ZOE : a machine that resembles a living creature in being capable of moving independently

Cool! Looking forward to this!

Great looking robot will it have legs, or tracks or wheels?

I have been running thru some issues printing, because my new filament spools did not match to my filament holder... So I had to print a new holder, which was a nice little side project! While I was at it, I also setup OctoPi, which is a good tool that acts like Pronterface,  but also offers cool features like live webcam stream and timelapse features for various cameras!

https://octoprint.org/download/

I will this thread updated on my build progress...

@nallycat My robot sits on top of a filament spool next to my monitor, its kind of  desktop bound ... I was thinking to mount it on a tripod like you guys do it with your InMoovs, because where would it go anyways right? I might explore movement options at some point in the future out of curiosity though.

After sorting out some issues with my printer, I can go on to vapor smoothing and painting my prints...

Sweet! Looking great so far @Mickey666Maus!

Keep the pics coming, looking forward to seeing Zoe come to life!

@Mickey666Maus Zoe is looking Good  is this the second one, I like the Rose color on Zoe number one, wait that is the color of synthiam.     what does Zoe have for arms and hands or grippers.

@Jeremie I will be away for two weeks starting Tuesday. When I am back I will continue to keep posting on this one!!!

@nallycat The first picture was just a 3D image...only the idea of how I want the robot to look!! Now that I have printed the parts I can start building it!! I am happy you like the first picture better, because that is the way I want to go!!  I will build Grippers that look like hands!! And will try to put Zoe together when I am back from my trip!!

So finally I could make some time to continue with my new project... I tested the Dynamixel AX-12A and theLewanSoul LX16-A servos and decided to go for for LX 16-A...

I was kind of counterbalancing the ideas of having a well known brand which is fabricating consistent products, and is very known ( so there is a good forum and you will always find help for stuff that you cannot figure out by yourself )... And the cheaper product, which has not been around for that long and seems to be a bit like the cheap replica of the first one mentioned.

The thing that made me go for the LX 16-A was on one hand the price, which is one third of the Dynamixel, but mainly it was the ease of use...

I tried a lot to get the Dynamixel servo going, but driving it directly from my Raspberry Pi was not working for me!

But for the LX 16-A, I found a good library on Github, which works perfect, and can be used without any tweaking to control those servos with my Raspi!  https://github.com/maximkulkin/lewansoul-lx16a

Also these servos are doing great with ARC so I do not loose any functionality of the ARC software!!

So I got down to design and print some parts, and am getting ready to move on with my robot!!

Hmmmm I cannot upload pictures...that is weird!!

It always gives me a comment already posted message...

edit

Now I got it to work...it seems like I had to post text and/or wait before I press the Submit Changes button? Strange...it would be nice if someone could look into this!

These are the parts that I managed to print so far, I hope I can make time to build the missing ones soon!

And now comes the sad chapter of salvaging the parts from my former robot project!! I will try to keep at least the servo functionality, some boards will have to go though...

Looking cool! Hope to see more soon.

Next step is to remodel the head, to fit a Raspberry Pi Zero...that is what happens if you are rushing a conceptual design before gathering all the parts!!

That’s pretty wild looking. What is the base of the pole holding the body?

It is just a tripod...so maybe I need a more sturdy tripod or some other kind of base! I guess those Inmoov robots are also sitting on a tripod right?

How did you get the one in your office stabilized and not tripping over when lifting an arm?

Our inMoov has a couple bases, one is a heavy wheel chair base with a heavy 12V battery and the other is a toilet flange mounted to a piece of wood that can be clamped to a solid table. *Edit added a picture

Screwing the whole thing to some heavy base was also something I considered!! But the tripod is kind of nice, because it makes the robot very portable...

Thanks for the pic, nice setup!!

Hey, I am having another question here, I was looking at a lot of robot builds and the setup is most of times kind of the same as I build it...

But now that I started to do some motion tests, I realized how much weight there is on those shoulder servos. Its the weight combined with the angle, that worries me a bit!

Would you keep the design as it is, or should I add some stress relive to those shoulder joints?

I was thinking of building something kind of like a big ball-bearing, maybe using soft air bullets... The diameter would be the same as the shoulder hinge, and could help stabilizing this particularly heavy loaded joint?

Or maybe even buying a crossed roller bearing could be an option, since it can handle the load in axial and radial direction?

Very cool work! Hope to see ZOE moving about soon.

reinforments is always a good thing.your desing is stunning.

Hey Mickey, That's a really nice looking design. Artistic and functional. Great job so far.

Thanks guys... I was getting a bit bonkers and added 58mm bearings to stabilize my shoulder servos!! I will make some movement tests soon, lets see if I can feel a difference!! I might use some smaller bearings for the elbow joints though!!

So now the new shoulder fittings are done, also the new reinforced torso area will hopefully help to stabilize movement! Since I am deviating from my first concept anyways, I will rework the head to fit two oleds... Should be fun!!

I am making some tests for OledEyes and a NeoPixel ring... I will try to come up with a nice head design, lets see where this takes the whole project!

I love the Oled for the eyes, looks very effective.

Where did you get them from, are they expensive?

Wow - this is coming along so well!! Really impressed dude!

@cem Thanks, I like the look of the oleds too...they are from Adafruit and come in different flavours. Mostly around 20 bucks, so not a bargain, but kind of OK, considering how it changes the robots look and personality! Next thing on my list is to come up with expressions for the eyes, which should be a fun thing to do, I will post my ideas as soon as I got them ready!

@ DJSures I am stoked you like the new design! It deviates a lot from my original concept, as I keep adding more hardware, but its kind of nice to see the project unfolding as I go...I will make a new head design soon to bring ZOE to life!! Btw, I would like to ask you for help on something, but only if this is not too much trouble...I am connecting my servos with a hub from LewanSoul. The LewanSoul BusLinker is a TTL/USB Debug Board, which supplies power to the servos and connects via USB... So at the moment I am using Python on Windows/Raspian to drive my servos, it would be very cool to have a plugin that connects from ARC the same way. Then switching between my Python scripts and ARC projects would be easy as cake! No need for re-wiring, just plug and play! If its too much trouble for you to do this, maybe you could share the source code of the plugin and I will try to figure it out myself? Would be a very handy thing to have for ARC integration!

This is how my setup works, it would be very cool if I can use it the same way with ARC, so it would eliminate the need to re-wire if I switch between projects!

The source code is in the plugin page: https://synthiam.com/Products/Manual/Dynamixel-16142

Thanks, I just checked at the LewanSoul plugin page..So I guess the Dynamixel plugin works the same its been a while since I used it! I will see if I can figure out whats going on...

Oooops - I misunderstood. Here's the link to the LewanSoul smart servo control that has the source code: https://synthiam.com/Products/Manual/LewanSoul-Servo-15987

I might be able to lend a hand...

• Does the usb controller use the regular smart servo protocol?

• And does it detect as a COM port serial device on the PC?

• Why wouldn't you use the EZ-B or IoTiny or Arduino with them?

Hey, I am using this library to drive my servos...

https://github.com/maximkulkin/lewansoul-lx16a

There is not much to that board, just an integrated circuit and a voltage regulator, if I remember it correctly. I will check once more once I am home!

All you need is to specify the COM port and send the servos protocol.

It is a lot easier to use than an Arduino, because you do not need to run any Firmware...you can directly connect by sending the Protocol! Also you are having the hub with the right connections and you can get the servos powered!

Its kind of like those Dynamixel Power Hubs...very convenient!!

If it is not too much to ask, I would be very happy if you could help me with a plugin...this would be a very hard task for me, if I could even manage to get it done!!

I checked the board, its got one USB to serial chip.. CH340 The other one seems to be the following integrated circuit... 74hc126d

Can't promise it'll work - but try this update: https://synthiam.com/Products/Manual/LewanSoul-Servo-15987

It works!!! Now ZOE can have ARC integration even easier than ever!!!

I just installed the EZBPi server to ZOEs new head design...so this will be the fresh brain to operate my project!! I am still having a bit of trouble with my Pi Camera, but I will update ARC and the EZBPi Server and try again!

Very happy to see ARC being tightly connected to my robots new design!!!

There’s an update (hopefully next week) to fix tbt pi camera performance. We have a few things to do before that but it’ll be ready to go soon.

Also, for mono version of ARC is getting an update from beta.

Great news...looking forward to the update!! And with the Raspberry Pi 4 the ARC on Mono will be getting a huge leap in performance too!!

So I tried to come up with a new head design, which fits the oleds... I already printed it, but given how much effort I put in the first place to keep things compact and organized, the head is cartoonishly oversized!!

I might tweak it or give it another try...but for the fun of it I will assemble the print I guess, so you guys can see how it looks like!!

Actually I love the look of this head. I see no reason a robot cant have a part of his body that's over sized or oddly shaped. Remember Marvin the depressed robot from Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy?

Thanks a lot for the feedback!! I am happy you like my design!! It was a bit difficult to keep it to proper dimensions, the oleds are shaped weirdly...

Now that Zoe looks a bit like an owl or a small monkey, I hope it will help adding some personality to a bunch of servos!!

I will redesign the head a little bit to safe some space here and there, but keep the basics of my first iteration!

Marvin is GREAT!!! What a persona, right?

How's the new ezbpi server firmware working for you with the camera performance?

@DJSures I had a few things going on this weekend, so I was a bit delayed in testing the new firmware, but this morning I had the chance to do so!! I am very impressed by how smooth the camera stream runs even on my Raspberry Pi Zero which sits in ZOE's head!! This is great, once I assembled the new parts I will try and put together a demo to show the capabilities of the new EZBPi server!

So there was a bit of delay building the head... I had a damaged boot partition on my Raspbian, which taught me another lesson of ALWAYS BACKUP!!!  But eventually fsck saved me from a rainy day...

When I did some movement test I realized, 3d printed threads are no use when there is force applied... So I had to remodel the torso for better stability.

Also the new speaker and the NeoPixel needed to be attached to the body.

There is still a bit to go, but I hope I can soon print my new head and do some EZBPi server demo... The new improved camera performance and the LX16A being directly connected via COM is a great improvement for ZOE when running ARC!

I hope I can show some performance tests soon...

I am really mesmerized by the reflection of those NeoPixels on the speaker... I guess eventually I should use them for a head design, where they will be the robots eyes!!

Just something that crossed my mind for future projects...

I am getting closer to the final head design..., I managed to reduce the head size by roughly 40% while keeping a lot of the features that I liked about the first design, which was way to big for what I had in mind in the first place!!

Looking great, nice work reducing the head size!

your printing skills are very good.

Thanks, guys!!!

There will be still a bit of tweaking some details, but I am happy to be making progress...

Hey, so I hooked ZOE up to ARC and everything works quiet well! Only I realized that I am not able to flip the Raspberry Pi's camera, I get the following error message...

Error Camera.SetCaptureImage: AForge.Imaging.UnsupportedImageFormatException: Source pixel format is not supported by the filter. bei AForge.Imaging.Filters.BaseTransformationFilter.CheckSourceFormat(PixelFormat pixelFormat) bei AForge.Imaging.Filters.BaseTransformationFilter.Apply(BitmapData imageData) bei AForge.Imaging.Filters.BaseTransformationFilter.Apply(Bitmap image) bei EZ_B.Camera.x5wORRJh49(Object )

I had to increase the size of Zoes head slightly. There was a bit of the electronics sticking out and I was trying to build a chin area to cover it, but this was changing the whole look in a way that was not really what I had in mind while building. So I went for remodeling the chassis holding the electronics from a vertical setup to a horizontal one... now the head has a little more volume, but this will also allow space to fit another micro controller if needed!

All the electronics are fitting nicely into the modified head... Next thing will be modeling a torso area!

But since all the moving parts are done, I might also export the robot to Unity, so I can start testing movements. I am also considering Oculus Quest integration...any thoughts on this?

Nice! I like the head.

Good to hear that you like the new head design...took me a while to fit all the electronics!!  But now I am happy that everything is in place and I can move on!!

Nice job with the lewansoul servo setup.

Can’t wait to see your set up and motions thru unity!

Hey guys, I am experiencing my Pi Zero to be very unstable, it browns out a lot... so I measured the Voltage at the power pins which is 4.98V, and it is hooked up th my 20A Power Supply! But I am using these type of jumper cables...so I am wondering if the diameter might not be enough to provide power to the Pi Zero and the Vision Bonnet?

Actually, now that I took those cables out to measure the Voltage, everything seems to be working fine!! One of those jumper wires that provide power to the Pi, might have gotten loose and cause the Pi to reset... I am keeping my fingers crossed!!

A quick update on my progress with the Oculus Quest... I still need to tweak my setup a bit, sometimes the positions are getting a bit messed up. But hopefully I will be able to control ZOE, using the hands and the head tracking!

I am having a lot of fun, lets see what I can get done here...

......there you go! that's working out nicely. Love to see Zoe moving in real time to that set up. Do you have that set up yet? Are you running into anything with the arms like gimble lock? Or they behaving correctly?

I guess it might be something like that...I will have to check the BioIk setup, did you keep working with it?

But it should be sorted out soon, so I can move on to live movement!

Those serial bus servos should be working very well for this, but as always...there will be quiet a bit of fine tuning I guess!!

I will keep you posted on my progress!!

No, I have not messed around with BioIK since my last test. I'm thinking about hiring out a programmer to make a custom control for ARC using OPENGL to built out a animation program with built in IK. It basically would be a self contained arena where you can import FBX project files, record, playback and edit animation sequences in block form, and eventually have support for live mocap input. We have pieces and parts of this but I want to move it all into one powerful control. But we have to wait for DJ to finish his rebuild of the program, encase some things have big changes!

I am very curious about your setup!! You said in a previous post, you are about to show something big!!

I guess, my setup will take a bit of time and some tinkering, but it should work!!

But it does require costly hardware and I am fully aware that there are a lot of people out there, not considering this for an option!!

So bear with my for the ride, and excuse me for putting all this external hardware to the playground...after all I guess I am just a tech geek!!

This is the followup for my previous clip... It showed how the virtual robot is being moved inside of the Oculus Quests environment, but the interesting thing was to transfer these movements to my robot in real time!

It took a while to set all those servos up correctly, good to have a printer when your robot is ripping itself apart!!  But after a few broken joints, the setup is working!!

There is still a lot to tweak, maybe my mapping function needs fine tuning,  I will have to add grabbing and will have to import a live video stream...

But I am happy that at least the basics are already working, and wanted to share my progress!!

so stunning.zoe lookin awesome.

I agree with Nomad,  Zoe is lookin amazing.

Great progress Mickey!

Thanks guys....it will be even more fun when I got the head moving and those hands will be able to pick up stuff!!

I am still having a few issues, and was fearing ZOE would knock her head of, so I will play safe on that one!!! Also a camera is essential, the Quest has a build in camera... but I did not know that it will kick you out from the app, if your are using it for an extended period of time.

But I am having a blast here and will keep you guys updated, thanks for the positive feedback!!

Some pictures take at today's exhibition, where I participated with ZOE!

http://parallelwelten.info/programm/

edit For anyone interested, the site is http, so you would have to manually paste it to your browser!!

hi mickey

the link doesn work for me.

Dont worry, its just the programm of the exhibition...and its in German!!

Symthiam does not allow links without https certificate, which is totally cool! But if you want to visit the site, you need to copy and paste!

Zoe is looking awesome! I like the mini ARC reactor you added, very stylish

Thanks a lot...I added some more functionality, for the grippers and eyes. I will try to make a short clip and show how it works! And I might continue to add a tilt and swivel to the torso!

It was fun to show my robot in public...first time for ZOE to leave the house!!

A little update on gripper functionality and Oled  control... I still need to tweak the setting of the Oculus Quests control over ZOE a bit, I nearly ripped her to pieces the other day! But that's more or less just an issue of how the Quest is dealing with the user leaving the guardian space! Using the passthrough camera is also not optimal for controlling the robot, it kind of works, but distortion is still strong. Even after the update!!

But things are evolving, so lets see how far I can push it!!

that is very cute.love the movements with hands and head same time.

Hey guys...have not had much time for robot building lately, but at least I finally got to build a simple website for the project!

zoe.build.log

Hope you guys like it!!

Finally got to do some Robot Sunday again...and made a little clip on what I was doing, hope you guys like it!!

@Mickey666Maus    You made the clip on Sunday that is impressive. I love what you have accomplished with Zoe.  and Zoe.build.log is also quite impressive.  Love your work.  Thanks

Ya great bot dude! I always like to take sunday off and just do nothing. I also just like to work on 1 system at a time and then leave the rest for next day. reason for that is because I sometimes get frustrated if I work on something too long. Same with video games in the past ,I would toss the controller into a wall if I can't get past a level. I have had to buy several new PS3 controllers,LOL! I do really enjoy the whole EZB experience though, Such a huge learning curve,actually has improved my memory significantly,I don't forget my many passwords anymore on the net! Seriously,the EZB system has so many controls in ARC software,hard to ever get bored and always learning something new every day.

Oops, I guess it should officially be called the Synthiam ARC system and ARC software? EZB controller is still EZB.

Very cool work, nice movements.

Hey guys, glad you liked it...it was actually a very long session, because I had to modifiy the code and setup Teachable Machine. After I staged my lighting and filmed everything, cutting the clip also took me a while!

I do have more things in mind, hope I will find the time to get it done, and keep the forum posted!

So while being grounded, I did some more tests on Teachable Machine... I had some false positives when rearranging the figures, guess I was to noisy!!

But all in all, it worked quiet well...just wanted to share the progress, easy to integrate with ARC and fun to play with!!

Awesome! Looking good. Yes crazy times a lot of time to build robots and record!

Yes, these are crazy times...but lets make the best of it!! Stay safe and healthy!!

How do you get Unity to work with a real robot? My robot Dave wants Unity and VR controls.

Hey, I am also still working on it...there is a ton of possibilities!!

But there is no template, that is ready to use. So if you are having a VR device, maybe start with a simple scene just to understand how the whole setup works...I can take you from there!

Just remember that in order to do this, you need the robots .stl files!!

So having some time to spend, I decided to dive a bit deeper into VR...not yet directly related to robotics, but I am already planning use a Mixed Reality Scenario like this one in the future for ZOE!!

Its also a fun way to spend my time, since my flight was canceled...so I am having a VR vacation instead!!

Such a cute island you have. Sadly I still have to go to work everyday. Second shift gets 2 paid weeks off. I have been having a blast with VR in Unity. I would love to control my robots with my Rift S. I made my own 3d printed robot Dave, so I do have the STL files. I also have Dave in Unity running and jumping and having fun.

Hey, all of this sounds very good...it should be fairly easy to set up your robot! It might take a little time to tweak it all, so maybe just hit me up using the Contact Form on ZOEs website?

Then we can get things going, while not spamming the thread with all those finicky details...

zoe.build.log

@Mickey666Maus  You would not be spamming this thread, finicky details are what we need, there is little action on Synthiam lately and this would be a pleasant addition, You think that more members are stuck at home would have at least more things to talk about, but that is not the case.  I will be starting my robot projects all over again, as soon as ARC leaves Bata.  looking for a 3d Printer robot  project to fill the time.  no one is willing to  give up their .STL files.

If anyone is interested in building a ZOE, I could make a Github repo with all the .stl files... Just remember that I am using those Lewansoul LX16-A servos, you might want to check if they are available! You would need 14 servos for the build...

Also the head is using the AIY Vision Kit from Google, but the robot does not loose much functionality when you'll just use a Raspberry Pi Zero...

Just let me know guys!!

@Mickey666Maus   Thanks for the offer, have to check out the lewansoul LX16-a servos.  I think I have a few Lewansoul servos not sure what type they are, I will have to have a look.

Sure, just let me know and I will set you up with your ZOE asap...

Hey, since we are all stuck at home... I figured, if anyone would like to print ZOE, I should make the files available!!

Thingiverse seems to be having issues... So the files are hosted on Prusa, which is anyways the preferable DIY site!

Meet ZOE

I uploaded all the files for the head and torso assembly, and will update during the week!!

Whoever is up for the challenge lets put ZOE up for Exosphere!!

@Mickey666Maus  Thanks for making the files available to print.  I was wondering if you have the head with the small eyes still available.  If not don't worry .

@nallycat I would love to see some remixes of my old concepts! Are you talking about the early version like the one in post #4, or the later developed frame in post #21?

The very early version from #4 has no frame to connect the head and servo. I did build some structure for the Pi Camera and two screw holes... So if you would like to see how far I got, and make your own frame, I would be very curious to see your approach!

The frame from post #21 is a fully functional design, which has two single Neo Pixels for eyes. I also hosts the AIY Vision kit and a Pi camera... It will give ZOE a technical more robotic look, rather than the actual design which is a bit more cute and appealing. ZOE should be a socially interactive robot, so the new design will hopefully encourage engagement!

I might print one now that I’ve finished with Perry’s eye robot. Except I’ll modify the parts to use ezrobot hdd servos because the I’m not a fan of the weakness of the lewansoul servos.

I’ll also delete the pi and google aiy, because they don’t do much. And replace with a latte panda and arc. The time I spent with aiy was extremely disappointing - which is why there’s no example use cases of anyone doing anything with it. Except having a pen become a bassoon... Ill use the cognitive vision because it actually works (lol) and can add pandoraBot with bing speech to have conversations with.

Oh I just had another idea. I’ve been such a fan of the iRobot roomba as a base lately. Mostly because it can self dock for charging - but I’m gonna put a stand and attach it. Oh that’ll be real good. With a tray and cup holder so he can deliver stuff with exosphere. Ya this will be awesome - gonna give him a good life

it’ll be neat to create a bunch of Auto Position frames and a bit of servo recording to make animations using two wiimotes. That’s been very successful for me to do a bunch of stuff.

glad you’re releasing it because I can make it do some great stuff! Thanks! Keep up the great designs

@Mickey666Maus  I was leaning more to the early version #4   I like the cute look and it would be a more socially interactive robot.:D

This is such a generous offer Mickey. Awesome design. I wish I had a 3D printer and knew how to use it. I'd do this for sure.

I know this is off topic of the OP but speaking of iRobot and self charging, Has anyone found a way to make that little robot dock better then it does? Most of the time mine try to dock but just swings back and forth trying to hook up. Then it gets tired of that dance an goes back out for a stroll. I think part of the problem is the charging base moves around when the robot is on top of it trying to find home.

Clean your roomba. And make sure the connector pads on the bottom are clean. And the connectors on the charger. I have 3 roombas that always docked when i get home. If they don't dock, i clean the pads and the roomba sensors and the charger sensors.

I had to glue the charging dock to a thin metal plate so my roomba could dock easier. It drives onto the plate and docks.

If you have an old 400 series Roomba they pretty much sucked at docking. Hit or miss as it were.... I have a few 400 series but I also have a couple of Roomba 650's and they pretty much have no issues finding and docking to their home base...

@nallycat Supercool that you are fan of my early head concept, its available at Thingiverse now... I put it separate, not to be confused with the updated head design! Let me know if you are running into any issues!

Download Model

I am looking forward to see your remix!!!

@DJSures I am super stocked that you will print a ZOE, and I like the idea of having EZ-Robot HDD servos added. While you are at it you should also remodel the head frame to host the EZ-B IoTiny and the EZ - B Camera, I already checked and realized that there is enough space to do so!

Good thing about a powerful software like ARC is, that it supports all kinds of hardware...

Also I like the idea of the Latte Panda, the LattePanda Alpha has really good specs!!

It will be great to see your improved remix of ZOE!!

I updated all the parts...happy printing!!  If anyone runs into issues, let me know!! Complete Parts To Print ZOE

hey mickey

thank you for uploading the files.do you have a link from zoe's eyes?

Sure, I got them from Adafruit...

In addition you will need the AIY Vision Kit to build the head, but you can also just use a Raspberry Pi Zero and the Pi Camera... Let me know if you need more info on anything! I will update the assembly instructions soon!

ZOE Eyes

Thanks mickey - i'm starting it this upcoming week

Hi Mickey  The early head download is not working at this time.. Is it because you just listed it?

Thingiverse is sadly going down the drain...really bad to see such a good website falling apart!! I reuploaded on Prusa!! Zoe Early Head

Great robot, thanks for all the videos, pictures...

It seems to me the JD robot can do some of this with the Microsoft Kinect,

I will try that, thanks

EzAng

Thanks Mickey I got the File, off of Prusa

@EzAng Never forget, a robot without a brain is nothing more than a bunch of servos...but we are having the power of ARC for breathing life into our creation! Now with Exoshpere the possibilities are endless!!

@nallycat Glad everything worked out now, share your progress on the remix!!

Good morning Mickey, nice yo hear from you.

I consider myself a newbie here, just learning as much as possible.

You always have great teaching lessons here, please keep it up, thanks.

side note, I have a friend here that teaches German at the Mercedes car plant.

Have any robot German conversation for him to decipher?  :-)

thanks again,

If you get a chance, test my robot on exosphere.

EzAng

hi mickey666maus

does the horn holes are desame as the horns from HDD servo's,

I am ready Nomad for you to test exosphere now

EzAng

Nomad, what 3d printer are you using?

EzAng

its an creality ender-3 build plate 22 cmx22cmx25 high. self build pakket.low cost 170 euro

Hey guys, unfortunately at the moment ZOE is only using LOBOT LX-16A servos they cost less than 20$/20 on Amazon... Those LX16-A servos are very easy to use with ARC, I chose them because cable management is very easy with Serial Bus Servos!

But you could also wait, because next week, @DJSures will remodel the parts, so you can also use EZ-Robot HDD servos!

Mickey, want to try Exosphere with my robot?

EzAng

hey mikey

i just printed the head.i can adjust averything els.

Nomad, I going to get a 3d printer, thanks EzAng

dont forget to order a glas bed too.and a uhu stick

glas bed too.and a uhu stick  ??

the uhu stick is for getting the print to stick on the build plate ( glas ) and better finich,

glas bed

ok I will look into it, thanks

EzAng

Hey Nomad, how did the print come out...I am happy it worked for you!!

I made some instructions for the Head Frame, which holds the Oleds, Camera and Pi... Just to show the basic assembly!

Feel free to modify the design for ARC HDD Servos, looking forward to see your build!!

Let me know if you are running into any issues!!

mickey

still printing the head.will last till tomorrow .17 houres lol

Hi Mickey  I have printed the neck parts I designed up and down right and left and I am printing the Original head slightly enlarged, as I am not using your suggestive eyes I will be using a mouth. The head has about 3 hours to go.  I still have to design the mouth Mechanics, still  just an idea. thanks again for giving us your files. this makes being trapped at home much more interesting.

Sweet!! So good to hear you guys are having fun!! I am really looking forward to see your ideas!!!

May the filament be with you!!

an army off zoe bots is comming on the horizon.xD

Lets arm them with confetti cannons!!

Mickey, how is the Creality 3D Printer CR-10S Pro V2 with BL Touch Auto-Level, Touch Screen, Large Build Volume 3D Printer 300mmx300mmx400mm with Capricorn PTFE ?

EzAng

Mickey, Nomad how is the Creality 3D Printer CR-10S Pro V2 with BL Touch Auto-Level, Touch Screen, Large Build Volume 3D Printer 300mmx300mmx400mm with Capricorn PTFE ?

EzAng

EzAng

i dont have a clue what the diff is.but start smal and work your way up. there alot off stuff to learn.bed leveling only can be a pain. i think even a auto bed leveling needs be checked.

I only have enough  and room to buy one, can't buy 2 or 3 like I see a lot of people do

EzAng

same here.but we are abusing mickey's topic here. i live in one room in the atick.:( haha

my robot stuff is taking over my house also, lol

EzAng

same here ,stuff and boxes robots avery where.:D

Can you use the MG996R 55g Metal Gear Torque Digital servo Motor?

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/4-Pack-MG996R-Torque-Digital-Helicopter/dp/B07MFK266B/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=servo&qid=1587516379&sr=8-10

EzAng

No,it only works with these servos!

https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B0748BQ49M/ref=psdc_2234131011_t1_B073XY5NT1

hi mickey

amazon dont chip to belgium.these are from bangood are they useble?

servo's lx

Hey Nomad, yes they are good...I ordered from Bangood myself!!

Only thing is that it takes a long time to arrive!!

hi mickey

great .chipping about 3 weeks,i know.these are about same as the lewansoul i gess.

These are exactly the servos that I am using... You need a total of 14 servos to build ZOE!

i am printing zoe 's body and hands nowxDalmost done.

Great going Nomad

EzAng

hey EaZang

here's another tip.build a kinda cast arround your printer. to keep the head inside.specially when using ABS . mine needs some glas doors or somethin.

I will make a not of this, thanks

What does that do?

EzAng

@EzAng    I think Nomad is telling you about adding an enclosure around your printer,  if you are printing ABS or Nylon and a few others these filaments cannot cool too fast as they will start to warp and could release from the print bed.  no drafts are allowed.  and you should allow the enclosure to heat a bit before printing also.

for excample it keeps the wind outside if you have a window open some where. you wanna keep all the heat that your machiene makes inside for makin good prints.

Thanks guys, I need all the tips I can get, lol

EzAng

nallycat, are you familiar with ROS?

EzAng

@EzAng  I have done some research into ROS  and this Robot operating system is a programming language, that can take quite a while to learn and become efficient.  As I am a robotist not a programmer I do not have the time to start learning ROS.  but who knows it my be usefull to learn.

Looks like Nomads printing is goin well,

EzAng

zoe says look into my eyes and i will hypnotize you,haha lol

What kind of servos, electronics are you going to use?

EZang

the ones mickey recoment.see link in post #149

i also found this looks same servo's very cheap.

lewansoul servo's

What board are you connecting the servo too?

Mickey uses raspberry board, and python I believe

Iotiny or EzB4 are better, what will you use/

LattePanda running Arc  is good

Wonder where Mr. ptp is in all this?

EzAng

for me iff possible ,the ezbv4 but i dont have a clue.:(

use the ezbv4  so you can get it to talk and all the rest

EzAng

i think zoe's eyes needs some diff controller.

use RGB's maybe ?

the eyes are bigger then rgb.

Use a ring of RGBs

see post #129 zoe's eyes.i think its best to follow the project. i hope i can learn alot.

:) OH zoe's body reddy.tomorrow printing the brackets.

@EzAng The head of ZOE is using the Raspberry Pi Zero, check the supported hardware... ARC can talk to the Raspberry Pi Zero and make use of the camera! ARC can make use of lots of different hardware, that is the great power of ARC!!

The Eyes are controlled by Python...please check the latest version of ARC, it is also supporting Python!

Lewan Soul servos are supported by ARC!!

Every single piece of hardware I am using can be controlled with ARC!

If you want to use the Iotiny or EzB4 it is not problem, it all works!! Just read the instructions DJ Sures provided here at the forum!!

@Nomad6R Great to see the progress!! Your prints are looking awesome!! So sad that those servos have such a long shipping, but I will help you to set up the Oleds and connect everything. Just let me know if you need any help!!

Hey, if you want to connect the body to a tripod...this is the tripod I am using! You can of course also use other hardware, just for your info!!

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07M8YTS72/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

hey mickey

i dont mind if the shipping takes some time.what do you think off the link in post#165 ? thank you very much for offering to help.i will need it.

And make sure you will also order this product together with the servos...you can get it from Aliexpress or Amazon!! It is really important to drive the servos!!!!!!!

https://www.amazon.de/LewanSoul-BusLinker-Debug-Board-LX-16A/dp/B073WRLJB2

It is much cheaper from China of course

https://www.aliexpress.com/i/4000786628654.html?spm=2114.12057483.0.0.4b346b4abT2pWY

I would actually recommend to buy a bunch of servos plus the board...its the best price you can get!

https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32966631680.html?spm=2114.12057483.0.0.bf486abeBJfpTD

cool the tri pod has same name zoe.i know there is a car with brand renauld  zoe.

If you buy the bundle you will get five servos plus the two boards for less than 100$...

so i need 3 kits then.

You could get three kits if you wanted to...but I guess 1 kit and the rest of those servos just as servos would be fine, because you only need one board! But its up to you!! I got a whole bunch of those servos!

i send them a mail and ask for 1 set and 10 extra servo's. for the eyes i need only this part x2 or set, correct? zoe eyes

That's correct!!

okay.to be able to use the eyes i need ?any pics about connecting the eyes?

@Mickey666Maus: Thanks for sharing your design. I've started the building process. I'm not good hacking designs so I'll follow your last design (OLED eyes).

Oleds: I've use the adafruit 128x64 is well supported both the oled driver API and high level libraries. There are 2 options I2C and SPI. I recommend SPI connection (faster) and I recommend adding a mini-controller to handle animations, and storing the bitmaps, and the low level computation. I've tried a few this is the one i recommend: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3800

Quote:

ATSAMD51 32-bit Cortex M4 core running at 120 MHz Floating point support with Cortex M4 DSP instructions 512 KB flash, 192 KB RAM 2 MB SPI FLASH chip

I've a old ROS project where i used OLEDS. I wrote a lot of firmware code and a ROS node, I'll resurrect the project and I'll adapt the firmware to allow an integration with ARC, maybe I can make a hybrid version linux & windows /ARC.

I'll share the progress later.

ptp, I was asking about you, saying when were you going to show up here, lol, and here you are.

Nomad, nallycat said (PETG )use Weldon 3 ? what for?

are there fumes?

EzAng

@EzAng   PETG  by itself is completely odourless it is food safe and can be put into a dishwasher, it is heat resistant.  if you need to join 2 printed pieces you use Weldon 3 it is a solvent joining method as PETG is an acrylic they use Weldon 3 to join sides on acrylic fish tanks and  you can guess how strong that has to be.  Weldon 3 is a solvent very thin and has a solvent smell like acetone but disipates when dry. you brush on both sides of parts to be joined and hold together you do not use much, too much will soften PETG and make it muchy.   ABS uses acetone to join printed parts, same process. hope this helps you    you should know ABS has a very strong smell when printing. I think you must not breath to much of these fumes. that is why I print mainly PETG.  the solid color like white black are the best the transparent colors I find are way to fllexible.

nallycat which brand of PETG? I bought white...

Are there fumes while it is printing? need ventilation?

use hair spray?

Thanks nallycat

Ezang

no ventilation,remember keep the heat inside. here a link for the hairspray. there are hardly no fumes. hairspray

there are also other producks for sticking the part on the bed.

3dlac

and then you have the UHU sitcks withs i use.

Hey Nomad, until the servos arrive you can have fun with the head of ZOE! Let me know when you are getting the Oleds and your Pi Zero, and I will help you wiring...

Also @ptp is recommending an additional board for more speed and ARC integration, I will look into this so we can use it with ZOE in the future!

mickey

sound great.it will take atleast 3 to 4 weeks before i have them.

mickey

the zoe eyes i have them ordered.i have 3 .

i made a zoe stand where you can slide in the body from the back.

SO COOL!!!

Maybe you can put the power supply inside...super nice!!

i can open it on the back side indeed ,good idea.

oops i forgot.the power supply is a batt from ez robot?MaH1300

Good morn all,

3 questions:

1 - One last time, using PETG, heat the  bed up to_________________________ Fahrenheit

2 - I bought a creality glass bed, any insight instructions?

3 - Do I us hairspray with PETG?

thanks EzAng

hoi Ezang

the temp is written on avery box from filament,see above post. read the manuel from your printer and look for video's on youtube how to ad a glas.i think you need bigger clips to hold the glas inplace. you can use hairspray or 3lac or uhu.

you will need to test whats is best for you.

ok , thanks what are you doing today?

EzAng

printing parts from zoe.

Hey Nomad...the EZ-Robot Battery you are using has 7.4V correct? It will be perfect for the servos! But DO NOT POWER the Raspberry Pi Zero from the battery, it will destroy the board! You will need to buy a voltage regulator, or just use a second power supply, you can use the charger and cable from your phone! This will work, no problem!!

howmuch do the charger needs to be?also do you have a link from the bearings?thank you

@EzAng    I had to convert this from celcius as I live in Canada   So The Bed Temp is 149 deg Fahrenhite and I always use 475 deg Fahrenhite for the Extruder I use these no matter what the box says.  I print on glass and I use Aussie Mega hairspray not all hairsprays work.  spray on the glass 2 coats while the glass is off the printer .I use 2 springclips to hold the glass on the print bed.  the printed part should release when the bed is cold.  if I am printing more pieces I have several pieces of glass so I can keep printing, while the last print cools.  You clean the glass under hot soapy water, also a light spray of hairspray alows you to continue printing on the glass several times before it needs to be washed.

nallycat ,

thanks again buddy,

just go in my PETG,  maybe printer on Monday

I have been doing ROS, Linux - keeps me busy

Be well,

EzAng

Hey Nomad, good progress on the prints!!

You need two of these bearings!!

https://www.123bearing.eu/bearing-6809-2RS.php

The charger for the Raspberry Pi Zero can be any ordinary phone charger, but you can also order the official charger for the Pi Zero...

https://www.reichelt.de/raspberry-pi-netzteil-5-v-2-5-a-micro-usb-schwarz-nt-musb-25-sw-p167078.html?PROVID=2788&gclid=CjwKCAjwnIr1BRAWEiwA6GpwNcmBifu1QpkBnIcVwTo7oiqdgTJm-VAUhCNnWylYnT5HA5BinXfSVBoCNFMQAvD_BwE&&r=1

i go for original parts.tomorrow last parts to print ,the brackets.:D so that leaves to by a raspberry pi zero.

Can anyone recommend an USA supplier for the bearing: https://www.123bearing.eu/bearing-6809-2RS.php

The supplier has other site to sell to the US market:  https://www.123bearing.com/bearing-6809-2RS.php ,but, they ship from France (shipping costs starting $24):

I did quick search and i couldn't find a reliable source with fair price < $10 per piece.

hi ptp

look on ebay

ebay bearings

Also the bearing is not needed for the design, it is just a stress relief for the arms...adds a little stability.

I can also buy them and send them to you, if you like? Or maybe Nomad can do this, because he is ordering anyways?

PTP Can't say for sure but I usually get all my bearings from Fastenal. If they don't have what I need they can order them. Worth a shot.

Oh...eBay looks very good, I should have checked before posting!!

Not an US supplier...

mickey i have ordered two.it cant hurt.also the charger is on ebay. what kind off raspberry pi do you use?

ptp

I just called a bearing company here in Ohio and they have 1. I asked how long to order another he said 3 days. Then I asked the price ... lol ... $40.00 each... lol.

WOW ...

I use Bearings Inc and McMaster Carr often. The later has downloadable cad files for nearly every part in their catalog...which is massive. I sometimes source parts from them and simply load in the part in my 3d design software as I wait for the part to arrive. Mind you both places will sell to the individuals, but they are industrial and some items have industrial prices.

Bearings inc 

McMaster-Carr

Will, Thanks both are good tips... I'm checking both:

....maybe try The Robot Market Place.

Will, Thanks it seems a nice market place.

I found an US supplier:

Sorry to spam the thread with Ball Bearings, I hope can be useful for others.

Still open for more suggestions...

OMG we are officially certified for space exploration now!!

Oh, happy dancing hugaroos...its just being food safe!! But anyways!! We will go where no man has ever gone before!!

Nomad, DJ got a exosphere for you to do

EzAng

Noma d where are you?

come back and try it mickey

@EzAng.... Time zones EzAng, there are 24 of them... It is 2:13am in Germany at the time of this post.... Maybe they went to bed?

Hey Nomad, maybe you should modifiy the stand for ZOE a little bit befor printing, because the body will be a little lower that the level of your base! It will also work your way, but I will be building a new body soon which also holds the speaker and Neo Pixel, so maybe it would be nice to have some room available...kind of like this!

Because the body will surpass your floor level...its kinda like this!!

hey mickey

good idea i can make an extra block as in your picture.

what about this idea?lots off spare room.little smaller then the lower block.

Sure, looks good...I am making a test print to make sure everything works out fine, then I will send you the new part so you can check if it works with your design!! It looks like this...

is that the new part for in the head? i got the raspberry pi zero ordered. how much needs the charger send out,howmany volts?

5V you can also use the charger from you phone!

On the left picture you see the torso with the new part and on the right you can see the new part... This ist just for your information, so you can see how you will have to build the base!

The new part will hold some electronic components, like speaker neopixel an a Raspberry Pi3 or 4... But you don need this, you can also use your Laptop, or some people like the Latte Panda!

anyone around to try my robot on exosphere?

EzAng

hi mickey

witsh board do i need? red or blue?

RED is one you want

hi ptp

thanks red one will be.

ptp/mickey

does zoe use a camera? if yes link pls .i have finally ordered averything. if anyone is interested building zoe.here a link for the servo's. servo's lx zoe

Hey Nomad, ZOE is using the Raspberry Pi camera...

https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Camera-Module-Megapixel/dp/B01ER2SKFS

great got one ordered.tomorow i have the adafruit says the chippi,g.:)

the mailman has dropped a pakkage.:D do i need to solder the pins?

hi mickey

are these sizes correct? i have 1.5 mm too long with original stl.

Hey Nomad, supercool that you got the Oleds... So the thing is, maybe we need to ask @ptp how we should wire the Oleds? He is inventing a new software....

So do you want to a) Make the soldering the old way? ( I can show you how ) b) Wait for @ptp to tell us how to do it?

For the new way the @ptp will be inventing we need this micro controller... https://www.adafruit.com/product/3800

I will also modify the frame that it will hold this board!

The size looks correct, maybe you can just print it and see if the Oleds will fit? If you are running into any issues, let me know...

there where no wires in the box only pins.its very smal for soldering. i bouth one extra just incase.great if you can show how to do. ok i by the board.

the original was 1.5mm higher and weidt didn fit.ok i print new one. do i solder wires on the adafruit or pins?

@Nomad6r, @Mickey66Maus: What an Adventure..... both courageous and crazy , getting out of the EZ(Easy) comfort zone....

I don't want to spam Zoe's build thread with specific details.

I'll create another thread to explain the OLED wiring,  controller and the application. I'm adapting an old project/idea to make it easy to use through ARC. I've plans to integrate with EZ-Robot controller. The idea is not to be dependent on the Raspberry to control the Oleds.

@PTP

you sure have a point about the crazy stuff haha. ez robot controller would be fabulous if we can use that. lookin forwart to your topic.

thank you

Quote:

the original was 1.5mm higher and weidt didn fit.ok i print new one.

the stl original from the zoe head frame is 1.5 mm higher and 1.5 mm weider. as you can see the frame is 1.5 mm too high and to weid.

i have seen this before with other parts.i gess the cura or TC is not so accurate.

This is very strange...can tell me which slicer software you are using, so I can confirm I am getting the same result?

i am using cura 4.5.0 there is another strange fenomen with cura.when starting up cura,all works fine, except the copie&paste funtions stopped working.you have to reboot to start working again.

Check in Windows so I can see we are having the same numbers...

Which printer are you using?

As you can see...Prusa Slicer and also Windows are giving other results!

Maybe you will have to check your Cura settings?

i have a ceality ender-3 printer.

Are these the measurement you are getting if you put the model into Cura?

ok i got it.mine was 1.5 mm bigger.i print a new one.

thank for checking

the zoe tower . with funny eyes.

Supercool!!!

I downloaded the 3D model from the website, just like you did...and put the model into Cura! Could you let me know if you are having the same measurements now?

Maybe you scaled the model by accident?

sure i take the bodem first.

the bottem block is 120x124x106.8 MM

the top block is 80.0x83.0x85.7 MM

oops i think i didn understand you the first time. all is ok now.i allreddy printing. the head frame.

mailman is back.today i got these 2  boards. very tiny .

Hey Nomad, I also ordered the board, I will modify the head frame so the board will fit in... Maybe we need a micro USB cable too?

Lets see the instructions that @ptp will post, then I will start building the new head frame!

Did your print turn out good, are the Oleds fitting?

"are the oleds fitting " no the frame will no work,still no sucses. i have cura 6.4.1 latest version.i dont have a clue why it dont work. also the tower didn work.i think i have a chost in my machien:(.

@Normad6R   Are you saying the print failed or are you caying the printer itself is not working?  are you connected to a computer and are printing using a USB cable from computer to 3d printer or are you printing from SD cards.

hi nallycat

not connected to pc.using the sd card. the tower didn work cause i didn knew how to change filament while printing. and the nozzle bumped into the part.i have figured this out and try back tomorow printing. the head frame doesn work alway diff messurement.a diff of 1 mm to 1.5 mm, but mickey is gonna design a new part .

thanks for askin

@Nomad 6R   You are welcome.  I never have that much luck if I have to change filament while printing, most of the time it makes a defect on the print.  so I make sure I have enough for that print job.   running a 3d printer has a steep learning curve.

it seems very easy to do.when printing there appears a page on the printer called TUNE. you have to stay on that page. so 1 press tune,2 see below says change filameny click on that, it will puch out the remaning filament.3 puch in new filament untill it comes out the nozzle. 4 click start printing.

my first zero board has arrived.what can i do now with this board?

Hey Nomad, this will go into the head of ZOE, also you can attach the camera to this board... You can use this board also like EZB, you can look here on the forum. I can also help you to set it up!

Do you have the camera? Do you have an SD card for the board?

hi mickey

i dont have the camera yet.i do have an new sd card from 32 GB. i have also an ezbv4 on stand by.i can sure use all help. ( thanks ) i have a nokio adptor output DC 5v 2amps,is this useble?

@Nomad: Watch this tutorial video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUz2mVtJVsM to understand what you have ahead.

is like taking a bath: Wash, Rinse, Repeat, do it as many times you need to understand. You can post questions on YouTube link too, maybe the video creator or someone else will help with your question.

before you start your setup you will need:

1. To connect the RASPBERRY PI to a HDMI Monitor  Mini HDMI Plug to Standard HDMI Jack Adapter :  https://www.adafruit.com/product/2819 or something like this: https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-Mini-HDMI-Female-Adapter-Support/dp/B01HQ2H6OW/

2. To connect the RASPBERRY PI with Keyboard, Mouse OTG USB: https://www.amazon.com/MakerSpot-Accessories-Charging-Extension-Raspberry/dp/B01JL837X8/

3. Power Supply you need 5V / 2.5A  https://www.amazon.com/MUZOCT-Supply-Charger-Adapter-Raspberry/dp/B073JDFML5/

4. SD CARD pre loaded with (NOOBS) https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-32GB-Preloaded-NOOBS/dp/B01LXR6EOA/

if you have already a sd card check this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJC0JykWnMs

Other stuff required:  PC USB keyboard PC USB  mouse Monitor with HDMI input

You will need to watch carefully, and follow all the steps, if you miss a step start from the begin, until you get your PI working.

Good luck

hi ptp

hmm takin a bath.to me it looks allreddy like a swimmingpool.xD thanks for all the links.bying more stuff will be for next month.

Hey Nomad, dont stress..take your time, learn the new hardware and dont worry!

You can ask for help anytime, or we Skype...no problem!

Looks complicated now, but its easy!!

Hey Nomad, I will try to make a new frame for IOTiny and EZ Camera..

Then you can take more time to learn the new hardware?

Let me know!

hi mickey

great thanks mickey.i have an ezbv set up for trying to move the servo's. but that will in 14 days when they arrive.

You can also use the servos directly from your PC!!

I can make a frame for IOTiny if you want, and later you can use EZBPi on your new board!

Try to put the EZBPi on your new board, but if you get stressed out...let me know!!

great mickey.i start when i have all the parts.at this moment i sleep alot. have an infection in my stomach and esophagus.i have to take 16 pills a day, for 10 days.:( bummer .ptp made a good list to start.camera will be here, in a few days.

hi mickey&ptp

i have the sd card with the noobs .question,can i use my pc screen&mous for the rasberry pi ? all other parts are ordered .i also have an adaptor 5 v 3 amp.

Cool!!!

So, yes you can...but it might be a bit difficult! The Raspberry Pi is actually a PC by itself, and normaly you would use its HDMI and Mouse plus keyboard connected to its Micro USB port.

But you can also remote control it like this!

Also, one question...do you have the IOTiny? Do you want me to make a frame for ZOEs head?

Or do you want to try with the Pi Zero?

I can also prepare everything for you and send the SD card with everything in a letter to Belgium, no problem!

i have a IOTiny. i wanted to try bolt ,cause iotiny has audio.

@Mickey666Maus

I didn't know that I could remote into my Pi that way and see the desktop? Only SSH remote through the terminal? Really good to know. Thanks for posting this.

hi herr Ball

are you going to try the remote control for your pi?

Yes I do not use my raspberry pi with ARC. I only use it with some of my other electronic projects.

hey mickey

is there a way to test the camera?mine is little damage. it came like this in the mail.