Moth
Fall 2019 | Creative Tech IProject Brief
Create an interactive piece that uses one or more servo motors to create something that feels alive. It must be based on research inspiration, where you find an example of something alive that behaves through movement.
This project builds on the previous emotion project ideas. But in this project, the physical movement provides the primary mode of expression. The expressive movement can indicate more than emotion, and can be functional (like looking up), or communicative (like shaking left/right to indicate “no”).
This project needs a strong concept as well as thoughtful design and form making – it is not only about technology. Having wires hanging out all over is not acceptable – you must create an enclosure. In other words, the project should feel finished and refined.
This project builds on the previous emotion project ideas. But in this project, the physical movement provides the primary mode of expression. The expressive movement can indicate more than emotion, and can be functional (like looking up), or communicative (like shaking left/right to indicate “no”).
This project needs a strong concept as well as thoughtful design and form making – it is not only about technology. Having wires hanging out all over is not acceptable – you must create an enclosure. In other words, the project should feel finished and refined.
Project requirements:
+ must have more than one type of movement (this creates a much greater sense of life)
+ servo must be attached to something that it moves
+ movement must be altered based on input from a sensor(s)
+ must avoid literal human faces
+ must use more than one sensor and/or more than one servo
+ must have more than one type of movement (this creates a much greater sense of life)
+ servo must be attached to something that it moves
+ movement must be altered based on input from a sensor(s)
+ must avoid literal human faces
+ must use more than one sensor and/or more than one servo
Concept
This robot moth was inspired by real life moths from my mother's garden. The moth has an idle state where its wings are 'twitching' and the motor is vibrating, indicating that the moth is 'hungry' for light. The readings from the photocell are mapped to the speed of the moth's wings flapping as well as the range of movement. When light levels are high, the motor stops buzzing, the wings flap at higher speeds and move with a wider range, and the LEDs light up and blink to indicate the moth is 'feeding.'
Final prototype of working moth
ESP32 with servos, mini vibrating motor and wiring with perf board
Because we were tasked to design a project that made use of servos, the most obvious choice was to use the servos to drive the wings. It was important for me to try and make the moth as small as possible, which is one reason why I used the ESP32 and soldered the components to a perfboard. This was by far the most challenging part of the project. It is made mobile by using a 3.7V Lipo battery pack, so you can carry the moth in your hand to brighter areas.
Fabrication – Enclosure
The enclosure was made from laser cut illustration board. I modeled the enclosure in Cinema 4D (because it's what I'm most comfortable with at the moment), exported it as an OBJ, then used this Python addon called Export-Paper-Model-From-Blender for Blender 2.8. More information can be found here (please note these instructions are for an older version of Blender, but they still apply to the plugin linked above).
Test enclosure using cardstock, before lasercutting with illustration board
Tools + Technologies
Physical Computing:
ESP32 - Adafruit HUZZAH32
2x Diffuse White LEDsESP32 - Adafruit HUZZAH32
Photocell
Mini Vibrating Motor
2x Micro Servos
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