For my main project, I have zeroed on building a Sci Fi inspired Robot. I have been a great advent of Sci-Fi stories from greats such as Issac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein to recent ones like Andy Weir and many more. I have been always gravitated towards the good old Sci- Fi stories be it classic books or movies; I loved the future robots depictions and their transformative roles in human life. So, I want to build one robot to start with however little may functionality be at the start, I’ll build up from there.

What are the top 5 things you want your project to look like, to feel like, to do? What are the aspects that will tell you you’ve succeeded in your project? What are you prioritizing?

Specifications:

1. The final functioning artifact aesthetic  should emphasize on a robot like structure from one of Sci-Fi stories.
2. It should have a dynamic body part – that is automated most likely; it can be lights/ actuated body parts/ motor driven wheels, etc.
3. I want to prioritize on aesthetic of the robot more than the functionality on the first build version.
4. Materials of Construction should be long lasting.
5. Final build should have constraint for brackets, etc for it to towed through pull/push for it to be mobile.

Constraints:

1. Time invested is something which will greatly affect the final build, given end of semester is pretty rough with all of numerable parallel tasks.
2. Lead time for the electronics components is a big pain in recent times since covid, which greatly affect the functionality of the robot.
3. Cost of electronics components is pretty high for such project which I am trying to optimize.
4. Size of the robot is gotta be at least half of Avg. human size, but this also put lot of constraints on mobility & power requirement for robot.
5. Material robustness is something very critical for such project, as it needs to all weather with sufficient structural coefficient which can be moulded with basic tools without crossing the budget.

For now, toughest constraint is turning out to be lead time of electronics components – as I am moving forward I am tweaking functionality based on available components until it hit bare minimum functionality for first version build.

References for Images:

• Official poster of ‘Jung_E.’ Photo courtesy of Netflix [Featured Image]
• One of snips of “Space Sweepers (2021)” movie.
• A rendering of Figure 01, a humanoid robot being built by a startup called Figure. Image courtesy of Figure