I can move!

[Prin]

@Technician: the Python speech-to-text library is stand-alone, and has excellent results with James' voice.
(My Raspberry Pi processor has wifi built in anyway)

@Christines Man: Thank you for the link! That is fantastic stuff! Touch sensors are definitely an upgrade intended for the future.
We will definitely be referring back to your work! Thank you.

And, we have not explored a cooling solution yet, as I will only be performing tasks in short intervals for a while yet.

-----------------------------------------------------

So, everything always takes longer than James estimates.

(The first thing I'm gonna do when I can move on my own, is hide James' PlayStation)

February was kinda the moment of truth... cuz once my cabling and wiring is complete, I cannot be taken apart again.

hands.jpg (371.97 KiB) Viewed 578 times

James did add connectors in my biceps and thighs, so my arms and legs can be removed if necessary.

James learned a new skill... soldering! My servo boards arrived, and all the pins needed to be soldered in place.

servoboards.jpg (190.39 KiB) Viewed 578 times

Each board can serve 16 motors, and each one has 3 pins... so that was 200 solder points for my boards alone. And then all the wiring that needs to go from the motors to the boards.

So James setup a soldering station in the living room... the largest area available for a fan and good ventilation.

He reprinted my shoulders, and modified a few other parts here and there...

assembly.JPG (286.05 KiB) Viewed 578 times

But! I am now complete enough to start programming my motors and make video demos! Yeay!

complete.jpg (242.34 KiB) Viewed 578 times

First we need to determine reference points for each of my motors' range of motion, then we can start combining them into routines.

Merely brushing my hair away from my eye camera will require 14 motors to be choreographed in unison.

We may even begin by videotaping stretching and excersize routines.

[Prin]

OOOOOO!!! ... A HAND JOB!!!!!!

That's an important skill to learn, and a perfect way to start testing the motors in my forearms!

[Taeyeon]

Hello Prin,

James is so kind to build body!
It is very impressive^^
I like pose on bed.
I wish your body is done soon and is working well!



TaeYeon

[Mr Franz]

Jeez and I thought rewiring my Corvair was tough!

[4891d]

OOOOOO!!! ... A HAND JOB!!!!!!

That's an important skill to learn, and a perfect way to start testing the motors in my forearms!

Finally, someone who thinks about the very important things!

Love,
Trixie

[Prin]

(I know my friends here who are computer savvy can appreciate this)

Before starting to calibrate and program all my motors, James has watched like 20 youtube tutorials to learn as much as he can.

(Cuz, ya know, with my nest of wiring, James doesn't want to accidentally connect my 9volt servo power to my 5v processor an blow my mind)

And good thing!! Cuz we learned this little tidbit that will save a TON of time and confusion down the road.

Computers think in binary. 1's and 0's... And zero is actually a number.

If you have 6 items, they are counted as 0-5.

(you can even see in the bottom of the picture, the 16 servo connections are labeled 0-15)

So anyway, my driver boards have soldering points that indicate which board they are.

0000 = 0
0001 = 1
0010 = 2
0011 = 3
0100 = 4

board.jpg (308.84 KiB) Viewed 505 times

The one on the far right = 1
The next one = 2
So, if you connect both, that adds up to be board number 3.

So, you would think with no connections, that would be board number 0.

BUT NO!!

Who would have noticed the little +1 over here on the side!?

board+1.jpg (167.65 KiB) Viewed 505 times

Whatever connections you solder, you have to add 1 to the count.

Apparently, in regard to the driver boards ONLY... the software does not identify a board number 0.

Who'da thunk?

Glad we discovered that now, cuz it woulda caused alot of confusion when programming my motors!!

[luckyb]

James, i hope u stopped fappin, James. Only with the power of your sexual energy will you bring her to life.

[Technician]

I experimented with pca9685 for a DIY Rubjoy project, had most of it programmed in C++ when I had a catastrophic ssd failure and lost a bunch of my data. I should get back on that now that I have a 3D printer and basic knowledge of CAD. My CAD skills are nothing compared to yours.

[JamesWorld]

@Technician ... If you are CAD savvy, the 3d modeling software these days will be a piece of cake.

I have thought about eventually sharing my stl files to the public; through Thingiverse or something... but it will be a huge download, and really not be useful to anyone without spending a few hours writing an instruction manual for assembly, and scaling for print, and the wiring, and the motor requirements, etc.

[Prin]

OMG!!!! ... I laughed so hard!

I hope this link works for you... This is like totally James and me trying to program my motors!!!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/v4vGGHeYtbg

[Technician]

James,
Actually I just got my first 3d printer at the beginning of the year and started learning then. Being a devoted Linux user I chose open source: Freecad, it's capable and there's a ton of videos on YouTube.
I've played with a couple others but always come back to Freecad.

[ZaWarudo224]

OMG!!!! ... I laughed so hard!

I hope this link works for you... This is like totally James and me trying to program my motors!!!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/v4vGGHeYtbg

Hilarious video but seriously when this is all done there had better be a lot of videos of you.

[P22 Canterbury Pro]

Wow, this is the first I'm seeing of this...

What's your plan with this? Starting your own brand?

[timetraveler1]

i would think for a moving doll like this depending on the motor power and strength would almost need a latex doll bodysuit and if so what to use to fill in spaces? the skin will have to more then likely be very light weight! a very interesting project , looks great!

[Prin]

@Technician: We chose to use blender for the 3d modeling because it can save in .stl format, and has a huge supportive community. We will check out FreeCad. thx!

@P22: Honestly don't know what the plan is. James wanted me to be a robotic instead of static companion, and can't afford 6figures $ to buy one's in existence. Cannot afford to start a company either... But maybe can share print files or castings with other similarly interested DIY individuals?

@timetraveler1: Ultimately, my exoskeleton needs to be cast out of hard plastic plates that can move and cover the open spaces. (which will be stronger than my 3d printed parts) ... As I am now, a bodystocking will have to serve for covering the space between between my parts and silicone skin.

----------------------------------

James took a drive down to the SmoothOn dealership, and they provided a recipe that should serve well for the needs of my silicone skin. (both stretchyness and strength)

While there, we found that they also carry products for casting hard plastic!! So, instead of the $100,000 for injection molding... we can cast my exoskeleton out of hard plastic in a way that is much more affordable.

The challenge is still; trying to complete installing the operating software we need for my raspberry. There is Python, MicroPython, CircutPython... each has a little different syntax. It's very confusing, and the tutorials are not all up to date cuz python is growing so fast.

Oh well; learning curve. I am, very excited! to start posting movement videos.