RoboCommunity - Robot Hacks and Mods

Let's develop a mic. amplifier for Femisapien !

Shai Alyt NEMO — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:52:53 GMT

She is a nice girl, but unfortunately somehow "deaf" straight out of the box. I think, she does not deserve to be shouted at aloud every time. Let's improve her "hearing", so she can easily enjoy "Conversation"s and "Dance"s and etertain us with her graceful movements! To start with, here is my current experimental schematic of a mic. amplifier. It is only a first attempt and it significantly improves her sonic sensibility, but still not enough... Sorry, some electronic components, I use are Soviet/exSoviet. Ideally, to make a final circuit design easily repeatable by a worldwide robo-modding amators we must use only an easily accessible and cheap western electronic components. Anyway, help and schematic suggestions from the experienced board members will be highly appreciated!

Femisapien mods - Let's the fun begin!

Shai Alyt NEMO — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:20:00 GMT

First modding experiment with Femi at this weekend was successful: I had replaced her red wrist LEDs with a blue ones (you need a 3mm diameter LEDs to fit) and they just work fine! No additional circuits, just simple resoldering of LEDs (like in a Roboquad's head)! Now I am seeking for a 3mm (ultra)violet LEDs for more stylish look. P.S. To GWJax and Robosapien2-4mem8. Last quick question about LED replacement: Can (practically) such a direct replacement of a red LEDs with a blue ones (without recalculating and replacement of current-limiting resistors located somewhere on the original PCB) cause the overload of the circuits, powering the LEDs, being potentially dangerous to them? Or is it completely safe? (I am concerned about my Femi's health after my "surgery" ;)

Cheap source for animatronic parts

MrScott — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 04:23:54 GMT

I picked up an animatronic Halloween decoration deep discounted at Walmart. It stands a few inches taller than an RSV2. The princely sum of $7.50 got me a sound and motion activated motor controller that controls two independent motors. One motor raises and lowers an arm. The other motor spins a shaft 180 degrees, pauses, then spins it back. There's also some minor mouth movement that is independent of the head rotation. It may be a third motor, or just a more complex cam system on the turning motor. There's also some illuminated eyes, and sound effects mixed in for good measure. Good parts for next year's Terminator updates. I spent many hours working up a less useful actuator this year.

first time building a robot i have 20% exp. in this feild

SandMan529 — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:53:26 GMT

hi i saw this nice wall-e robot someone made and i want to build one i can easly build it i just need help picking the brains for it and the codeing plz help me i will send you more info if you are wiling to help!

Inside the Femisapien (and some modding ideas)

Shai Alyt NEMO — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:47:28 GMT

Hello to the RoboCommunity from Ukraine! I am recently joined the board. Sorry in advance if my english is'nt perfect. Some time ago I had purchased the Femisapien and Roboquad of course, with the intention to disassemble/reassemble/mod them (do you remember that "disassemble-no reassemble (the grasshopper)" scene from the "Short Circuit" movie? ;) So, for first contribution, here are some shots of Femisapien's inside: 1. General view w/o the breastplate and with one arm open: 2. Closeup of a torso innards: 3. The arm : Notice: - Only shoulder joint is powered independently. Forearm is actuated by cardan from the same gearbox, that moves shoulder. - Four-positioned hand-joystick and wrist LED are clearly visible. 4. The torso from another perspective: Notice: - Two motors for shoulders and a VR for lean feft-right movement control. 5. Lean Left-Right motor and speaker on the back. 6. Leg inside: Notice: - Motor and gearbox for leg forward/backward movement (walking). - The batteries (6xAA) are in "shoes". 7. The head-tilt switch (wery simplistic one, indeed) and the power switch: 8. "Back side of the Moon" err... of the Mainboard: 9. "No Femisapien was harmed during this photosession!" Enjoy!

The Perfect Hack For Halloween... Elvinator Part 5

Peter Redmer — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:22:57 GMT

All fans of GWJax's Elvinator Project - rejoice! Part 5 has been released. This is an awesome time to see a hack like this... what better time to witness the Alive Elvis's transformation into the gruesome "Elvinator" than Halloween? Click here to check it out. Have a safe and happy Halloween everybody! Pete

Transforming WowWee Elvis to the Terminator Part 5: The Rebuild

GWJax — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:18:35 GMT

Welcome back! This project, as you can see, is a very complex one... but this is the fun part! Are you ready to finally see your WowWee Alive Elvis transform into the "Elvinator"? Then, read on...

WowWee Rovio Hack: Head-Mounted LED Lights

Rudolph — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:10:59 GMT

If you're looking to make Rovio's headlights brighter, and have the light mounted to the head where the camera is located, read on!