Summertime

When June rolls around in Florida, I tend to find cooler activities to keep me occupied. Namely being out in the Gulf of Mexico or staying in the cooler areas of our home. Working in the garage still occasionally happens but the robot building usually goes on hold for a few months until the weather cools off some.

Here's a video of my number one warm weather pastime


OR ....

Relay for life cancer fund raiser

Last week a co worker asked me if I could bring R2 to a fundraiser that was being held in St. Petersburg. It was the Cancer Society's relay for life where people walk all night long to raise money from pledges. They wanted to know if R2 could run a few laps with the teams.

I checked out the track ahead of time and it was a fairly smooth surface so last Friday evening we brought R2 to the event. It was a pretty nice turnout and a beautiful evening. Once they announced it was time for the event to begin they also announced R2D2 would lead the way. Well that certainly didn't work as R2 was immediately swarmed by dozens of kids. And of course .... wouldn't you know it. The first kid to him was a completely wild eyed crazy kid who acted like he wanted to kill R2. He was screaming at him and blocking his way and threatening to destroy the little droid piece by piece. Even after calming that kid down R2 was swarmed so he couldn't participate in the beginning. Once he started walking kids figured out that they could get him to stop by "jumping" out in front of him. That's why you can't take your eyes of the droid for even a second when there's people around. And sure enough once we started walking, a kid jumped in front of R2 and I had to slam on the brakes to keep from plowing her down. And unfortunately a little one who was following R2 too closely bumped his head and fell down until his dad scooped him up. I apologized to the Dad and explained I had to stop to keep from hitting the girl.

So finally I broke away from the mob of kids and was able to do a couple laps with R2. And afterwards we hung out at the entrance where R2 interacted with people coming into the track area. It was a lot of fun and for a good cause.

Happy Cinco De Mayo and new wheels for Escape Pod

The last time we had R2 out one of the Escape Pod's wheels disintegrated under the heavy weight and stress. The wheels were leftover from a project long long ago and I tried to recycle them knowing that they weren't very sturdy. But I reasoned I didn't plan on moving the escape pod much as R2 can usually move under his own power.
Tomorrow is Cinco De Mayo and compliments of my wife, R2 is dressed for the occasion with Mexican Sombrero and a pair of moroccos. Now he's starting to bug me for a Margarita so I told him he's going to have to wait until tomorrow.

R2D2 abuse

It was fun taking R2D2 to take your droid to work day but the front foot drive is once again loose. Driving in our parking lot going from one building to another took it's toll on R2. The pavement was rougher than I anticipated. That in addition to the main building he drove was tile and very bumpy tile with large grooves between the tiles. It was akin to taking R2D2 on an automotive test track. I was wincing as the front wheel banged away on the bumps. Many R2's in the club probably couldn't even go on surfaces like this but mine is like a tank. A tank with a delicate front foot.

I must .... must must must build a completely new front ankle / foot design similar to my rear motor mounts. It just makes sense. The stupid pivot point on the ankle is such a waste and completely inefficient for a droid that won't have 3-2-3 configuration. Recently FordFun signed my guestbook with a note that he just completed a design like that. If you're reading this, I would love to see some pictures of your design.

For now I will remove the foot and fix it again as there's another charity event that would like R2D2 there to entertain the guests.

Take our daughters and sons (& droids) to work day

This week has once again found me working on the front foot of R2D2. When we were visiting relatives last week with R2, one of the ankle bolts came loose and the entire front ankle started to develop a bit of movement. So I removed the foot and tightened all the areas that had loosened and made sure all the bolts had a few drops of loctite on them.

I also wanted to get him roadworthy again to bring R2 into work for "Take your daughters and sons to work day". My version will be more like "Take our droid to work day" It should be interesting as most people I work with don't know I built R2D2. There will be a bunch of kids in and around the company tomorrow so the addition of a well mannered droid will probably be welcome. We're a large electronics company so our little droid will feel almost at home here. Should be an interesting day.

The Easter Droid

This weekend we loaded up R2 and went to visit relatives on the East Coast of Florida. They have 3 girls ages 10 - 16 so we decided to use R2 to deliver their Easter Basket. Everyone was pretty surprised to see R2D2 walking up to their front door on Sunday.

R2 traveled well in his Escape Pod and loading and unloading him was a piece of cake with the Spitz lift. Of course there were a lot of looks going down the road with R2 looking out the back window of the Escape Pod. A lot of thumbs up signals and smiles.

The girls loved R2 and he was a hit going up and down their street. Something that amazed me though was these girls have NEVER SEEN STAR WARS !!!!!! When I heard that I threatened to turn the parents in for child neglect. So I decided it's my civic duty to send them the original Star Wars movie and they all promised to watch it. I'm still stunned by this news.

My wife had a lot of fun decorating R2 for this trip. She made a big fluffy puff ball tail and found the ears and basket. While she was shopping she informed me that she had a few other holiday outfits stashed away for R2 for the future. Gotta love a wife like that !

John Williams concert number three

We got in late last Sunday night and the week has been hectic so I never did mention anything about the last concert at Ruth Eckerd hall with the Florida Orchestra. Like the first two events, R2 performed flawlessly and the crowd was great. We met a lot of nice people and R2 was a big hit.

The icing on the cake Sunday was we received free tickets to see the John Williams tribute concert which was beautiful.

Once in a long narrow lobby a very large crowd of people started gathering/swarming around R2. The problem was the crowd got so big it started clogging up the hall so people couldn't get by. So I slowly walked R2 forward to an area in the lobby area that could accomodate the crowd. The entire crowd moved with R2 which unblocked the passageway. You had to have been there to appreciate it. I felt like my remote control now had the power to move crowds.

So now I can slowly get back into finishing R2. Wrangling him in public sure is fun though.

Florida Orchetra John Williams concert two

Yesterday morning I removed R2's Dome and battery to access the sound board. The sound board and remote control board are on a separate panel mounted in the front of my droid in front of the battery. To remove the board you only have to pull a quick disconnect wire and then unscrew the speaker wires. The panel is held in place by plastic ties. They work very well.

Upon removing the board I quickly determined the problem with the sound system. The antenna to the remote is a 6 inch wire soldered to the board. That wire was missing which confirmed my suspicion. The fix was easy enough and I made some modifications to insure the antenna wire was better supported. I soldered a longer antenna/wire into a T formation for better reception. Now part of the antenna/wire extends into the skirt/front ankle area and another part snakes up to the top of the panel.

I have to say that last night was one of those really sweet moments in life. Yvonne and I had great fun interacting with the people at Mahaffey Theatre in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was a much better location than Tampa and R2 had a large beautiful carpeted lobby to play in. The employees and the patrons just loved R2 and he was a hit again. There was a food drive so we put a couple bags of food on R2's utility "arms" so he could deliver the food to the charity. There were some good publicity shots taken. The orchestra employees and volunteers were just great last night. Yvonne stopped by the theatre yesterday (she works only a few blocks away) to make sure everyone knew we were coming and to get a lay of the land for parking and unloading. That helped pave the way. Even though the Orchestra people informed the venue, it's a good idea to communicate with the people who you will actually be interacting with. Often the higher ups communicate but not everyone is infomed. So when we got there last night they were ready for us.

By hanging out in the shadows with my controller hidden it really brings out the magic in R2. Especially with kids. You can see it in their eyes. When you turn R2 to look at them and the eye of R2 follows them and interacts with them, you can see that R2 is real to them. And it shows in their eyes. It's hard to explain but it's just cool. This even happens for adults but on a different level. Adults know it's not a real droid but when you start interacting with them, you can see the imagination kicking in and for a minute or two they forget and are temporarily kids again. I just have to say that Yvonne and I had a ton of fun.

Even loading R2 up was nice. I drove R2 out to the loading area and all the parking lot attendants were coming in with their mini light sabers (parking wands). R2 hung out with them for awhile taking pictures with a beautiful florida night breeze and the strong sweet scent of Jasmine as Jasmine was in bloom all around us. A perfect moment. And again when we loaded R2 into his box, we left him on and looking out his window for the drive home. We turned the sound on too and occasionally we could hear R2 chattering in his box from the cab of my pickup.

Tonight we'll be in Clearwater at Ruth Eckerd hall with the Orchestra (only a few miles from home). And tonight we're getting tickets to the show so after entertaining in the lobby we'll stash R2 away someplace while we watch the performance. I better go out and put R2 on a charger before I forget.


R2 Stretching his legs before the doors open



R2 Dropping off food for the food drive



Everyone wants their picture taken with R2

Florida Orchestra John Williams concert one

For a guy who does NOT like crowds I did pretty good last night at Tampa Bay performing arts center. Maneuvering R2 through the crowds of MegaCon was a little different than the congestion and crowds at the Performing Arts center. For instance I don't remember any people with walkers or many people over 70 at MegaCon. It just adds another degree of watchfulness to wrangling R2. Because you don't want to startle someone who is very wobbly on their feet to begin with. So I was very careful last night and didn't have any problems.

The one issue that makes it even more exciting in a crowded situation is someone inevitably figures out you're controlling the droid and wants to chat. You're trying to be polite but you also have to watch people interacting with the droid. And you have to be very careful you don't run someones foot over or worse when turning the droid when someone wants a picture. When in doubt the droid just sits until I have a clean view and a safe area around him to maneuver.

Controlling him with my hand on the controller in the leather bag really works good. I can't count the number of times people around me were talking out loud how they thought the droid was software controlled because they didn't know who was controlling it. I guess that 75% of the people think he's running on his own. Some think there's a small person inside. And the clever ones figure it out. It was the same at MegaCon.

Without stereotyping people, without a doubt the crowd was "stiffer" last night than the uninhibited free thinker teenagers / 20's from MegaCon. Of course a lot of people purchased tickets to John Williams because they love movies and it's a fun concert. So there were a lot of smiles again last night which is why I enjoy wrangling the droid in public. A lot of smiles and pictures being taken.

This was the first official time that I used my droid "escape pod" and the Spitz lift crane on my truck. And I have to say it performed flawlessly. I was able to load/unload the droid into my truck by myself in minutes with a professional look. The one thing I need to be very careful about is to check the cotter pins in the crane assembly. They have a habit of partially slipping out in between applications. That could spell disaster if I miss one and the crane collapses in the middle of a lift. So I will have to remember to not rush and check the entire crane once over between each use.

On the way home it was dark and I had R2 looking out the window of his escape pod. And I left him on so the lights were running. Needless to say he attracted some attention.

Oh and one other bit of excitement was when I first unloaded R2 at the venue. I fired him up and everything worked except the dome wouldn't turn. Immediately I started thinking the worse and was ready to change fuses and check the wiring. But then I stepped back and started looking at obvious problems first which was wise. It turned out that I forgot to attach the spring holding the dome motor tension to the frame. A simple fix of 2 minutes.

And finally wouldn't you know it. The walkway from the dropoff area was cobblestone. Rough bumpy cobblestone. Fortunately R2 was able to handle it but I don't like the jarring and bumping unless it's absolutely necessary. So I found a smooth section by the ledge/dropoff of 6" (talk about stress). If I wandered on this trek R2 would have fallen into the garden area but all went well.

Tonight .... we're going to a different venue with the Florida Orchestra. The St. Petersburg Mahaffey theatre. A whole different set of circumstances. Hopefully I'll be able to repair my sound system antenna by then. Last night I had to have R2 close to me to activate the sound. I *think* the antenna may be missing or ???? on the sound system. Having automatic mode on the sound system is nice. I drove him by me and set it on automatic and then he could drive around for 15 minutes in auto mode and chatter.

It's great being a "nerd".

Ready for a road trip

Last night was one of those nights where everything just clicked. The design I had in my head to fix the front foot using aluminum shims went according to plan. And the upgraded front wheel which is an inch taller than the other wheel also went smooth. My todo list of minor repairs were checked off as completed in a short period of time. By 9:00 last night R2 was tucked away in his box ready to be hoisted into the truck for a road trip.

Working the crowd for the Florida Orchestra will certainly be a slightly different experience than working the crowd at MegaCon. Different in some ways but the same in watching the smiles on people's faces while R2 interacts. We're looking forward to it.

Since it's so late in the game I doubt R2 will be invited to the stage with the conductor. But it's still a remote possibility.

My R2D2 and the Florida Orchestra John Williams tribute

Well the temporary laid back building pace has just been kicked up 1 million notches. R2 needs to be repaired and put back together again in time for a John Williams tribute by the Florida Orchestra ... tomorrow !!!!!!!!!!!

But it will be worth it. Talk about a cool gig. It's still not determined if R2 will be on stage with the orchestra but he will be working the crowd at 3 different venues this weekend. At Tampa Bay Performing Arts center in Tampa, The Mahaffee theatre in St. Petersburg and Ruth Eckerd hall in Clearwater.

The foot drive repairs look good. This may not be that bad after all. Gotta get going as he needs to be packed in my truck tonight.

Back to work

The list of things to fix and redo on R2 is a mile long so it's about time I got moving. Break time from building is over. The biggest critical problem is R2's front foot needs serious attention. The triangle pieces of aluminum I used to prevent the foot from pivoting are a problem. They mashed down and pressed the top of the fiberglass foot so hard they literally pulverized the top edge of the foot shell. I can now see it's not the best solution to keep the foot rigid. So it's back to the drawing board there. My R2 drove a lot during Megacon and jumped over bumps and ledges with no problem but the foot absorbed some damage with all the movement and vibrations.

So instead of those (ugly) triangle things (I don't even have a name for them), I'll wedge some 1" aluminum strips between the inner angle iron of the foot and the edge of the ankle which noses into that angle iron. I bought some 1" x 1/8" aluminum strips today and I'll cut a few 3" pieces to jam into that area. It should keep the foot from pivoting down. A simple solution.

How I noticed the problem was once the fiberglass wore down, the foot shifted in it's position. All of a sudden the foot's front edge was riding high and the back edge of the foot was almost dragging along the ground. And this changed the dynamics of the rear feet in that they were no longer level.

One other change I'll experiment with is to again try using one of my massive front wheels I tried in the past which sits about 3/4" higher than the other wheels. Having a little more clearance on the front foot shell won't hurt. So I'll give that a try. We'll see.

Super Fun at MegaCon 2009

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Click here to see seven pages of photos I posted online


(Group photo from Brenda)
I think we all had a spectacular time at the convention and it was a big success. I heard many times from the promoters of MegaCon that the Robots are loved by the attendees. It was nice to see everyone again and have time to hang out and pick up new building ideas and techniques.

My robots weren't in the greatest shape this year as I was spending all my spare time getting R2 ready. So as a result, some of my lights weren't working on Robby and the ears on B9 stopped. Plus the movies I made to display for B9 and Robby had a few glitches. But it paid off in that driving R2 was probably the most fun I've had in years. I operated R2 with one hand using my transmitter hidden inside a leather bag I had slung over my shoulder. By using that bag from the beginning, I'm now used to operating R2 like that. I was able to navigate him through the massive crowds and he performed perfectly. He drove over cords and bumps with no problem also. The drive system I put together really is fantastic.

These are just a couple pictures I had handy. Not the best representation but I'll be posting more in the next week after I get caught up at work and putting all the robots back together.

Moving robots around is hazardous to their health. My Bender head now has a large hole in the back that was caused by my fist when I caught him as he was falling. My Johnny 5 lost an arm and C3PO's antenna came loose. Nothing too terrible and it will give me some projects to finish before MegaCon 2010.

About the new R6 unit in production

Just got the new publicity release from Brad about R5-PQ. Too cool for words.