolutely not and would violate the last comment..."not being cost effective to mass produce to consumers."

Quote:

I should mention we have a great relationship with rock pi x

Have them send me product to test with...

lol - i don't think they'd send you a free product because I know them

Darn - too bad the projects you're building can't be sold hmmm. Is it something that you're considering doing eventually? Is made a product that can sell?

Hey this does not mean you can't sell one as a birthday gift or something right, I would even buy some class b rejected 3d body parts from that starwars robot!

For channel growth, I would really do some tech reviews and some tool tips...it's easy to produce content, and just think about yourself, whenever you get stuck using a software. You'll check YouTube...done!!

I just looked up move tool ZBrush and the first hit had 15k views on the transpose tool, you probably know him...but this is just him talking and screen recording at the same time. Super easy, compared to the work you are putting into content!

Just have those guys send you a RockPi, and make a review...good starting point!

@Dj regarding youtube:

Quote:

So if you can post your videos elsewhere on websites, it’ll increase views and YouTube will give you love

Yeah we post on about 25 sites including reddit and many 3d printing and robot sites. It increases traffic.

Quote:

I’ve never focused on YouTube as being a validator for my efforts.

Nor have I. Youtube is big business now and companies are paying alot of money to advertise. So its not a validator of my work rather a foundation towards monetization. And in turn I am building a following who will be interested in Reel Robot products as they become available.

When a company is asked to look over your Youtube channel to either send free product or to pay for advertisement, they look at many analytics including views, subscribers, likes vs dislikes and so on. So when only 16% of my viewers subscribe, that in turn hurts my channel's chances of gaining advertising dollars which help maintain the longevity of the channel. This is why every Youtuber begs for subscribers in their videos. I wish more people understood how the system worked. More folks might be more inclined to help a channel they liked.

As my channel is approaching 2k subs, I'm also approaching 4K hours of watch time and I'll be monetized by the end of the year...yay..this will be a big help.

If those guys from Rock Pi cannot send a free sample for Will, so he can make a review...they must be the most impoverished company in the tech industry!! They sell for 75 bucks...and even with a meager profit margin, its probably not more the twenty buck including the shipping, for a good unbiased review of their product!!

Hahah yeah. Many companies out to get a little extra robot PR! Great ones like Latte Panda, EZ Robot, And  Robotis.  They know a good opportunity. 

Quote:

should mention we have a great relationship with rock pi x to bring volume pricing down for your bom

 Why would a company do business with another company without sending a product to test? Especially a $70  one. Lol.

But not DJs responsibility to do so. Ill contact them.

Quote:

Darn - too bad the projects you're building can't be sold hmmm. Is it something that you're considering doing eventually? Is made a product that can sell?

Yeah 2021 is a pivot year. Got a lot of good stuff coming.

@mickey666maus 

Quote:

I just looked up move tool ZBrush and the first hit had 15k views.....

Yeah, after the success of my live zbrush summit, I'm going to start a regular series on zbrush and how I use it to create parts fast. I'm going to start with a one hour live stream and then tips and trick series after that.

You guys enticed me to get a 3d printer

So I did - 

Well, my wife and I finished "our first" 3d print example - a success!

I am using the Creality - Cr 10S pro v2 printer - PETG filament

Now on to move exciting prints - :-)

EzAng

Just finally found time to watch your latest video after a busy Thanksgiving weekend. You never cease to amaze. I'm going back and watch it again! Nice work!

Well I crossed the finish line today. 4,000 hours of watched time 0r 240,000 watched minutes. I'm officially monetized! This should be the next step into other avenues of funding for the channel. Hopefully the ads wont be too distracting. Youtube gives the power to insert the locations of the ads, so I'll start adding in a "we'll be right back after these messages!" LOL, reminds me of saturday morning cartoons.

I'm also dusting off some older videos that have been hidden by not being public.

Next goal: 10,000 subs! for Merch.....i know everyone wants a drink droid tie! lol

That's awesome! congrats man! How are you enjoying the Intel T265 btw?

Oh, doesn't that mean you can have a custom URL as well for youtube? like youtube.com/Synthiam or youtube.com/DJSures

Thanks!

Ah thanks for reminding me..I'll have to look into it!! (URL)

I haven't had much time to play yet with the T265....kids home schooling, xmas lights/tree/ and I'm finishing up another video for the Zbrush stuff....hoping to get testing with it soon!

I'm so amazed at how much your doing with all these new skills! It really is amazing and cant wait to try them all out. Keep up the amazing job!

Thanks, Will! I was wondering where you've been! 

Validation of all the people who actually love the software and are paying for it really helps my motivation. Who knew so many people depended on the software so much! It's great

Congratulations Will on the new funding stream. Nothing but blue skies ahead for you. Merry Christmas. This is quite a gift for you and your family. 

DJ, most definitely we all depend on ARC. For me, my childhood dream would end if suddenly ARC stopped working. My Robot would literally die and turn into a statue.

Ya If there are a few negative comments about the new pay structure, I can see ,DJ never seems bothered by it ,only just keeps coming out with better new add-ons every day. AS There are way more people giving positive reviews from all over the world. Hopefully Synthiam lives long and prospers! (Shout out to Leonard Nimoy in Vulcan heaven)