-636343637196289983.jpg)
-636343637315278038.jpg)
-635683694093497265.jpg)
Edit: Kickstarter campaign failed in 2015.
Starting in 2025 you can build an interactive Alan by joining my Robotics Courseware (links coming soon). You can follow along with detailed video instructions starting with 3d printing parts. Off the shelf hardware components links are included with the BOM. Don't miss out! Be sure to get a head in robotics. Build at you own pace. Coming soon.
Introducing Alan, the android head robot platform kit, soon to be released on Kickstarter.
First a quick introduction. For those that may not know me. I've been a make up effects artist in the film industry for the past 23 years. Robots have always fascinated me since I was a kid growing up in Ohio and watching Lost in Space episodes. That interest never left me and when starting work in the film industry, I taught myself animatronics. That is I would be called upon to make something move via radio controlled, a puppet, or a toaster or ? As CGI took over the animatronics part of my industry, I focused my free time on using that knowledge for robotics. When I saw prosumer 3D printers come on the market 8 years ago, I knew I could get some of my ideas to the table with out the need for a garage full of CNC machines.
Alan is a culmination of of both technologies, animatronics and 3D printing. When this idea started 3 years ago, I had just found EZ Robots and knew that I could build an interestingly designed kit for everyone so they could experiment with robotics. A platform that personifies how we will interact with robots and androids in the near future, by looking them in the face.
My first challenge was to make sure I leaped over the "uncanny valley". To do so, I took the human dimensions and changed them a bit, eyes wider apart, downplayed high details and added features that were without a doubt not human and certainly robotic in form.
The second challenge was keeping the cost down for consumers. A head like this in the film industry, filled with lots of motions like brow, smile, etc would costs $10's of thousands of dollars. So I built Alan with a modular design in mind. Meaning that the store front will carry modules that will allow you to customize and upgrade the same robot without having to buy a whole new head. As an example the front subskull can be replaced with a module with brow movement, allowing you to keep the entire head and eye mechanism. Other silicone skins will become available different colors and genders, styles, etc. The low cost introductory head will include about 22 parts, easy to assemble, with the consumer supplying servos, power supplies EZB, etc. on their own. My website will include links to all the accessories needed, plus mods like LED eyes, built in audio systems and so on. All the parts will be molded and manufactured in Los Angeles. There will be no pressure injected molding of parts this time around. These are cold cast high impact plastic parts and platinum silicone skins. Alans future may include a full body, if the Kickstarter is successful. And you can certainly use this as a replacement head for InMoov . I will look at altering the open source STL files to be able to accept my heads.
I always knew that the EZB would be Alan's brains. And I will promote it as such. As we all know, DJ's commitment and advancement to the EZB is leading us into the future of robotics.There really is no other choice in my mind. But that's in part because I'm no programmer
D. Cochran's EZ-AI is a boon to Alans development. I look forward to where David takes it. And although I have it installed I have yet to implement it with Alan for a few more weeks. All of these working together will be highlighted on the Kickstater video.
I have several more weeks to finish the paint job and run a new hero silicone skin. Then there is the very important Kickstarter video. So we are at least 4 weeks out. But I will post here the links to both the Kickstarter and Alans website when they go live and as Alan progresses.
I look forward to your ideas for programming and how you would mod him. I'd also like to hear how you would like to see him develop. Thanks for your time and enjoy the development pictures and video.
All the best,
Will
Programming
Camera, Speech recognition, speech synthesis, pad touch,
Parts & Materials
Dynamixels, Arduino, USB camera, EZB 4, micro servos and regular servos
Other robots from Synthiam community
DJ's Mobile App Developer Tutorial
Okidey's Hank V1.0
@ jeremie no author would accept that whoever adds elements to its work without its agreement. It is obvious that if the system allows anyone to add photographs in the project of someone else, that will cause a lot of frustration. Hopefully the forum admin will get the permission to fix the issue.
Will, your presentation skills blow me away. I'm so glad your using your Oscar willing talent and experience in the way your offering this android. I think the way your showcasing him is going to make the difference. You have a truly mind blowing robot here to sell but no one will know it if the presentation is common or sub par. Wow, there's no way you can loose.
Just wondering, I've seen a few different skin colors on the face. Are you going to offer different colors based on race? What about voice choices, language or accents (is that even possible)? A Jamaican android would be so over the top.
@Aerius,
Limiting images and videos to just the OP would seriously reduce any interaction of ideas and understanding of processes. Anyone really following the thread or even reading the posters comments made along with the inserted image can easily understand what is happening. If you go that route you may as well just lock out any interaction with the community in a project showcase. I think any limitation of the exchange of ideas would be a true mistake. As is, I don't see any issue to fix.
The only issue that could effect any project showcase would be an abusive poster. This has happened in the past the admin has removed them from the forum.
Just my opinion.
@Dave,
I disagree. In a normal thread, you are of course correct, anyone should be able to post whatever they want, but a Project Showcase should "belong" to the original poster. If the forum didn't push the latest pictures up to the top of the showcase, my opinion might be different, so there are clearly multiple possible solutions to the issue, but fxfrst should not need to keep adding his pictures back into the thread just to have the showcase display "Alan" vs someone else's pictures.
(the other) Alan
@Alen, I see your point and do understand where you guys are coming from. However I just hate to see exchanges of ideas shut down. If the biggest complaint is what image is showing as the Showcase then there is a simple solution (Hopefully as I don't know what would need to be changed in the coding of this forum). I think a good solution would be to have an option for the OP of a Project Showcase to be able to chose one pic or video thumbnail as a Showcase Display. That would give us the power to show off the best or latest example of our robot and not limit creative interaction. I've often wanted to change the picture that shows on my one and only project showcase and cant seem to figure out how to do it. I also don't want to or think I should have to hack around to do this.
I'm going to start another thread asking EZ Robot to take a look at doing this. I dont want to divert Will's project more then we already have. Sorry Will. Back to your Android.
@Dave, Yes there will be many colors and even different genders offered if the campaign is successful. There will be an online store offering these products and eventually upgrades to parts to make more movements like brows and lip movement just to name a few. Because its a kit we are encouraging people to customize, the voices will be any SAPI5 voice the user has or purchases separate from ALAN and used with Windows.
Thanks for the Kudos on the presentation, I'm glad people are responding well to it!
@dave pt2. I agree with a standard thread, but disagree on a project thread, altho if changes were made where if someone posted a picture in your project and it DID NOT go into the gallery images would be acceptable. As an example as it is now, if I goto your B9 project page and post a picture of my grandma, it will show up in your gallery. Something I think would take away from what you have displayed there?!?
@Alan and Aerius, yes you guys get it, thanks for supporting me on this.
Now all this said if i had been dealing with a rational person, when i asked him to remove his image to remove it from the gallery as I did with NOMAD, then this would be a slightly muted issue. But because he is not rational or sane, it escalated into a fury of emails threatening to steal the designs of ALAN and reproduce and I quote:
"i think i will take all of those pictures and work my magic remake alan here using AutoCAD and Photoshop 3D print him and use one of those stupid ez boards with its free software "
And to that Frank Lopez...my attorneys will be calling you soon.