makeshift animatronic base?

[mad-scientist-edward]

I haven’t been on here in ages, but I suddenly had a stroke of genius! I’ve been watching a lot of internet videos about smaller scale dolls, like 1/6, 1/3, etc etc, and there have been several companies that have turned these into what basically equates to small scale animatronics, able to perform a dance routine, or simple preprogrammed tasks while hooked up to a computer, all for show as they’re made up to look like cute maids or anime girls. This is where I come in, what if we used this technology to “bridge the gap” and make a doll appear much more alive. I understand that this idea isn’t gonna be for everyone, and to be fair to myself, it won’t work on larger dolls, or heavier dolls.
So a quick search on amazon for robot kit will (9/10 times) bring up this goofy bipedal robot building kit, they usually run $300 stock, and again will require a computer hookup in most cases. These kits don’t hold a lot of weight when built, but if a lightweight frame was put over the robot, or the skeleton was extended to fit into a plastic shell (i’m Thinking my size Barbie might be good if it were light enough) that robot body would give you fully functional legs, arms, waist and neck rotation, and the ability to program or control movement directly into the body. You could probably get an arduino installed to regulate functions, and have that as the brains so to speak.
Feel free to provide criticism, or better ideas along this wavelength, and I might start saving up for this once I’ve done enough of my own research.

[rubherkitty]

Might be able to put the bot in a fabric doll.

Another thing is to maybe buy a small bot and copy the design to build something larger and more powerful.
I'm not a computer or robotics guy so this is something I would have to do vs design and build from scratch.

[mad-scientist-edward]

Both are definitely good ideas rk, even if I just buy the base robot kit I can always copy down schematics and expand with better motors and servos. The fabric idea might not work, that’s the only flaw here, fabric would add insulation that could overheat a motor, or whatever I have controlling the finished product. I was thinking silicone , or plastic for bushings. It would probably end up looking kinda freaky, but it would be effective. Looking at other bases like stationary animatronics (like at Chuck E. Cheese and the like) and the Boston dynamic robots, they use pneumatics, and air powered actuators, which would produce less heat, but would be bulky, heavy, and a lot louder than motors and gears. Just getting my thoughts straight, I’ve been plotting out designs for the last couple hours honestly.

[rubherkitty]

I have thought about using a silicone coated fabric skin. Yes, anything hot will need vented or a internal fan.
Also thought about building a hip action via windshield wiper motor in a stuffed doll.

[mad-scientist-edward]

Including photographic references for my thought stream, so you all know what I’m talking about.

[mad-scientist-edward]

Also thought about building a hip action via windshield wiper motor in a stuffed doll.

That is actually a grand idea, something along the lines of how a train’s wheels work fixed to a hip joint for fast firing cowgirl action might be an interesting thought too!