Hello Builders
I am very excited to share this new design I have been working for a while, inspired in many of your designs and remixes Bill SCHONFELDER Ian Shatwell and from all the feedback we have been collecting this years there was something often requested.
How can I add a LED matrix to my starter/basic/plus Otto?
What if I wanna add arms later?
Before this post , the answer always was: 3D print Otto Humanoid body and head (so basically make a new robot).
Robots should be modular by nature, as mechanical machines they could be re-arranged depending on the needs of the inventor, but is easy to said than to create a modular system. So attached is the first iteration of a series of "Otto expansions" relying on the same simple snap we always had, the solution was in front of our noses! Many did the stack expansion before but only to increase space for cables/sensors etc.
I would love to hear other ideas or suggestions around this new concept and how can we make Otto more versatile and dynamic to interchange parts? My dream is to create together a catalogue of modular Otto parts that you can put in multiple configurations(yes sound like Lego but more tailored to robotics and Arduino sensors/audio/displays/motors etc)everything you see in Otto Blockly.
This is just the start, I can imagine we can also make use of other features around the basic shape of Otto to enable new possibilities (from biped to wheels or to quadruped etc) without remaking new parts every time.
I am very excited to share this new design I have been working for a while, inspired in many of your designs and remixes Bill SCHONFELDER Ian Shatwell and from all the feedback we have been collecting this years there was something often requested.
How can I add a LED matrix to my starter/basic/plus Otto?
What if I wanna add arms later?
Before this post , the answer always was: 3D print Otto Humanoid body and head (so basically make a new robot).
Robots should be modular by nature, as mechanical machines they could be re-arranged depending on the needs of the inventor, but is easy to said than to create a modular system. So attached is the first iteration of a series of "Otto expansions" relying on the same simple snap we always had, the solution was in front of our noses! Many did the stack expansion before but only to increase space for cables/sensors etc.
I would love to hear other ideas or suggestions around this new concept and how can we make Otto more versatile and dynamic to interchange parts? My dream is to create together a catalogue of modular Otto parts that you can put in multiple configurations(yes sound like Lego but more tailored to robotics and Arduino sensors/audio/displays/motors etc)everything you see in Otto Blockly.
This is just the start, I can imagine we can also make use of other features around the basic shape of Otto to enable new possibilities (from biped to wheels or to quadruped etc) without remaking new parts every time.
There seem to be two variants on the MAX7219 matrix. The SMD version has a square board behind the matrix (e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAX7219-Dot-Matrix-Microcontroller-Module-8x8-Raspberry-Pi-Arduino/162212768763 which is the version I use). This takes up less room, but might be harder to mount in a body section where it protrudes out of the front rather than shining through the wall. The DIL version (e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAX7219-RED-DOT-Matrix-8X8-Display-Module-with-Cables-for-Raspberry-Pi-Arduino/262555411179) has the chip next to the matrix, so needs more space, but might be easier to hold in place.
My Otto was a few millimeters larger from front to back than the original, as my battery pack did not quite fit in the original design. I then reprinted the head a few millimeters higher, as there were so many cables crammed inside that it kept popping off.
My son wants toes on the feet, but I pointed out that that would break the reversable symmetry and you would need different versions for left and right feet. It would still look good though.
1.The shoulders higher than the piece unfortunately wont work as one piece since the print orientation it will require supports, but how about as separate pieces? that could be interesting to reduce the height that indeed it will start to increase like crazy the more modules are added
2. Right now I am using the same MAX7219 SMD matrix but the LED size is too big unfortunately they don't have the smaller LED block on that, you can give a try to the STL it holds nicely.
3. The "hands" now a gripper could be easily design in Tinkercad too we could start to create more variations
4. The new V11 have Left and right version so that could work for your son idea, it is ok.
Let me know how it goes!
Hi Camilo Parra Palacio
If the legs could be somewhat longer (as two servos high), so that the foot servo is mounted on the foot itself (or could also be the foot) and the leg's turn servo could be mounted inside the leg there would be a gain of lot space inside the body. The servo wires could be stored inside the legs too.
Then the arms, I prefer the movement like Robot Lee has (forward and backward). The humanoid's arms look more than chicken wings.
And the mouth matrix - why not a small I2C OLED?! Think at power consumption. And if the analogpins are free, the drawn current of the servos could be watched.
And there would be space for two LiPo 18650 inside the body.
Why not cut the feet out of a plate and mount with srews under the printed feet. Later they could be changed with skies or diving shoes ;-) or rollerblades..
4 x AA batteries with 2 x step up booster with output at 6 V is next try to get the least out from the batteries (until they'll give less than 2 volts under load). The 6 volts for the servos will be damped by a Si diode (like drawn in the fritzing scheme from Camilo), and other 6..8 volts go to the Vin pins.
My testing batteries are so weak now, they can't drive the servos but the nano still works behind the step up converter. And I think it will too with an OLED mouth, but not with a MAX7219 Matrix.
Next could be, to drill hole(s) in the back of the body, so I can stick a 18650 from behind. Inside is a neodym magnet with the negative contact which will also hold the 18650 in place.
The positive contact is a neodym too on a flexible wire at the back that does also the role as mainswitch: In the off position the neodym positive contact will be placed on little magnetic plate aside, in the on position the neodym is on the positve pole of the 18650.
The challenge is to find the material for the contacts that won't rust and will have only lowest electrical resistance.
That's the direction I'm planing my testings..
To make it modular, I think firstly you need to determine the level/hierarchy of the modularity first, is it going to be parts level, for example, head, body, arms, or any other component within its own enclosure.
Or going up a little more, where the closure itself can hold or became a base plate for the various electrical components in the same category, such as motors, sensor, displays.
If we see it (level of modularity) like folder structures on windows file explorer, we can then have more a clear view of what Otto wants to achieve.
The more high the level will give you more modularity but more challenges when creating it.
In this case, I think otto can be at the parts level, so it can be more user-friendly especially for kids.
My suggestion is: the body of Otto will become the center / main components. (but don't think it will become the body, head, or anything. It's modular, I can be anything.)
And on the 6 sides of the main box has its own universal joints where any other enclosure can fit it. If you can attach foot on top, left, or side of it, and that's I think when you achieve its modularity.
Because if you already have spots for every part, I think that is not modularity, it is more like assembly.
The body as a base that can be expand up (as you see in this post) or to the sides if stacking a new module, the problem we have going up is getting a very tall robot and with the sides it will ruin the look of the starter biped robot if we start to add holes and joints so we are trying to figure our a nice looking system there.
What universal joints do you refer to?
Also with the head we will like to attach something like hats with sensors and other components but then we would have to make a hole for the cables that would be visible.
So there are some take but leave situation here...
For the hole, you can create a patch component to close it when there is no or another component attached to it, if you don't want holes then you need to create some mechanism for the electrical connections, something like a plug
For example, I make one here https://www.instagram.com/p/CMxPOPCFhzn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
But it's going to be a bit difficult for everyone to create. unless you make a purchasable part that anyone can buy.
What I mean by universal joint/universal connections is where you can attach one part with the other. mostly holes
But for gluestick, hairspray, and other adhesion I've tried, raft is the one I choose, it's almost 100% successful prints, don't have to clean bed. I forgot when the last time I level the bed. People said it's hard to remove raft, but seem it quiet easy for me. There are also other downside, but for my project is working awesome.
Yes, I'm really curious to try this on resin, I imagine to print 100 pins in just 6 minutes. But I really think I need to make an optimized design for resin printer.
After 6 months, I found out that Most of the time, the problem is within the design, once you got it right, the printer and the slicer will always giving you the same results. ( at least for me).