I got my kit and then started kicking around ideas of what I wanted him to look like. I wanted him to be something different. So I began searching the internet for one eyed creature/robot.
I was playing with ideas and then I watched Despicable Me and was like oh that's it!!!!
I got my kit. Decided to use the 5" round base 5" base so this is why I am using the 2.5 Amp Motor Controller.
I used a Quaker Oats tall can. Yes oatmeal. ;o) I then took rigid wrap Rigid Wrap This stuff is like a cast if you've never worked with it. I wanted strong but light weight.
Now it's hard and you can drill etc. I then took a bowl and formed the head. I then took a yellow t-shirt and made the body. I then took liquid latex and put several coats on to make it where the fabric is durable but would move.
There are some foam thingies that stick up to help support the bowl portion that makes the top of the head.
That then fits on top. The camera goes into the white leather eye ball so that it can move around. I then took a Stage 8 nut and traced it on foam sheets to make the part for around the eye. I made the head band thing with leather scraps. It is now black.
I made the original arms with the same foam stuff that holds up the head but they were really too heavy for the servos. They worked but would drop once they were lifted. So I am redesigning those. (I am not ready to move on to incorporating other servos, next one, already have a project in mind and may enlist assistance)
To color the liquid latex. I put a few coats on then mixed in the black paint and added another coat. No good if you paint it then put the latex, it gets all funky. You have to mix it in the latex.
Then the overalls are just an old jean leg, the little pocket is the little inside pocket. It is also covered in latex to give it the same look.
I am adding a mp3 trigger. I found some minion ringtones. Some of them saying little things from the movie and the theme song, "I'm having a bad day". Started playing with the triggers.
I still need to figure out all the permanent wiring stuff for power. He is not fully functional yet.
Will update later.
Other robots from Synthiam community
Cardboardhacker's M2d2-The Diy Miniture R2d2 By...
Ezang's My Tightrope Robot Without The Squeak, Sorry For The...
haha! arms look cool!
Lol! Looks like It's going to be a fun robot!
So far he has been fun and frustrating.
Little back door.
I will also be adding a speaker. Ordered some supplies. Arms are still in the works. The foam stuff I am using has wire in it so it's bendable.
Here's what he looks like all done up.
With no arms.sick!!!!
Thank you!
looks very good,very good work might latter add sonar or IR'S for navigation there 3 types of sonars ,one is HC-SR04 you need 2 holes,cheap,another is ez-maxsonar one hole cost $25 and SRF02 single hole I2C buss cost $25 single hole blends in well like a button on the pants or shirt
Love it sam!!!
@Robotmaker... He has the ping sensor that comes with the kit. If you look lower toward his base you can see that. It kind of blends into the jeans pretty well. I forgot about that part.
I still need to put hair on him too. I want to take some black wire pieces to use for hair.
Thanks DJ!!!!! Can't wait to see the MF booth. 1 week :o)
where is the MF booth,right now in cleveland ,ohio for a work trip,then in 2 months going to clearwater,fla to my my favorate dolphin WINTER from dolphin tale ,then ALASKA
I almost want to give it a hug , poor underpaid minions... Lol
The Maker Faire is in San Mateo, CA. DJ Sures said he will be there. I am a Bay Area local and already have my tickets to the Maker Faire. :o) I am excited if you can't tell.
@JS yeah this poor guy works for even less. Well doesn't work quite yet. It's getting there.
but the poor guy has a pretty lady creating him i wont be able to make the maker faire this year
I love this idea, he is really unique!!!
Awww thank you robotmaker. Very sweet!
Thank you Bret. I was going for something different.
That is Nice work!
Mel
Great work!!!!! very original.......Great job.....how big is it?.....will it be moving? what are you using to make it move?
Yes! It will be on wheels. If you look at the first post. I have links for the base I am using. So far it does not move. Place order and waiting for some additional items. Almost done.
@Sam,
What a great idea you had with your minion. That is just awesome! Can't wait to see your minion in action! Very crafty you are!
v/r
Kevin
my older sister in crafts alot,like stainglass works,tiling tables that she found in a trash piles,and ceramic stuff and more,my youngest sister has a art major,about the same stuff plus making all natural oils from scratch,me not great in art only science and biology top high school honors very in to animal rights,love all types of animals ,almost as much i love ROBOTS BEEN TO MOST ZOO'S IN USA and one in china
you should make the minion glow like a glowstick ike the one in the movie that would be cool
Thats a great idea. I have been thinking about some sort of lighting. Any ideas?
Just get some 12volt EL wire of the color of your choice. search ebay or amazon. Nine foot of glowing blue is only under $20.
Mel
also glass flex tubing with a led will work,sparkfun has it cheap
if its body dosen't completly block out light the easiest way would be to put a bunch of bright led's on the inside.
I will have to play with that.... Hmmmm
He needs to glow light a glow stick.
I really hope this is done for maker faire!
Oh DJ I doubt it. Only one week. Still waiting on some wiring stuff.
even if it doesn't work, it'll be great to see in real life
Yea no kidding , here in Atlanta they have awesome comicons / sci-fi conventions and stuff. Atlanta has money and huge population. Maybe I.can convince some of the USA guys to come over here.
Ok point taken. Will bring him.
moar!!!!!!!! pics.......please.
Minion gets hair....
Lol I love it
looks like a hairbrush lol but i see its black wire ,clever idea
OK after working on him for 2 days he's ready for his visit to Maker Faire but he won't be moving. I was able to steal parts from other things while I am waiting on my order. It finally shipped today.
For some reason his base isn't working. I got the 2.5 Amp Motor Controller all wired up tried moving them around and nothing happens. The light turns on so it's getting power. Would be nice to get this working.
@DJ - I do not plan on bring a computer to MF. Should I bring his file on a flash drive or email it to you so you can check him out?
All put together....
Clever! I love it! Can't make it to MF, sudden change in plans. Would have loved to see this little guy.
Will
Awww... Was hoping you'd make it.
Me too! Work obligations are in the way...again. dang those day jobs. Maybe DJ will be at another CA event soon.
Awww.. yes a day job.....
i have a perfect job,work at home making very good money,travel the world and work on my robots all the time
I want your job
need a degree in electronics
Can I pin your robot on Pinterst Robot Board?
Sima
Hello Sima,
I don't care.
Samantha
Thanks! It's so CUTE!
I'm still trying to get a good video of him.
Lighting is everything. Make sure that the lighting is behind you not in back of the robot.
I think your Robot would be great, hovering around a bar with a Martini on a tray... Looking forward to your creativity on video..
Sfoy- what are you using for a drive system? Any pictures?
@ Hazbot.... He's little and top heavy. He couldn't carry anything. Haha!
@J... I have him on a 5" Pololu base with Tamiya gearbox and dc motors. Funny thing is that I can't really go past 50% pwm or it's too much.
Ok sfoy - so the drinks are on hold, but as I am developing my robots mobility at the moment I'm curious as to what battery you are using for your DC motors. Sounds like it has grunt (good current range) via your description of having to limit your pwm to 50%.
Yes it does. I am using the battery pack that came with the ez-b.
Hi sfoy, what a great idea for a robot and I like the way you have made it too, sweet! You are very creative and you like robotics too, that is awesome. I totally like your Minion robot, great work!
Kristian.
@sfoy should be able to upgrade the motors to a higher torque
Kristian... Thank you. Have you seen the movie?
@Robotmaker.... Yeah but the minion was a little fun project. I am not planning on doing any upgrades for him. The little base provides plenty enough power. I am using the motors that came with the gear box.
Poopie part is I can only play with him on a table. He can't go far enough away from my computer to get off the carpet. He's too top heavy to go on the carpet. He falls.
Yes, I have seen the movie. Despicable me, turns out he was not so despicable after all huh? I liked the movie. I espescially love the car and its matching garage lol. You could make a lot of those Minions too and have them perform different tasks. Do you watch a lot of movies?
Is it possible to add some weight on the bottom to counter act the weight above?
might need to shift the weight around be better,main reason adding more weight meens need more torque from the motor a lot of robot makers dont check the full load of the robot design,then they need to make changes for extra torque,witch is sometimes a lot of rework
when i design robots i find about weight the robot will handle and carry ,like a beer then add extra weight and then find the motors to match it same with batteries,i found how current is needed for every sensor,motors,servo's and electronics and add it up,and then see how long i want the robot to be on without charging always do this first ,then measure the weight with my battery design i have a very long list of designing a perfect robot with out mistakes or very little might do a post on it
Yeah I don't have enough room for a bunch of them. Hahahhaa... and the design is really for fun I wanted them to look like them so he has very little functionality.
The base is only 5" and it's pretty tight in there so not much room for weight.
Samantha
That is true. I think though, if sfoy has sufficiant torque already and even has to limit the PWM to 50%, then adding a little weight might be more practical without having to change a lot about the robot itself, that would really be a shame because it's sweet looking just as it is.
I think that most of the weight is from the material it is made of, it would be hard to shift the weight without starting over and changing it's entire construction. The camera is also adding weight and probably is the major part that is shifting the weight to the top. Though the cam isn't al that heavy I'm guessing and can easily be compensated for, the rest is mostly the Minion itself.
Just a bit more weight on the bottom might just make that difference between falling over and maintaining stability. You could simply place something in there just to see how far of an effect it really has. Then you could think about what kind of object of similar weight and various shapes could be added.
oops, I didn't see your last post haha. Never mind the weight thing.
Kristian.
All the weight is at the bottom. It's not very heavy at all. It's really that it's on a 5" base that's maybe an inch from the ground. If he's on a flat surface he's great. But the base is really small and he's about 17" tall.
He cant move off my carpet in my room (where pc is located) because of the bluetooth.
Oh haha I'm sorry Samantha, I miss understood.
And yeah, having hundreds of them might be a little too much. I do like your Minion though, it certainly looks the part and it's just very original. Very cool.
mostly it batteries are at the bottom to balance the weight,mostly what i meant about shifting weight
I completly missunderstood, my apologees.
Did you have already have new ideas for a project Samantha? I'm curious to see more of your work.
Kristian.
Yes actually my next project is in the works. I am hacking a robosapien, for his torso. I am using the head from ottobot. I may be using a hearoid omni bit for lower body. Got mini itx. So he will not need a computer. He will have ai.
That sounds really cool. I can't wait to see some pics.
That does sound cool, I can't wait either.
Yeah we'll see what happens.....
i have a robosapien with a remote in perfect condition,but i dont think yet i am going to hack him if i do ,will get another one sounds very cool your next robot hack
Robotmaker - Well you are providing the base. I have the sharper image Robosapien that is chrome. I think he will look nice. The other parts will probably be painted black....
PS. DJ said in new release Robosapien will be supported.... :o) I was going to use an arduino hack.... But thanks to DJ.... Woo hoo!
How is Minion doing?
yes SFOY how are you doing we all miss you and i would like to know the MINON is doing too also have a blessed mery christmas and a happy new year
scanning......scanning...... where is the rest off the topic? blush