Project Progress

As stated previously, the goal of Project Progress is to create a fully functional, and programable, audio-animatronic figure created entirely in the Arduino coding library. Prior to conducting any CAD Modeling, 3D Printing, or coding, some initial research was conducted to determine not only the feasibility of the project but also some inspiration for the animatronic and its functionalities.

When thinking of major goals for the project, outside the umbrella goal of a fully working animatronic figure, a few came to mind as extremely important. Firstly, the animatronic needed to be controllable from a tablet or phone. That way, the animatronic would not be tied to a computer to gain full functionality. The reasoning behind this was so that Project Progress could be completely mobile, and I could have it do anything from the push of a button or slider. Second, Project Progress needed to have articulated fingers, arms, neck, eyes, and mouth. Lastly, the figure needed to be as life-like as possible for a first animatronic. In summary, the three goals of the project were: mobility, specific articulation, and realness.

The basis of Project Progress, as stated before, is the Arduino coding language. So, to achieve the first goal, a solution needed to be found that allows an Arduino to communicate with a tablet or phone. After a google search, ArduinoBlue was an easy choice. ArduinoBlue connects an Arduino to any device using Bluetooth communication. The app allows for up to 200 sliders to be created that can send changes in a variable to the Arduino. Thus, goal number one was feasible, Project Progress could be completely mobile. The second and third goals will be addressed later on in the design process, as they rely on the code powering Project Progress.

After determining the feasibility, the next challenge was the story behind the animatronic. The animatronic will be the unnamed brother of John Progress, the animatronic at the center of Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. However, it must be made clear that this is the only connection to any intellectual property of Disney or any other company. Project Progress, now named Tom Progress, is a 35-year-old entrepreneur from Tampa Florida, who wears plaid and a bowler hat and has a degree in finance from the University of Central Florida. While the story may seem unimportant, achieving a realness to the character means a personality should be important to the design early on.

The rest of this page will serve as documentation throughout the design of Tom Progress.

To view the documentation for an assembly, click the image or the link