Educational Recycling Robot Project

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Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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May 22, 2018, 9:50:26 AM5/22/18
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The Waste Resource Education office of Solid Waste Resources Halifax is considering commissioning a small interactive robot that can be taken to classrooms and exhibitions around the city to educate people about the environment and the importance of recycling. Members of that organization will be visiting the Makerspace on May 29th to discuss the project.

We are looking for interested members to participate in the project through all stages, from brainstorming and design through to implementation and support. Electronics, and artistic skills are useful, but by no means required. This is an exciting opportunity for our members to contribute to their community; to share their skills and to learn new ones.

We encourage anyone who is interested in this project to come to the space at 275 Rocky Lake Drive (Unit 19) on May 29th at 6:00pm.

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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May 28, 2018, 7:09:58 AM5/28/18
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Greetings,

Just poking this to remind people that the meeting is tomorrow at 6pm in the space.

Cheers,

Peter.

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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May 30, 2018, 9:37:07 AM5/30/18
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Yesterday, Chloe and Laurie from Solid Waste Resources Halifax came to the space to discuss partnering with us to build an educational robot that could be taken to Halifax schools to help educators teach children about recycling.

Requirments:

 - Airline carry-on size 22 cm x 35 cm x 56 cm (max)
 - Constructed primarily from post-consumer recycled materials
 - Friendly
 - Able to play pre-recorded audio clips (typically containing speech)
 - Audio clips cued by remote control
 - Capable of limited motion (i.e. not just a talking statue)

Proposed Stretch Goals:

 - Animated face (possibly NeoPixel, DotStar, or Hub75 panel behind a diffuser of some kind)
 - Additional motion
 - Voice recognition

We are targeting the 2018-2019 school year, but the project may continue to evolve beyond that.

Next steps:

 - Please reply to this post to indicate your interest. Indicate any aspects of the project that interest you in particular. Appropriate skills are useful, but by no means required. This project is a great opportunity to learn and apply new skills.
 - Chloe, please post any photos of Mobi S. Loop that you may have, and indeed any photos that our artistic members can use as inspiration.
 - We will arrange another meeting at the space to discuss options and get organized.


Shawn Wilson

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May 30, 2018, 10:03:12 AM5/30/18
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I am interested in helping with any parts of this: design, electronics, physical build, but don't hold up the project on my account if my schedule doesn't easily fit in with the rest of the group.

Shawn

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Bill Morrow

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May 30, 2018, 10:26:56 AM5/30/18
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On Wed, May 30, 2018, 10:37 Peter-Frank Spierenburg, <spie...@gmail.com> wrote:


 - Please reply to this post to indicate your interest. Indicate any aspects of the project that interest you in particular. Appropriate skills are useful, but by no means required. This project is a great opportunity to learn and apply new skills.

I'm interested in fabricating robot limbs, torso, head etc. so that s/he is obviously created from post-consumer material.
  - pop can sheet metal
  - reformed HDPE
  - CDs and CD cases
  - water bottles, straws and other villainous garbage
 
And also the stretch goals around making the robot more intelligent. As I mentioned last night, I did a proof of concept Google Home experiment on my Pi 3. I could resurrect this and demo if anyone is interested in it.

Tom Servaes

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May 30, 2018, 12:04:45 PM5/30/18
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I am interested in the recycling of materials (aluminium, HDPE, etc.) to construct parts of the robot. I am also interested in the motion parts for my own learning.

Looking forward to working on it!

Tom

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Tom Servaes

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May 30, 2018, 1:37:47 PM5/30/18
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I started a resource page on our Wiki: http://wiki.halifaxmakerspace.org/doku.php?id=talking_recycling_robot and will be adding more throughout the project.

Tom

On Wed, May 30, 2018 at 1:04 PM, Tom Servaes <tom.s...@gmail.com> wrote:
I am interested in the recycling of materials (aluminium, HDPE, etc.) to construct parts of the robot. I am also interested in the motion parts for my own learning.

Looking forward to working on it!

Tom
On Wed, May 30, 2018, 11:26 Bill Morrow <morr...@gmail.com> wrote:
On Wed, May 30, 2018, 10:37 Peter-Frank Spierenburg, <spie...@gmail.com> wrote:


 - Please reply to this post to indicate your interest. Indicate any aspects of the project that interest you in particular. Appropriate skills are useful, but by no means required. This project is a great opportunity to learn and apply new skills.

I'm interested in fabricating robot limbs, torso, head etc. so that s/he is obviously created from post-consumer material.
  - pop can sheet metal
  - reformed HDPE
  - CDs and CD cases
  - water bottles, straws and other villainous garbage
 
And also the stretch goals around making the robot more intelligent. As I mentioned last night, I did a proof of concept Google Home experiment on my Pi 3. I could resurrect this and demo if anyone is interested in it.

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Tom Servaes

There's a war going on for your mind. If you're thinking, you're winning.

cell:902-449-4555
mailto:tom.s...@gmail.com


"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." – George Bernard Shaw
"Everything is vague to a degree you do not realize till you have tried to make it precise." – Bertrand Russell

Saeed Nikbakht

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May 31, 2018, 1:00:56 PM5/31/18
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I'm interested to be involved in this project. I think it is a fun project with a positive impact.
I would be happy to help in any part of the project. Perhaps the moving parts: head, hands, ... I think I would know better when we decide on the overall shape of the robot and its parts.

-Saeed

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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May 31, 2018, 8:19:09 PM5/31/18
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Greetings All,

I've started a Doodle Poll to schedule the next meeting for this project.


I figure we should start by discussing:
  • design - what will the robot look like?
  • materials - what will the robot be made from?
  • features - what will the robot be able to do?
  • timeline - deadlines make an awesome whooshing noise as they go by.
The precise time of the meeting is adjustable. I chose this time to keep it in line with Tuesday's meeting.

To avoid cluttering this post, feel free to email me personally (spie...@hotmail.com) if you wish to propose alternate times.

Cheers!

Peter.

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jun 3, 2018, 9:33:22 PM6/3/18
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Greetings,

Based on the results from the doodle poll, it looks like Wednesday (June 6 from 6pm-8pm) is the best day next week, so we will go with that. I have a prior engagement that day, so I've asked Shawn Wilson to run the meeting.

My goal for the meeting is to come away with a few ideas and action items around design/materials/features.

If, like me, you cannot make the meeting on Wednesday, please feel free to post your ideas here in this thread.

Cheers,

Peter.

Chloe Kennedy

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Jun 4, 2018, 8:17:34 AM6/4/18
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Hello makers! 

First off, we're SO glad that there's interest in playing Dr. Frankenstein to our recycling robot! Many thanks, and we look forward to working with you on this project! 

We (HRM recycling educators) used to have a giant robot named Moby S Loop who would visit schools to "teach" kids about recycling. He was an amazing educational tool, but WAY too big and cumbersome to be popular amongst the educators! Since Moby retired in 2016, this new little robot will be his successor. 

I'd like to share pictures of both Moby the old robot, as well as some new "design idea" pictures to give your team a sense of what we're going for (friendly, simple, incorporating some recycled materials). 

The two pics of Moby are attached, files Moby1 and Moby2. 
The four pics of sample "design ideas" are attached, files robot, robot2, robot4 and robot7. 

If anyone has any questions, please let me know :)

Thanks folks!
Chloe
Moby1.jpg
Moby2.jpg
robot.jpg
robot2.png
robot4.jpg
robot7.png

Shawn Wilson

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Jun 8, 2018, 8:41:43 PM6/8/18
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Hi all,
I took a few notes and pictures from the design meeting the other day.  We had only a few people turn out, but other people had expressed interest but couldn't make it. I will try to get those notes out this weekend.
Shawn

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Shawn Wilson

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Jun 11, 2018, 2:29:27 AM6/11/18
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Pics here, to get around GG file size limits: https://twitter.com/HFXMakerspace/status/1005981336568549376

Some notes from the meeting. Like I said, we only had a few people.


design - what will the robot look like?

James’ design: tracked root with translucent dome with a projector. We think it needs a body and maybe arms

Chloe’s design: generic toy robot

Saeed’s design: like Cookie Monster with a mouth that syncs to the sound

Or a ball cut in the middle like Pac-Man.



A face made from a screen would be more updateable than a fixed face, but a fixed face could let you make a moving mouth (movement was something that was previously requested).



Shawn was concerned a projector system might not fit in James' design. And the idea of projecting out of the robot to a screen or wall might be a little ambitious, as classrooms are often well lighted and a small projector isn't very bright. Also, it might be tricky to get it the right distance and angle from a wall or screen.




materials - what will the robot be made from?

Chloe wanted recycled-looking material, but not like an elementary craft project. This might be tricky to accomplish. It shouldn't look like garbage, but suggest that the materials are obviously recycled. Something with melted bits of plastic that still retain their original colors was suggested.Sheet metal from pop cans that retain the original logos was also suggested. If we go with a puppet-like robot, a quilt-like material made from various scraps was suggested.



features - what will the robot be able to do?

We didn't really touch on this very much.



timeline - deadlines make an awesome whooshing noise as they go by.

August/September - have a version 1 that we can use to send demos to the schools

Operational version to be done in September or October.


Best,
Shawn

On Mon, Jun 4, 2018, 09:17 Chloe Kennedy, <chloesoph...@gmail.com> wrote:
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Tom Servaes

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Jun 11, 2018, 12:13:38 PM6/11/18
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Thanks Shawn.

I made a mock-up of the transportation case with the hardware of a broken suitcase (recycling!) and some cardboard boxes. It's at the space under the desk, for size reference.

What is a good day for the next meeting? I think it would be great to have a rough design approved by July so different teams can start the detailed design and prototype the critical parts.

Kind regards,
Tom

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jun 14, 2018, 7:53:34 AM6/14/18
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Greetings All,

Our next project meeting will be Tuesday the 26th at 6pm at the space.

Cheers!

Peter.



Tom Servaes

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Jun 14, 2018, 7:57:03 AM6/14/18
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Wonderful. Looking forward to it!

Tom

James Somers

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Jun 18, 2018, 8:30:20 PM6/18/18
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Really want to be there but prior commitment <sigh>  but here is what I had in mind for the projector: 

James

Tom Servaes

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Jun 18, 2018, 10:29:00 PM6/18/18
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Hey James,

Perhaps you can answer a question now, since you can't be there in person. We were wondering whether the short throw (20-30cm max) of the projector on the inside of the globe would be a problem to make it look sharp? We like the idea, but were wondering whether there are any products out there. We were also concerned that the brightness might not be enough in a well-lit classroom. The projector you propose needs at least 180cm distance minumum.

For rear projection it might work, since the distance is further and the lights could be dimmed. 

Great proposal, by the way. I like your ability to visualize the concept. I'm in awe actually. Hopefully we can relate enough from our further discussion so you can keep updating further drafts for us!

Cheers,
Tom

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Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jun 19, 2018, 12:42:45 PM6/19/18
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Greetings James,

If you had one of these projectors in-hand, how long would it take you to demonstrate your dome idea?

Peter.


On Mon, Jun 18, 2018 at 11:29 PM Tom Servaes <tom.s...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey James,

Perhaps you can answer a question now, since you can't be there in person. We were wondering whether the short throw (20-30cm max) of the projector on the inside of the globe would be a problem to make it look sharp? We like the idea, but were wondering whether there are any products out there. We were also concerned that the brightness might not be enough in a well-lit classroom. The projector you propose needs at least 180cm distance minumum.

For rear projection it might work, since the distance is further and the lights could be dimmed. 

Great proposal, by the way. I like your ability to visualize the concept. I'm in awe actually. Hopefully we can relate enough from our further discussion so you can keep updating further drafts for us!

Cheers,
Tom
On Mon, Jun 18, 2018 at 9:30 PM, James Somers <tago...@gmail.com> wrote:
Really want to be there but prior commitment <sigh>  but here is what I had in mind for the projector: 

James


On Thursday, June 14, 2018 at 8:53:34 AM UTC-3, Peter-Frank Spierenburg wrote:
Greetings All,

Our next project meeting will be Tuesday the 26th at 6pm at the space.

Cheers!

Peter.



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--
Tom Servaes

There's a war going on for your mind. If you're thinking, you're winning.

cell:902-449-4555
mailto:tom.s...@gmail.com


"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." – George Bernard Shaw
"Everything is vague to a degree you do not realize till you have tried to make it precise." – Bertrand Russell

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Shawn Wilson

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Jun 19, 2018, 12:56:34 PM6/19/18
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If the projector doesn't work out, an alternative might be the bendable dotstar led matrices.  Ryan Zwicker used one for his robot mouth.  Super bright, but obviously lower res than a projector or LCD screen.  But curved is nice.  :)

Bill Morrow

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Jun 19, 2018, 2:23:09 PM6/19/18
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On Tuesday, 19 June 2018 13:56:34 UTC-3, Shawn Wilson wrote:
If the projector doesn't work out, an alternative might be 

... motorized transparencies. 

Adam Cox

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Jun 20, 2018, 2:29:28 PM6/20/18
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Small OLED screens or eInk displays would also have good contrast and visibility for eyes and/or mouth.

--

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jun 20, 2018, 3:30:35 PM6/20/18
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Shawn, can you point me at the flexible dotstar matrices you are talking about?

Bill, what would you need to demonstrate a motorized transparency?

Adam, do you think that an eInk display would have the refresh rate capable of rendering animation? I have a few OLED displays left over from the pinball project, if you would like to demonstrate those?

Peter.


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Shawn Wilson

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Jun 20, 2018, 4:00:37 PM6/20/18
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Adafruit has a number of dotstar flexible led panels.  I think this is the one that Ryan's robot used for the mouth.  They aren't for repeated flexing, but they are often used for displays on steampunk hats, for example.

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jun 20, 2018, 7:56:21 PM6/20/18
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Shawn, what sort of panels would you choose for this project, considering the broad dimensions?

Shawn Wilson

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Jun 20, 2018, 8:16:24 PM6/20/18
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Not sure what you mean by broad dimensions.  Without a design for the overall "case", I don't think we can choose a panel yet?  If anyone wants to play with an 8x32 panel to see if it's"expressive" enough, there's a little HTML page here: 

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jun 20, 2018, 11:32:18 PM6/20/18
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Sorry, I just meant broad dimensions of the robot. Do you think that a pair of 8x8s for the eyes combined with an 8x16 for the mouth would be sufficient considering a carry-on sized robot? I mean, if we think that panels of these sizes work for the face, then we can design the head around them. Function leading form as it were...

Shawn Wilson

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Jun 21, 2018, 4:38:30 AM6/21/18
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I think two 8x8 for the eyes and an 8x32 for the mouth.  If 8x32 is too wide (about 12"), we could do another two or three 8x8 instead.  If head is circular and mouth flexes for half the circle, I guess a 8x32 would dictate a ~8" diameter head, which seems reasonable.

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jun 21, 2018, 6:24:54 AM6/21/18
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How about these?


We could start with a couple for the eyes, and then, if they work, get three or four more for the mouth?


Shawn Wilson

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Jun 21, 2018, 12:38:38 PM6/21/18
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Works for me.  I would probably sketch up a design before ordering to make sure it will work.  I suspect the projector won't be bright enough and would require a bigger robot due to minimum focus distance.  Pi/LcD would likely necessitate a squarish head or a round head in which there is a flat screen, which I don't think would look as good.  With the dotstar, though, we would lose resolution, so fun things like displaying graphs or pictures wouldn't be possible.  I guess it's all a trade off.

Bill Morrow

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Jun 21, 2018, 1:20:24 PM6/21/18
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On Tuesday, 22 May 2018 10:50:26 UTC-3, Peter-Frank Spierenburg wrote:
 ... brainstorming and design through to implementation and support.

Last night I took my collection of HDPE (recycle symbol #2) and maybe some PP (symbol #5)  and put it on a sheet of parchment paper in a junked toaster oven at 350F for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I crafted a mold for a 1/4" deep  2"x6" ingot. Once the plastic was getting fairly melted, I took it out, into the mold, wrapped the parchment paper over top, and screwed another board on top.

After cooling, it looks fairly decent, like it underwent spontaneous genesis from a heap of garbage. :)

We could probably make some molds approximating the robot body, legs and/or arms and remelts these ingots against them. The material is workable with a wet drywall trowel. I am a little concerned about the fumes, this is best done outside in a breeze.


Shawn Wilson

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Jun 21, 2018, 2:15:35 PM6/21/18
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Sweet!

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jun 21, 2018, 2:49:47 PM6/21/18
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That stuff looks awesome!

How machine-able is it? Could we press or plane it into 1/4" sheets and then laser cut?

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Bill Morrow

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Jun 21, 2018, 3:15:58 PM6/21/18
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It's pretty melty, so I don't think it would laser cut well. 

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?193717-Is-it-safe-to-laser-HDPE

CNC milling is more likely to work. A jigsaw, band saw and plane would work on it pretty well.

I'll bring it in shortly.

Please collect plastic with the recycle symbol with a "2" inside it.

Shawn Wilson

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Jun 21, 2018, 7:17:33 PM6/21/18
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Message has been deleted

Bill Morrow

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Jun 22, 2018, 2:04:37 PM6/22/18
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On Thursday, 21 June 2018 18:17:33 UTC-5, Shawn Wilson wrote:
I wonder if this might be of interest?

Very cool. I withdraw the suggestion of mechanical transparencies!

In the details of that work, there is a link to a predecessor project, which uses a Teensy 3.2 (Arduino on steroids). I have a spare Teensy 3.2 which would offload the eyes processing from the main Pi. Add some ears, and the eyes could look to where sounds are coming from.

A little pricey - the OLEDs are US$40 each, The LCDs are US$15 each.

Bill Morrow

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Jun 22, 2018, 3:29:14 PM6/22/18
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On Friday, 22 June 2018 13:04:37 UTC-5, Bill Morrow wrote:
On Thursday, 21 June 2018 18:17:33 UTC-5, Shawn Wilson wrote:
I wonder if this might be of interest?

Very cool. I withdraw the suggestion of mechanical transparencies!

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jul 18, 2018, 7:28:20 AM7/18/18
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Greetings Makers!

Sorry for going dark there for a bit. James Somers generously donated some of his time and sketched up a new model for the Recycling Robot Project:


I've sent this sketch to our contacts at the Waste Resource Education office last week, and am waiting for a reply. I hope to schedule a meeting with them to discuss features and budget.

In the meantime, I'd like for us to get together on Tuesday from say 7pm-8pm at the space to consider which technologies we should use to realise the project.

For anyone who is interested, this is still a great time to jump into the project! All experience levels are welcome. This is a perfect opportunity to learn, and to share your knowledge with others.

I look forward to seeing you at the space on the 24th!

Cheers!

Peter.

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jul 18, 2018, 8:49:51 AM7/18/18
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Sorry, the photo link in my previous email was incorrect. Please try this one:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/z2XBDzmH9jJ9Bqqo6

Bill Morrow

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Jul 18, 2018, 4:52:09 PM7/18/18
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Thanks Peter. 40x40x80 cm in volume?

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jul 19, 2018, 7:16:37 AM7/19/18
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Hey Bill.

We're aiming for carry-on luggage sized. 22 cm x 35 cm x 56 cm. I suspect that, when operational, the robot may be taller. There is a section in the middle that could be telescoping for example...

Peter.


Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jul 25, 2018, 8:27:14 AM7/25/18
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Greetings Team,

We had a great meeting yesterday. We discussed some potential technology choices, and started looking for people to take on specific elements of the project.

Bill Morrow is looking to manufacture the body from recycled plastic. He will start with the robot's head.

James Somers and Shawn Wilson will be looking into using a 7" monitor for the robot's face.

Charles Thorpe will look into powering the robot.

I also will be meeting with Solid Waste Resources Halifax to discuss James' sketch from a couple of weeks ago. That meeting will be on Monday July 30th at 6:30 pm. Location TBD.

Cheers!

Peter.

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Jul 25, 2018, 9:17:55 AM7/25/18
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Quick update:

The meeting with Solid Waste Resources Halifax will be at 6:30 PM on Monday July 30th, at Alderney Gate. Please let me know (spie...@hotmail.com) if you would like to attend the meeting...

Peter.

Bill Morrow

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Sep 15, 2018, 2:02:59 PM9/15/18
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I finally got the dimensions of Moby's prototype head consistent.

There's a cardboard scale mockup in the social room, near James' sketch. See attached image. Feel free to comment on the dimensions.

I'll start working on HDPE "lumber" now.
20180915_133046.jpg

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Sep 20, 2018, 8:46:48 AM9/20/18
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Hey Bill,

Thank mockup looks fantastic. Have you had a chance to design a couple of different faceplates to accommodate either a display or some LED matrices?

Great work!

Peter.


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Bill Morrow

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Sep 20, 2018, 2:32:04 PM9/20/18
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Thanks Peter.

I'll work on a cutout for the face to hold both options. Do you have a link to your LCD screen, or do you think their measurements are standard?

Shawn Wilson

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Sep 21, 2018, 1:32:41 PM9/21/18
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Sorry, Bill, I missed your last post. I set up a test rig (not fitted for the head, just something to hold the pieces while  programming) with pi and 7" display this morning and left it at the space. See this link.  I would like the parts back eventually, but won't be bent out of shape if they die.  Stuff is mounted rather shabbily (using one or two mounting holes instead of 4) so a light touch when plugging stuff in is recommended.  I can measure the screen, but I found the cable restrictions and port/jack locations rule out a lot of orientations.

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Bill Morrow

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Sep 23, 2018, 8:32:41 AM9/23/18
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On Friday, 21 September 2018 14:32:41 UTC-3, Shawn Wilson wrote:
 I can measure the screen, but I found the cable restrictions and port/jack locations rule out a lot of orientations.

I'm not sure I'll be able to come in today. Maybe for an hour or two midday. If not, tomorrow evening or Tuesday. I will plan to adjust the dimensions of Moby's mockup head to accommodate the screen and cut out a new version.

Shawn Wilson

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Sep 23, 2018, 8:36:18 AM9/23/18
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It looks like the screen will just barely fit. Might be okay.  Note: I don't know if the call had been made to use this screen or not.  It was just one I had on hand to test...

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Shawn Wilson

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Sep 23, 2018, 8:36:38 PM9/23/18
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Bill did a V2 of the robot head today.  It has a few issues but fits the screen nicely.  Jim, if you're interested in doing some faces, I put some samples in file transfer.halifaxmakerspace.org in folder moby2 (should give you the resolution).

Shawn Wilson

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Oct 15, 2018, 10:52:44 AM10/15/18
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Matt from StandupMaths Youtube channel recently evaluated a commercial robot that demonstrates an impressive amount of expression from mostly 2 eyes on a screen and some sound effects, similar to what we're doing.  We might want to learn from it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ahdOqe5qBk&t=688s

Also, this may be feature creep, but I am wondering if, instead of programming eye movements, we might want to record them with a puppeteering rig made of accelerometers or even just pots to record a "head tilt" (which could just be eye tilt), head rotation, eyebrow height, pupil movements?  If memory serves, there are open source projects to do this kind of thing for animation, but it's been a while since I read about them.

And as a brief aside, a journalism student was in on Sunday doing a story on us.  He remembered the original Moby from school.

Tom Servaes

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Oct 15, 2018, 11:05:48 AM10/15/18
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With the school year well underway, would it not make sense to do a full build now and leave upgrades and such for next year? Who knows what other ideas and requests the client comes up with based on their experience with the initial build? Also, having something tangible is motivating for the team to keep making progress.

Tom
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Jordan Edsall

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Oct 16, 2018, 8:04:56 PM10/16/18
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I have the treads most of the way there. Parametric chain is working well, carving some drive wheels tonight. 

I had to miss out last week because I was in PEI for the marathon but I'll be in on Sunday to see how the Prusa handles them! 

On Mon, Oct 15, 2018 at 11:52 AM Shawn Wilson <redsky...@gmail.com> wrote:

Bill Morrow

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Oct 22, 2018, 10:19:40 AM10/22/18
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One of the key features we were envisioning was a telescopic feature. Moby 2 shows interest or surprise, or some other  facet of his narrative, by telescoping so that his three body parts (head, torso, lower body) move apart, and he grows in height by 30-40 cm. See the sketches in the space, done by James.

My thought is that the joints in between his three modules are made from nested cylinders. Ideally recycled cans, if we can make that look good. Inside those is some sort of linear actuator.

https://youtu.be/WJkf264yxTU

Is an interesting approach to a linear actuator to accomplish the telescopic action, using relatively inexpensive DC motors with built-in encoder:

and 3-d printer style lead screws.

Bill Morrow

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Oct 23, 2018, 12:02:05 AM10/23/18
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http://a.co/d/cx0pk7B

The core of the backbone?

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Oct 28, 2018, 9:56:19 AM10/28/18
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On Tue, Oct 23, 2018 at 1:02 AM Bill Morrow <morr...@gmail.com> wrote:
http://a.co/d/cx0pk7B

The core of the backbone?

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Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Mar 21, 2019, 7:25:10 AM3/21/19
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Greetings team,

Solid Waste Resources Halifax is looking for a budget for this project, so it is time to have a dreaded budget meeting. :) Are there evenings or weekends in the next few weeks that work better for interested people?

Peter.



Shawn Wilson

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Mar 21, 2019, 7:37:01 AM3/21/19
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Mon, Thurs, and Sundays work best for me.

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Bill Morrow

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Mar 21, 2019, 7:49:44 PM3/21/19
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I'm pretty open, except have a slight preference for keeping weekend evenings free: Friday-Sunday.

Jordan Edsall

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Mar 22, 2019, 7:02:14 AM3/22/19
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I can usually do Thursday evenings or daytime during either weekend day.

On Mar 21, 2019 8:37 AM, "Shawn Wilson" <sh...@halifaxmakerspace.org> wrote:
Mon, Thurs, and Sundays work best for me.
On Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 08:25 Peter-Frank Spierenburg, <spie...@gmail.com> wrote:
Greetings team,

Solid Waste Resources Halifax is looking for a budget for this project, so it is time to have a dreaded budget meeting. :) Are there evenings or weekends in the next few weeks that work better for interested people?

Peter.



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Shawn Wilson

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Mar 23, 2019, 8:06:08 PM3/23/19
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I forgot to mention: I don't feel I need to be involved in this project, but am happy to help.  So if a date works for everyone else, go with that and let me know what I can do to help.

On Fri, Mar 22, 2019 at 8:02 AM Jordan Edsall <jordan....@gmail.com> wrote:

I can usually do Thursday evenings or daytime during either weekend day.

On Mar 21, 2019 8:37 AM, "Shawn Wilson" <sh...@halifaxmakerspace.org> wrote:
Mon, Thurs, and Sundays work best for me.
On Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 08:25 Peter-Frank Spierenburg, <spie...@gmail.com> wrote:
Greetings team,

Solid Waste Resources Halifax is looking for a budget for this project, so it is time to have a dreaded budget meeting. :) Are there evenings or weekends in the next few weeks that work better for interested people?

Peter.



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Jordan Edsall

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Mar 24, 2019, 12:31:11 PM3/24/19
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Hey everyone,
I also wanted to mention that I have now uploaded the Moby models I've created a to a GitHub repo at: https://github.com/jordanbike7/Jb7AtHms 

Cheers

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Apr 1, 2019, 10:44:42 AM4/1/19
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Greetings All,

I would like to schedule the budget meeting for this project on April 8th, from 7pm to 9pm. My goal is to come out of this meeting with a budget to present to the Waste Resource Education office. I am hoping to have a few different options, and an idea of the costs to help them make a decision around which features have the best cost-benefit. If you are interested in this project, but are unavailable at this time, please feel free to send me (spie...@hotmail.com) your ideas, and an estimate of their costs before the meeting.

Cheers!

Peter.

Jordan Edsall

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Apr 7, 2019, 10:56:55 AM4/7/19
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Is this still on for tomorrow? 

I expect I will be able to make it, depending on driving conditions. 

Shawn Wilson

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Apr 7, 2019, 11:47:39 AM4/7/19
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I am guessing I would opt to stay home tomorrow.  I can do a Hangout or something if that helps.  But don't delay the project because of me.

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Peter-Frank Spierenburg

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Apr 7, 2019, 9:46:07 PM4/7/19
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Greetings All,

Considering the predicted weather, I am moving the budget meeting to the 15th of April at 7pm, at the Makerspace.

Cheers!

Peter.

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