Animatronic Talking Christmas Tree - Part 1

In this Instrutable I will show you how to turn a regular cheap decorative artificial Christmas Tree into an awesome animatronic robot platform for the geek in the family.

In the second installment, I will show you how you can incorporate speech recognition.

It looks inconspicuously like a regular little Christmas tree, but then magically comes to life as a fun lovable talking robot!


Some things you might learn

• How to animate just about anything with some imagination, an Arduino and some servos
• How to control a servo with Arduino without using the servo library
• Get your robot to receive serial commands
• How to use Processing to send serial commands to your robot
• Use the ttslib(text to speech) library in Processing to give your robot a voice

Step 1: Gather Stuff

To make something similiar to this tree you will need a bunch of stuff and tools, and more importantly, a healthy dose of creativity and imagination.

Here is a list of the materials I used.

• A small wireframe artificial tree - I got mine at the dollar store
• x-mas tree covered wire - like the branches of the tree, also found at the dollar store
• x-mas tree garland - also found in most dollar stores
• a scrap of wood
• a scrap of something thin and flat. card, wood, I used polysyrene
• some craft paints
• some styrofoam balls
• craft foam sheet, white, small piece
• garden wire, the kind that is coated in dark green plastic - dollar store
• short piece of 1/4 inch copper piping, less than two inches - any small strong tube will do, a pen body even.
• two servo motors
• an Arduino (or a clone, I am using an RBBB)
• a breadboard
• hookup wire
• two sets of Lynxmotion ball joints and threaded rod to match
• A set of cheap battery operated Christmas lights
• some male - male headers and some regular male headers
• some Christmas decorations of a suitable scale for your tree.

Tools:

• Hot glue gun
• drill
• hand  saw
• x-acto knife
• needle nose pliers
• black marker
• small philips screwdriver
• pipe cutter

Comments

[harrybeast]

were did you get the rbbb

[dagaherz]

absolutely A W E S O M E ! ! !

(registered only to tell you)

[fjordcarver]

Thanks so much!!

[acegoldstar]

Nice, almost like they ones they use to make.

[fjordcarver]

Thanks.

[techiebot]

Hi - and you've made a great, fun Instructable. Congratulations.

I am using a Mac running 10.4 - a power pc processor.

I have Mbrola working just fine with the three voices. What I don't seem to have is the Mbrola Tools that are in your code on this page. Did that unzip for Windows? Do I need an extra step to get it for Mac?

The other code is working just great! Congratulations again.

[fjordcarver]

Mbrola tools is the windows version of the binary install, so if the processing sketches are running you have what you need.
If you liked this I think you will like part 2, coming soon.
Vote for me and maybe one day I will be able to try it on a Mac too!
Cheers, thanks for the compliment!

[rrwood]

Great work!

I'd like to put up a pointer posting about this over at Wired Magazine's GeekDad blog. Would it be okay if I were to borrow a couple of your photos for the posting? Email me at gmail.com as "roy.wood" if you'd like to discuss....

[fjordcarver]

Please do, maybe link to the 'ible though. Share and enjoy.
If this is real and I see myself over on a blog at Wired.....well, it will certainly have me inspired to write up part two. Voice commands, feed reading and jokes.

[askjerry]

Nicely done... but instead of a PC... you can get the Speakjet for the voice. You will have to putter around to get it to sound right... but it can also do sound effects and such. This way all you need is your small circuit board mounted in the base so it would be much more portable.

Speakjet: http://www.speakjet.com/

Another idea is to use the Radio Shack sound playback module... you would only have one phrase... but if triggered by an IR sensor when someone walks by... it could be a lot of fun.

Jerry

[fjordcarver]

This is true, but I also have made the tree voice interactive. It tells me the time when I ask, the weather, and also tells jokes. I will be releasing an Instructable on how I have done this soon. Getting things working is quick, getting things cleaned up and organized to write about is more difficult. I have also been unsure as to how much to include.
Check the video on the last step if you want to see another animatronic I made telling jokes. It is a cool implementation in my opinion, as it is actually working with the person. So when it tells a knock knock joke, it is waiting for a response from you at each step.
I have wanted to play with a speakjet for a long time, and can think of many fun uses for one. To expensive for my blood though. I like to make things on the cheap or at least with what I already have.
check fjordcarver on youtube I have also done the IR sensor trigger with a zombie that says one of four things and activates a smoke machine.
Thanks for the input, great ideas that I will probably one day use to write another 'ible.

[domestic_engineer]

love it!
I write for a blog called Geek Crafts, and I just included your awesome talking tree.
http://geekcrafts.com/robotic-christmas-tree/

[fjordcarver]

Cool! Thanks!

[SHIFT!]

See THIS is why Christmas Trees always scare me. You think they're nice and jolly but they're secretly watching you. Waiting....

[fjordcarver]

....and they know when you have been naughty

[sunshiine]

Thanks for sharing this awesome project. Very good instructions. Have a great day!
Sunshiine

[fjordcarver]

Share and enjoy!

[janw]

I see a variable 'articulation' in you code with some numbers behind it. How does that work?

[fjordcarver]

articulation is the string that is sent to the serial port. The Arduino interprets this and turns it into action. Example, if Arduino receives a 3, it will open the eyes. 7 turns the lights on, 6 off, 1-2 operate the mouth.

[janw]

Great project and a super instructable!

[ChrysN]

That looks awesome! Nicely done.

[fjordcarver]

Thanks!!:)

[Robot Lover]

This is great! I love it so much! I will have to make one, too late this year. I will build it for next Christmas!

[fjordcarver]

Cheers, thanks so much!
By the new year i will have posted the other half, (I decided it was too much to include) speech recognition. I wanted to also show people how to use the minim library to play mp3s (Christmas songs) and have him animate with them.
I was struggling with where to end it. But I felt it was a complete lesson as is. We'll see how the masses judge it.
Post a picture on my 'ible if you do please. Still haven't had that happen. (a post of a project on one of mine)
I was very excited about this one....as you know

[fjordcarver]

Cheers!

[canucksgirl]

Hilarious! the voice is soooooo robotic, but I love it. what a great entry into the Advent Calendar.

Thanks for sharing. Great job!