Bobby: an Empathic Little Robot. [PROTOTYPE]

Meet Bobby. You can tickle Bobby, he doesn't really like it, though. You can also pet Bobby, het likes this better. What Bobby doesn't like, is cold. He will shiver, and you will have to warm him up.
Wanna know how to create Bobby? Come along!

What you will need

Electronics

• Arduino Yún
• Arduino software
• Prototyping: breadboard
• Prototyping: 23× male-male jumpwires
• Prototyping: 4× male-female jumpwires
• 4× 10k Ohm resistors
• 2× force sensitive resistors
• 1× temperature probe
• 1× speaker
• 1× 0,15 mF capacitor
• 3× 1,5kg Micro servomotor
• 1× push button
• 1× PCB soldering board (14×8 holes minimum)
• 2× male pin header
• Plenty of wire to solder with
• Soldering iron
• Soldering tin
• Cut plier
• Stripping plier

Building materials

• ± 50×20 cm soft yet sturdy, darker tinted plastic
• ± 35×45 cm cardboard
• 14× corner plates
• 3× coupling plate
• ± 50× fitting nuts and bolts
• Screwdriver
• Drill
• Fretsaw
• Hacksaw
• Hobby knife
• Stapler

Step 1: The Code

Download the codes below.
You should have the codes:

	Bobby.ino
	pitches.h

Step 2: Prototyping (optional)

To be sure the code works with the circuit, you can choose to prototype it with a breadboard. This is an optional, but surely recommended step. This is also het moment where you can change some things in the code and circuit to your own hand very easily.

Connect the parts as showed in the ciruit map, when you connect this to your computer and upload the code to it, it should work immediately.

Step 3: Soldering

I highly recommend soldering the circuit, rather than using the breadboard in the finished prototype. As the robot will move rapidly, chances are that prototyping wires can accidentally come lose while using the robot.

Everybody's got his own soldering style. I included some pictures of mine, but feel free to do this the way you feel more comfortable with (might this be using more space, then I do warn you to not make it too big as it still has to fit in the little bot).

Some tips&tricks

• You can create a 5V and ground strip by completely stripping a part of wire and using the conductive threads inside the wire. Solder a 5V and ground wire that will lead to your breadboard. Solder the beginning of the conductive threads next to these, then solder the ends to the end of the line you want to provide from 5V and GND. You can now connect components to these strips instead of giving every component their own 5V and GND wire.
• Use the legs of the resistor to connect the components following up to it. The legs of a resistor are conductive, so when you need something to be connected to the resistor, just fold the leg underneath the board rather than cutting both ends and adding more stripped wire.
• ISOLATE YOUR BOARD! Tape it, for example. The robot is held together by cornerplates, these are made of metal, just as the nuts and bolts you attach them with. If you don't isolate your board, there is a chance the corner plates and nuts and bolts will make contact with your circuit, which is dangerous as metal is conductive.
• Use more wire than you'd think you'll need. You'd rather have a little too much wire to squish into the robot, than a little too few wire, which can result in some wires snapping.

Step 4: Physical Production

There are several ways of working with the plastic. You can either saw it, or use a lasercutter.

Sawing
I sawed the material myself, as this was a safer option for me: someone with no lasercut experience or time to figure it out. I recommend using a hacksaw, a mechanic one preferably. The sizes of the parts are visible in the illustrator file included, draw this on your plastic and then saw along the lines. To polish it, you can sand down the edges. If you want to get rid of the raw edges, try using a hobbknife and scraping along the edges. This is how I got rid of them. Drilling the holes left behind no raw edges.

Lasercutting
I have no experience with the lasercutter, yet, I do know you can import an illustrator file to creathe the cutting path. I have included the illustrator file, hopefully this will be a good start for the one's who want to lasercut.

Cardboard
The cardboard was easily manipulated with a hobby knife, but also this material can be manipulated with the lastercutter. It's just where your preference is. The edges of the cardboard box are attached the easiest and sturdiest with staples.

Step 5: Physical Production - the Base

Follow the instructional illustration.

Following up to this is attaching the cartboard bridge for the two servomotors in the lower part of the robot (the robot was held upside down in the picture). The placement of this little bridge is dependent on how big your servo motors are, I recommend you try some positions out in order to get the right one.

Then, get all the wiring through the hole at the bottom of the robot. You might want to ask for some helping hands with this.

Step 6: Physical Production - the Top

Attach the top of the robot as shown in the instructional illustration.

Squish in all your wiring and sensors. Make sure everything fits in the robot and nothing blocks any components.

Reminder: ISOLATE your soldering board!

Step 7: Physical Production - Completion

Finally, attach the front, as shown in the instructional illustration.

First, screw the nuts for eyes this will be impossible to do afterwards.

Closing up the robot is tricky. I recommend first attaching the corner plates to the front, except for the ones at the bottom, these should be attached to the bottom first. Then, put the nuts though the holes from the inside out and tape them on the inside. This way, they are slightly secured and you will be able to "click" the front onto it, following up with screwing on the bolts.

Step 8: Done!

That's it! This is what your finished result should look like.

Have fun with Bobby, and good luck building him!