Servo - November 2015

GEERHEAD

by David Geer

geercom@neo.rr.com William Huff is a roboticist and makeup/special effects (FX) guru who is famous for his movie animatronics puppets and his work in films such as, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons,” “Thor,” “The Watchmen,” “Austin Powers ( 2 and 3),” and “Master and Commander.” It is from this extensive background that “ALAN” comes from. ALAN, the Android kit is the product of 3D modeling and 3D printing technology which will soon be available to enthusiasts and professionals everywhere.

10 SERVO 11.2015

ALAN, the Android Kit

Head and shoulders above the crowd!

“Several kits will be available from a basic low cost shell type kit with no hardware, to fully assembled robots with no paint, and finally fully painted robots that are ready for immediate use by the higher end consumer. This presents users with choices that match their budgets,” Huff explained.

ALAN has many layers of technology and creativity so that roboticists can transform the kit using any face or personality they find applicable. Let’s look a little closer at what waits inside ALAN.

Location, Station, Preparation

In the modest offices of Robomodix in Portland, OR and their manufacturing arm in Burbank, CA, Huff and his staff of seven (three in the main office and four on hand at the manufacturing plant) design, mold, and handcraft the parts. These are not overly-simplified injection molded parts.

There is a reason Huff avoids this approach. “The process of pressure injection limits many design features that we want to keep in our robots,” said Huff.

Huff and his team separate themselves from the rest of the robot design crowd in matters of aesthetics, materials, and mechanisms. “It’s our opinion that robot aesthetics have not evolved much. Aren’t you tired of black and white, smooth surface robots dominating the market?” Huff asked. So, Huff and his crew seek to quickly push new color varieties and intricate design features into the accelerating development of the robot platform.

“Our exposure to robots has been largely through movies and TV, which has developed an underlying subconscious expectation as to how robots should appear. Those are the kinds of robots we want to build,” announced Huff.

From 25 years of film industry robotics and make-up experience, Huff and his colleagues are melding art and technology into one. Using components such as silicone skins that are fabricated using 3D designs and 3D printing, they create the same kind of highly detailed look and feel for ALAN.