[Robotic & Kinetic Media] BehBot – “Moody Hands”

Moody Hands
BehavBot Assignment

Final Video


The Idea

For this project, I would like to explore the pulling mechanism of the robot as it might be useful for my final semester project. Using existing materials, I decided to create two moods from latex gloves using servo motors and LED lights.

The first mood is “happy”, where one servo will pull the gloves to the left and right in a relaxed manner. The second mood is “panic”, where a second servo at the back will pull the gloves slightly backwards and the first servo which pulls the sides will move faster.

Mechanism Prototype
First, I had to test out the space and length of thread that I had to use to get the movement. Initially, I used a fishing line but it turned out to be too stiff and slippery that the knot attached to the servo kept coming loose. Hence, it was replaced with a normal sewing thread.

The air in the latex glove lasted longer here because the opening was twisted very tightly in comparison to the actual prototype where I had to insert several wires into the glove. Thus, the gloves kept running out of air so I had to replace them several times (very frustrating!).

Final Prototype
For the final one, I decided to build a box to hide the electronics and to pull the strings to the left and right. It was a bit challenging because I had forgotten to put into consideration the wires that will restrict and effect the space around the threads.

I also overlooked the rounded base of the gloves that made it difficult for the second servo to pull the gloves downwards. Thus, I only managed to get a slight pull for this section.

The Code
The Arduino coding was pretty simple as I only had to trigger buttons for the servos and LEDs to loop accordingly.

 

Published by

Dina

Believes in creating works that someone can not only see or touch but be part of, to be within them.

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