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WALL-E

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In this entry I going to explain how the Wall-E robot has been made, based on the design of the 2008 Pixar movie. In addition, we will specify the materials and electronic components used, the functionalities of the robot and we will show several videos to see the robot in action.

DESIGN

The robot has been entirely manufactured on a 3D printer, from the CAD model made by the user chillibasket on the Thingiverse platform. To access to the CAD files use the following link:

However, the integration of an ultrasonic sensor was not contemplated in the original design, so I designed a support to integrate it into the final assembly of the robot.

MATERIALS Y RESOURCES

The materials used to manufacture the robot are:

  • 1 kg of PLA filament
  • M3x10, M3x20 and M3x30 screws
  • Plano-convex lens for the eyes (between ⌀31.5-32.5mm)
  • Spray paint (yellow and silver)

The resources used to realize the project are:

  • 3D printer
  • Tin soldering iron
  • Set of screwdrivers

ELECTRONICS

The electronic components used for the robot are:

  • Metal Geared Servomotors – x7.
  • High Torque Electric Power Gearbox Geared Motor 12VDC – x2
  • Arduino UNO
  • Arduino MotorShield
  • Speaker 5W 4Ω
  • DFPlayer Mini
  • Micro SD Card 8 GB
  • PCA9685 Servo Controller Board
  • Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Module EN-09
  • Ultrasonic Sensor HC-SR04
  • Voltage Regulator 12V to 5V DC
  • Lithium battery 11.1V 2200mAh

ASSEMBLY

After about 100 hours of printing, all the parts needed to assemble the robot were ready. Before starting with the electronics, first the printed parts were spray painted and some details were made with acrylic paint and brush so that the final result was as close as possible to the Wall-E from the movie.

When all the parts were painted, the robot was assembled.

The next step was to connect the electronics. To clarify how the robot electronics work, I have attached below the connection diagram of the different electronic components of the robot.

All the electronics of the robot are housed in the robot’s inner box which is accessed by opening the robot’s front door.

FUNCTIONALITIES

The main features of the robot are:

  • Movement of the robot by means of caterpillar type wheels.
  • Movement of 7 joints (both arms, neck tilt, neck turn, head turn, both eyes) by means of metal gear servomotors.
  • MP3 sound reproduction by means of the speaker and the DFPlayer Mini module for the reproduction of MP3 files.
  • Connection via Bluetooth with mobile device through an application developed on the Thunkable platform.
  • Distance measurement via ultrasonic sensor.

OPERATION MODES

The robot has three main operating modes.

  • Remote control: in this mode the user can control the robot through the application designed in Thunkable, being able to control the movement of the wheels, the movement of the 7 joints and the sound of the robot.
  • Avoiding obstacles: this mode allows the robot to move autonomously, avoiding obstacles in front of it, using the distance measured by the ultrasonic sensor. When it detects an object close to it, the robot will stop and turn until it detects no obstacle.
  • Target tracking: thanks to the distance measured by the ultrasonic sensor, it has been possible to program an autonomous operation mode in which the robot follows a target at a fixed distance and therefore, moves proportionally to the distance at which it is located.

Author

Fernando Cuello Calvo