Jack Black Bot

Ari Levitan

This Animatronic was the final project for ME 411 Mechatronics at UIC

https://youtu.be/UYKywsNuddU

unfortunately my laptop died while working on this project, so I was not able to capture video of the full system functioning

Lessons Learned

This project was a great mix of electronics and mechanics, I learned how audio chips work including the need for amplification, the importance of properly bracing moving components (the hat only flew across the room once) and the value of a reasonable project timeline. Trips to microcenter at Closing is not a recipe to find everything you need.

Improvements

The obvious improvement would be to make use of the additional 6 audio files available to add additional interactions, and trying to match the mouth movement with the voice lines. A tighter slider mechanism would prevent the droop viable in the mouth, and some additional gearing could allow the mouth to move faster.

https://www.instructables.com/Jack-Black-Bot/

Cardboard and printed Paper

Hot glue

3d Printed Parts https://www.printables.com/model/1505054-button-plate-for-large-touch-sensor

Hat https://www.printables.com/model/1505056-hat

Button plate https://www.printables.com/model/1505054-button-plate-for-large-touch-sensor

Elegoo UNO R3 Super Starter Kit (not all parts used)https://us.elegoo.com/products/elegoo-uno-r3-super-starter-kit?srsltid=AfmBOook5KEB84p86dS-BCQLqEpdF-qUCrCGcNgNr4zbZrK78ycWPjDD

Arduino uno r3, breadboards (large and small), jumper cables, ultrasonic sensor

12v DC power supply

Adafruit Audio FX Mini Sound Board - WAV/OGG Trigger - 2MB Flash https://www.adafruit.com/product/2342

Adafruit STEMMA Audio Amp https://www.adafruit.com/product/5647

Adafruit Industries Speaker - 3" https://www.adafruit.com/product/1314

Assorted lego https://botball-swag.myshopify.com/collections/botball-kits/products/botball-lego-bag

1 Botball Touch sensor Large https://botball-swag.myshopify.com/collections/sensors/products/touch-sensor-large

2 Botball standard servos https://botball-swag.myshopify.com/collections/motos-and-servos/products/standard-servo

2 Botball Servo Brackets https://botball-swag.myshopify.com/collections/metal-parts/products/servo-bracket

2 Metal servo horns https://botball-swag.myshopify.com/collections/metal-parts/products/1x5-servo-horn

18 Screw 8-32x3/4" https://botball-swag.myshopify.com/collections/metal-parts/products/bag-of-screws

18 Nut, Keeps 8-32 https://botball-swag.myshopify.com/collections/metal-parts/products/bag-of-screws

The structure is a simple lego box, with many attachment points for the other components

there is slider slots for the mouth to move up and down in, there is a supporting arm off to the side for the button

a crossbar allows mounting of the ultrasonic sensor, and there is a floor that all the electronics mount to

The speaker is mounted to a support on the top

The motion components are the mouth, which moves up and down on sliders, and the hat, which flips back out of sight

The hat is directly connected to a servo, which rotates it behind the face and out of view, and forward into position

The Mouth has a servo connected to a crank that moves it up and down

Both servos are well Braced to prevent flexing of the structure as they move

The button is mounted on an arm off to the side, with the button plate and an image of a fist

The Arduino Uno is a versatile microcontroller board, that is at the core of this project. It will read the values from the sensors and control the actuators accordingly.

The Ultrasonic distance sensor is a self contained unit that sends out a pulse of sound beyond the range of human hearing, and times how long it takes to bounce back. This is used to measure the distance to an object, by knowing the approximate speed of sound.

The touch sensor is a simple button, which connects the signal pin to 5v when depressed

The adafruit FX mini is a self contained audio board. This dose not have a built in amplifier, however the larger Audio FX Sound Board + 2x2W Amp includes an amp, and negates the need for a separate one. The FX connects to a computer via micro USB, and allows easy transfer to its internal storage. The files must be in .wav or .ogg format, and are named T01.wav and T07.wav These files will play when the corresponding pin is pulled to ground

The STEMMA Audio Amp is a compact mono amplifier that takes the low power signal from the FX sound board and boosts it to power the 3" speaker.

Attach all Components to the Breadboard, connecting the 5v and GND pins on the Ultrasonic sensor, Button, Arduino, sound board, servos, and amp to the appropriate rail

Wire the Ultrasonic sensor's Echo Pin to 12, and Trig to 11

Connect the Hat servo signal pin to 10, and the mouth to 9

Connect The button signal pin to 8

Connect the sound board trigger pins 1 and 7 to Arduino pins 4 and 5 respectively

Connect L or R from the sound board to Signal on the AMP

Connect the speaker to VO+ and VO- on the amp

Optional - Cable Manage

The program is relatively simple, with the Ultrasonic sensor and buttons as the input, and the servos and sound board controls as outputs

Each Loop it checks if the button is pressed, or if the Ultrasonic sensor detects a person. If a person is detected and there was not one the previous iteration Jack tips his hat and a greeting plays. If the button is pressed (fist bump) a different voice line plays as the mouth moves

An image of a fist is glued to a piece of cardboard, which is in turn glued to the button plate and the Button.

An image of Jack Black's face is glued to a sheet of cardboard and cut across the mouth line. Holes are punched in the cardboard to allow it to connect with lego rivets.

the Hat is glued to a lego piece allowing attachment