Week 11 - Battery Holder Printing, Testing Parts, Sketching of Head Visuals/Features

 Week 11 - Battery Holder Printing, Testing Parts, Sketching of Head Visuals/Features

Due to the Chinese New Year holidays I brought most of the required equipment from the Fablab back to my home.

Modelling the Battery Holder

I used Onshape to create the model for the Battery Holder, I printed 2 different failed prints that were too small to accommodate the battery's size.

Below are images from Onshape that I modelled out for the Battery Holder.

Testing the Electret Microphone

The Electret Microphone has been displaying some issues lately, I suspect its due to the sensitivity set on the device. At the moment I do not possess a single flathead screwdriver and I resorted to using my fingernails to twist the sensitivity meter anti-clockwise with the mic facing my left. The result is that I have sensitive but sometimes unresponsive microphone, I suspect the issue is with the weak positive wire.

Below are the graphs for the audio sensor, each spike is the result of my fingers snapping or clapping my hands loudly.

I plan to integrate this with the audio to simulate a startled reaction from B.U.G.G.Y.

The images below are the current setup for the Electret Microphone testing.

Testing the DFMiniPlayerMP3

I've spent a considerable amount of time testing the MP3 player from changing the audio file names to switching the SD Cards to triple checking the wiring. I asked for help from my classmate and according to him the issue is due to the lack of a 1k Ω that connects to the RX of the circuit so I'll put that on hold until the college reopens.

The image below is the setup with the Electret Microphone and MP3 player.

Sketching the head and body

The body just like other references I've found will be a simple rectangular wooden box that houses all the components along with hiding the battery. The head on the other hand will house an L.E.D eye if I have the time along with 3 servos to rotate it along the X and Z Axis, along with those I'll move the Ultrasonic Sensor there. I decided to create a unique design for the head which is that as it goes up it will also move forward, I think it adds character to the design and makes it more interesting.

Servo Testing for the Head

I started off by testing each of the microservos and seeing whether they function with various test codes, they worked and I can move on to the next step of planning.

        The image below is the setup with the Electret Microphone and MP3 player.

Creating the head

I first started out by placing the servos in a mockup location to simulate how I want the head to be, the most important step was getting the code right and the placement of the servos correct. 

Self Reflection - Entire Project

I'm just not in any mood to complete the project properly at home during the holidays, I plan to bring the project back to campus to finish it in the coming 2 weeks and also for the convenience of asking Ron for help. As of now I've only printed the battery holder and sketched out the design I want for B.U.G.G.Y. I'll focus my efforts in the coming weeks on finishing this project.

Self Reflection - Battery Holder

The battery holder is a bit of a problem, sometimes it connects well but sometimes it doesn't, I decided to fill the inner parts of the entire battery holder with copper tape that stacks well enough to connect to the battery. Hopefully it works.