Servo - September 2016

translating the audio from the wireless microphone into the appropriate jaw movement.

An upcoming article will give further details on this and several other controllers, but this gives you a first look at one of the ways it can be utilized. This board is quickly becoming one of my favorites, and I expect to incorporate it into many more of my designs.

Actobotics Dual Motor Controller — A separate controller is required to handle the drive train motors. I selected the new dual motor controller from ServoCity for this task. It is easy to set up and provides the necessary link between the motors and the RC transmitter and receiver. This is a new product from ServoCity and a lot of thought went into its design. You can select from four separate modes simply by moving the jumpers. The small size allows it to be mounted inside the Actobotics channel which provides a clean installation.

Wiring — All the servos and the actuator come with a short wiring harness already attached. These were not long enough to reach the receivers, so they needed to be extended.

Ordinarily, I would simply plug an extension to them and be done with it. Taking into account the fact that I would be transporting this machine to my speaking engagements where he would be racing around the convention floor, I Instead, I cut the wiring harness and inserted the correct length of additional wire needed. This created a very tidy installation and I did not have to be concerned with hiding any surplus wire. This had the added benefit of saving a bit on the build budget which is always a nice perk.

Lights — I ran a small string of blue LEDs through the clear tubing running from the backpack. It is not a flashy effect, but adds some interest. Not every item you add to a prop needs to be “in your face.” I think it’s important when dressing your props to layer the embellishments with some being more prominent than others.

Audio — I am able to speak through a wireless microphone which feeds into the Banshee board. The audio track is split between the talking circuit on the Banshee board and the battery powered speaker mounted on Jarvis’ chest (Figure 11).

His jaw responds in a very convincing manner and allows me to communicate with anyone nearby.

Vision — I once again borrowed a method utilized by a related hobby. The drone community has expanded the capabilities of their incredible flying machines by adding lightweight cameras (Figure 12). This setup works perfectly for me as well, and allows me to see what is in front of Jarvis if he gets out of my sight. I follow his progress using an app on my smartphone which is mounted on one of my RC transmitters.

A GoPro camera is mounted on a pan and tilt system from ServoCity. One of the transmitter joysticks controls it and allows me to select the view from a wide area in front of Jarvis. My first thought when I was planning the design was to simply mount a camera pointing forward. The need to have to turn the robot in order to see to the sides did not work for me, so the pan and tilt feature was added. Even though it took up two channels, I am pleased with the added functionality.