I've made some more progress on the ArtooSoundz software, which may need to be renamed!
Using a ServoCenter USB to Servo controller card, I have the ability to control the servo movement. I have been assigning two buttons to open and close a door panel. I have also been testing a LynxMotion pan/tilt system for the CPU arm that would be inside the door.
Here's my latest video clip on YouTube showing it in action.
I have also been working on a few tweaks on R2's dome and power system. Instead of using a large 12volt/7amp battery on the dome plate, I am going to use two small 6 volt batteries in series (double the voltage) mounted inside the lip of the dome. I am going to use a smaller fuseblock that will be screwed into the plastic dome ring inside the dome. No more wires dangling between the dome and dome plate. On several occasions, the wires have been yanked out while R2's dome rotated around. This caused the electronics to short out....thankfully the fuse taking the hit.
The projector is still not mounted up yet, as I am trying to find the best way to secure it to the holoprojector. The tolerance between the projector output and the HP are pretty tight, if any get misaligned, no video will show. It turns out developing the software to play it on demand was easier than implementing the hardware!
And finally, once the dome electronic re-fit is done, I can begin work on the dome panels lifting and devices emerging from them. I am trying to find some compact lifting mechanisms to lift the periscope and life form scanner from his head. So far, the only thing I have found with promise is some VEX components. More on this when the pieces arrive.
That's all for now!
