Recent content by Honus

After doing this Iron Man suit and multiple other animatronic projects and after much discussion with several friends I finally caved and created a forum to help all of my costuming and prop building friends with their animatronic and electronic needs. I know some of this stuff can be very...

I did a brief interview with Sparkfun here- https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1475

Thanks for the kind words everyone! We really tried to push the boundaries of what could be done with an Iron Man suit. There's definitely a few things that could be improved and cleaned up but for the most part I'm pretty happy with how everything works- especially the idea of using RFID...

Finally finished the complete tutorial! Wireless helmet with opening faceplate and chin, shoulder rockets, forearm missile, moving hip pods, moving back flaps and boots that light up with a sound effect. The suit functions are controlled using RFID tags in the gloves...

Thanks guys! Now to make an opening staff weapon and ZAT...

Just finished my latest project and thought I'd share. I always wanted to build an animatronic Horus helmet- with an emphasis on low budget- and here it is! The helmet is constructed of cardstock, paper mache and foam sheet with some thin plywood for the head mech and fan parts. I really...

Here you go- http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-animatronics-make-your-awesome-costumes-m/ Have fun!

That's a really cool robotic hand- very clever!

Thanks guys- it's actually pretty simple once you get into it. It just looks more complicated than it really is! The hardest part is figuring out the sequence of actions, how to get things to fit in your costume, mechanics, etc.

I finally finished it- at least until I add more cool stuff. :) Here you go- http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-animatronics-make-your-awesome-costumes-m/ If anyone has any questions just let me know! Jerome

Here's the latest video of the Iron Man hand repulsor using the controller and a bend sensor. I'm sooo close to getting the tutorial done.... any day now!

Here's what the prototype transistor boards look like. I decided to go ahead and make two prototypes -one that is directly socketed to the controller and one that will connect with a cable. I'm starting to lean toward the cable connected version as I'm not really liking the way the socketed...

Don't worry guys- I'll have a complete tutorial done up as soon as I make my prototype transistor board. I should have my little transistors this week. Once I'm finished people will see just how easy it is to use this and add some animatronics to your costumes.

So here's what my final controller board looks like- you can clearly see the LiPo charging circuit and all the inputs/outputs. The finished board measures just under 2.25" x 1.75". Here's what it looks like with the wireless radio installed in its socket- it can also be connected with a cable...

You could use a Wave shield- http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17_21&products_id=94 You can program it for six different sounds. The sound files are simply loaded onto a SD card and are triggered by a push button or another micrcontroller. Used one for the sound FX...