Full Animatronic Sorting Hat With Custom Software-22$

All my dream is to done a full Animatronic object in working condition. But it need lot of mechanism and costly too. So i plan for some thing cheap and wonderful. Then i plan it for Sorting hat with the resources around me.

I use 5 Servo motors and a arduino to control this hat. I develop a custom software to record the positions in to Arduino EEPROM step by step from pc and when play it act as real. It take me a long days to plan and long times (full nights for 1 week) to finish.

Let we see how a art board, old cardboard, Waste cloth and few electronics combined with Pc to make a talking, eye blinking and bow and standing hat......

Total Amount is only 22$

Materials Required

1) Thick board Chat 2 Nos - 0.5$

2) Old Daily Calendar Card board. - from Trash

3) Old Sketche pen 5 Nos - From Trash

4) Long screws and nuts. - 0.5$

5) Arduino uno board. - 5$

6) Servo Motors 5 Nos - 10$

7) Regulated Power supply board.

8) Self soldered Arduino shield board to control 6 servos.-2$

9) Long Cloth ( I have only white waste Cloth if dark brown color available then no coloring problem).-Trash

10) Poster Color (Dark Brown Color).- 1$

11) Fevical (Paste to bind all parts)

12) 12V dc power Supply- 3$

13) Small Straws for Links

Tools Required

1) Scale

2) Scissors

3) Soldering tools

4) Painting brush

5) PC (Computer)

6) Thread and Pen (To put correct circle)

1) Before Starting calculate the dimension. I first measure the dimension of the hat in the phone with the space of the head in front view. Then measure my head and with the proportion calculate the other dimension of the cone.

2) From the calculated cone find the radius and the angle to cut for the cone.

3) Take a Thick Chart and Draw a circle for the cone using thread and a pen with the measurement taken.

4) Draw the angle required and left some space for paste the cone.

5) Cut the required portion using scissors.

6) Paste the excess portion we already left and after dry you found the cone fit right for your head.

7) To cut the Brim of the hat.

8) Take another chart and draw the circle in required size of the Brim.

9) Cut the Circle using Scissors.

10) Paste the cone over the Brim in the center using paper tape.

11) Now the Hat basic is ready.

1) Draw the Eyes, Top horn and Mouth to the Hat.

2) Cut the mouth and eye piece separately.

3) Cut the bottom of the horn as shown in the figure.

1) Take a waste daily calendar card board (its very thick and strong)

2) Draw circles as per each piece size.

3) Cut the circle.

4) Paste it in each portion with gap from the top and bottom as shown in the figure.

5) Apply Paste on the circumference of the circle and hold it.

1) Join all the parts together using cloth, by paste a ling strip of cloth on the back side of the hat.

2) This allow each parts move separately and move up and down.

1) Take 5 old full size color sketch pen.

2) Cut the front cone of the sketch pen and remove the sponge inside the sketch pen.

3) Mark the center of the sketch and cut in to two pieces.

4) Drill one hole in one side of the piece where opposite side of the blind cap for 5 pieces.

5) Put two holes in both sides of the other 5 pieces.

6) Take two pieces and insert the straw in to the hole of the pieces as shown in the figure.

7) Test it rotate freely.

8) Cut the straw by left some more straw on both side of the sketch.

9) Insert a screw in to the straw and put a nut and tighted.

10) check the link for free movement.

1) I make a shield for Arduino to control 6 servo motors.

2) I already done it for my previous project (Flexible robotic arm)

3) Power supply for the Servo is from external source, So a voltage regulator is set to get the correct output.

4) In this project i need 5 servos.

5) I fix five servos and tested for full run all are found ok.

1) Using hot glue gun fix one side of link to the arm of the servo where no hole is drilled.

1) Put a rectangular hole in the base of the horn of the hat.

2) Put two small holes in the sides of the retangular cut.

3) Take a tin rod and insert the rod into one free hole of the link.

4) Make servo at 90 degree and fix it to the other side of the hat.

5) Check it using servo sweep program but limit the position from 20 to 90 degree only.

1) For horn we only use one servo.

2) For mouth use two servos to make mouth movement in various style.

3) Fix the servo on the bottom side of the mouth in two opposite sides as show in the figure.

4) Put a hole like horn on both sides of the upper side of the mouth.

5) Use thin rod connect the servo with link in the lower mouth to upper mouth.

6) At each stage check its running with microcontroller.

1) In the top and bottom side of the eye piece cut some more chart and let the eye come close to the base.

2) As like mouth piece we fix the eye piece.

3) Check all the Servos using Arduino sweep program. Make Sweep between 20 to 90 only.

Now the main frame work is completed. But Want to act like our command. So i develop a program to control each servo motor from PC.

1) I use Arduino IDE to progem in Arduino and Visual basic 6 to program the application.

2) In arduino coding i use EEPROM to store the sequence got from the application and run as per the sequence.

3) In the Application Coding i use 5 scroll bars to set the position and a save button to save the position in the EEP ROM of the Arduino.

1) The Program has 5 buttons, 5 Scroll bars and a text box.

2) The Use the Serial communication to send and receive data between pc and arduino.

3) 5 Scroll bars are for 5 servos. At start Add and record buttons only enable.

1) Use Add button to add the sequence next to current last sequence. When press last sequence with servo position listed in the box and No of records have that count.

2) Use Record button to start a fresh sequence.

4) When click Add or record both button disable and set button only enable.

5) Adjust the Scroll bars as required and click set then the servos move and show how it look in the hat. Then the button save is enable.,

6) If you satisfy click Save. This command save the current position in the EEPROM and move to next sequecne.

7) If you never satisfy then change the scroll bars again and click set.

8) On Click Save to save in EEPROM the Save button disable

9) When all the action is complete click Run. The hat start acting.

10) After click save Run, Set and save button disable and Record and add button enable.

1) Now the Sorting hat skeleton is ready.

2) For skin i use waste dhoti. The color i have is only white, So i purchase Dark brown poster color to color the sorting hat.

3) Spread the Cloth on the floor and draw a circle using thread and pen in the cloth. Draw a circle bigger than the one draw for the hot.

4) Cut the cloth and saw on the open side to make the cone.

5) After stretch reverse the cloth to make the stitch go inside.

6) Like wise draw circle for Brim of the hat.

7) Cut two clothes and stretch on the edges. Reverse the cloth to make stretch go in side.

8) Insert the Brim cut in the chart board in to the cloth.

1) It is the most complected and artistic work.

2) Make all the links full Open apply Paste step by step to each portions and paste the cloth with the skeleton.

3) While paste have the image on the mobile or pc and make flips in some places like horn bottom, eye lines like wise and paste up to bottom.

4) Cut the center portion of the Brim for hat size.

5) Paste the opening of the Brim to the Hat.

6) Make paste liquid and apply all over the cloth to hold it tight and make it hard. Note that don't allow any other cloth now free is stick with other cloth of surface, because it cause the cloth hold together and not allow the servo to move.

1) Due to hardness of paste mouth got stuck up

2)Free the mouth.

3)Change the flow using program to wide open the mouth.

1) If u use Dark brown color cloth then there is no need to color. But be care full when select the cloth, if the cloth is very thick and weight then the servo need more power.

2) Color the Hat with the dark brown color.

3) Tie ribbon between the hat top and the brim then allow it to hang on the back side.

4) Paste two cloths on the sides of the hat to make it realistic.

5) Let the fun begin.

Load a sound track in the PC. Give command one time from the software in the pc. Now allow the mp3 and the arduino to play. Then u found u sorting hat speak ur language also. Due to servo moments are stored in EEPROM even restart also the hat talks what u program.

Lot of movement want to set and compile but time is very sort so i posted.

Like to wear it on my head. But i want a power full battery to do it. So just sit next to my hat.

This computer let me study lot of things so i happy to put the hat to my computer.

Have some play I punch its eyes it bite my fingers.

Lot more to enjoy...............Don't forgot to comment and encourage me friends.