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OWL ASSISTANT - MEDUSSA

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My first task was to design the shape of the head that will look similar to an owl, i used the awesome fusion 360 for the same

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1. Draw an arc with support lines as below:

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2. Revolve the surface with revolve command:

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3. Make a plane at an angle with the origin ,draw spheres on this plane. Mirror the same sphere at the other side

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4. Subtract the two bodies from the main body

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5. Draw a nose as below by drawing a rhombus and circle and then using the 'loft' command.;

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6. Shift the nose to required position by move command;

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7. Draw the eye brow as below;

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8. Mirror the eye brows and draw circle for eyes. Final sketch is obtained as below:

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9. Open the cura software and load the .stl file

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In an earlier week i had printed an owl that with the ultimaker 2+, but since i decided to reduce the size there was a need to 3d print the same with reduced size.But to my fate the 3d printer ultimaker just failed at the moment of printing. Since none of the other printers were working fine, i had decided to print it on the custom printer made by fab colleague akhil josephakhil joseph . The features i liked most about the printer is that it was made within 600 dollars and he had incorporated features like power fail resume support which i haven't seen in any high cost printers. He is also trying to add features such as giving different colours at different stages of printing,and also producing sounds for the same. Since i had no other option i decided to give it a try.

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A grass hopper somehow managed to malfunction our ultimaker

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Custom 3d printer configurations

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Custom 3d printer by akhil joseph

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OUTPUT 3D OBJECT- with minor issues the printing came out to be fine

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Next step was to have a body that could accomodate the head and to have movements that could mimic the wing movements. I have tried somany designs like below for the same

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But the issue was that i was not able to get satisfaction with the wing movements. So i decided to have a solution for the same. Later on googling i found out that the strandbeest mechanism can mimic any kind of living creature movements, so i decided to give it a try.

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I added some wings and tested the overall look on a basic structure, i simulated the same as below

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The movement seemed fine, so i decided to work on the same, like giving outer body,wings,base for the body, front body , back body to support the wing structure

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Processes involved in designing the owl

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Next step was to design the board for making the owl work. Since i needed to use IFTT and alexa for triggering actions i needed something to communicate with internet. So i decided to make a wfi module with esp8266 chip . I designed the same on eagle as below

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ESP 8266 WIFI Module after soldering

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Neopixel ring after soldering in vinyl cut pcb

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Next step was to have make neopixel ring inorder to paste it to the eye. I used vinyl pcb for making the same. I drew it on eagle using neopixel library

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Below program was tested for checking the circuit using FTDI pins

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// NeoPixel Ring simple sketch (c) 2013 Shae Erisson
// Released under the GPLv3 license to match the rest of the
// Adafruit NeoPixel library

#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>
#ifdef __AVR__
 #include <avr/power.h> // Required for 16 MHz Adafruit Trinket
#endif

// Which pin on the Arduino is connected to the NeoPixels?
#define PIN 14 // On Trinket or Gemma, suggest changing this to 1

// How many NeoPixels are attached to the Arduino?
#define NUMPIXELS 6// Popular NeoPixel ring size

// When setting up the NeoPixel library, we tell it how many pixels,
// and which pin to use to send signals. Note that for older NeoPixel
// strips you might need to change the third parameter -- see the
// strandtest example for more information on possible values.
Adafruit_NeoPixel pixels(NUMPIXELS, PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

#define DELAYVAL 500 // Time (in milliseconds) to pause between pixels

void setup() {
  // These lines are specifically to support the Adafruit Trinket 5V 16 MHz.
  // Any other board, you can remove this part (but no harm leaving it):
#if defined(__AVR_ATtiny85__) && (F_CPU == 16000000)
  clock_prescale_set(clock_div_1);
#endif
  // END of Trinket-specific code.

  pixels.begin(); // INITIALIZE NeoPixel strip object (REQUIRED)
}

void loop() {
  pixels.clear(); // Set all pixel colors to 'off'

  // The first NeoPixel in a strand is #0, second is 1, all the way up
  // to the count of pixels minus one.
  for(int i=0; i<NUMPIXELS; i++) { // For each pixel...

    // pixels.Color() takes RGB values, from 0,0,0 up to 255,255,255
    // Here we're using a moderately bright green color:
    pixels.setPixelColor(i, pixels.Color(0, 150, 0));

    pixels.show();   // Send the updated pixel colors to the hardware.

    delay(DELAYVAL); // Pause before next pass through loop
  }
}

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Testing of neopixel ring

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Since the eye design came out to be fine, i decided to laser cut the wings and supports

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Assembled wing parts

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Assembled owl without front body

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Sample program for testing the neo pixel eye

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#include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
#include "Adafruit_MQTT.h"
#include "Adafruit_MQTT_Client.h"

#define WIFI_SSID "KERALA STARTUP MISSION FABLAB"
#define WIFI_PASS "INNOVATE@KTIZ"

#define MQTT_SERV "io.adafruit.com"
#define MQTT_PORT 1883
#define MQTT_NAME "joelgeorgealex"
#define MQTT_PASS "415cc6fc28b94af7a36ef066ed310b65"

#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>
#ifdef __AVR__
#include <avr/power.h> // Required for 16 MHz Adafruit Trinket
#endif

// Which pin on the Arduino is connected to the NeoPixels?
#define PIN        14 // On Trinket or Gemma, suggest changing this to 1

// How many NeoPixels are attached to the Arduino?
#define NUMPIXELS 6 // Popular NeoPixel ring size

// When setting up the NeoPixel library, we tell it how many pixels,
// and which pin to use to send signals. Note that for older NeoPixel
// strips you might need to change the third parameter -- see the
// strandtest example for more information on possible values.
Adafruit_NeoPixel pixels(NUMPIXELS, PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

#define DELAYVAL 50 // Time (in milliseconds) to pause between pixels


//Set up MQTT and WiFi clients
WiFiClient client;
Adafruit_MQTT_Client mqtt(&client, MQTT_SERV, MQTT_PORT, MQTT_NAME, MQTT_PASS);

//Set up the feed you're subscribing to
Adafruit_MQTT_Subscribe onoff = Adafruit_MQTT_Subscribe(&mqtt, MQTT_NAME "/f/onoff");


void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600);

  //Connect to WiFi
  Serial.print("\n\nConnecting Wifi... ");
  WiFi.begin(WIFI_SSID, WIFI_PASS);
  while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED)
  {
    delay(500);
  }

  Serial.println("OK!");

  //Subscribe to the onoff feed
  mqtt.subscribe(&onoff);

  pinMode(14, OUTPUT);
  //  digitalWrite(14, HIGH);


  // END of Trinket-specific code.

  pixels.begin(); // INITIALIZE NeoPixel strip object (REQUIRED)
}
int flag = 0;


void loop()
{
  MQTT_connect();

  //Read from our subscription queue until we run out, or
  //wait up to 5 seconds for subscription to update
  Adafruit_MQTT_Subscribe * subscription;
  while ((subscription = mqtt.readSubscription(5000)))
  {
    //If we're in here, a subscription updated...
    if (subscription == &onoff)
    {
      //Print the new value to the serial monitor
      Serial.print("onoff: ");
      Serial.println((char*) onoff.lastread);

      //If the new value is  "ON", turn the light on.
      //Otherwise, turn it off.
      if (!strcmp((char*) onoff.lastread, "ON"))
      {

        do {
          if ((subscription = mqtt.readSubscription(5000))) {
            if (subscription == &onoff)
            {
              //Print the new value to the serial monitor
              Serial.print("onoff: ");
              Serial.println((char*) onoff.lastread);

              //If the new value is  "ON", turn the light on.
              //Otherwise, turn it off.
              if (!strcmp((char*) onoff.lastread, "OFF"))
              {
                flag = 1;
                pixels.setPixelColor(1, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));
                pixels.setPixelColor(2, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));
                pixels.setPixelColor(3, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));
                pixels.setPixelColor(4, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));
                pixels.setPixelColor(5, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));
                pixels.setPixelColor(0, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));

                pixels.show();   // Send the updated pixel colors to the hardware.
                Serial.println("Stop Dance");
                break;

              }
            }
          }
          pixels.clear(); // Set all pixel colors to 'off'

          // The first NeoPixel in a strand is #0, second is 1, all the way up
          // to the count of pixels minus one.
          for (int i = 0; i < NUMPIXELS; i++) { // For each pixel...

            // pixels.Color() takes RGB values, from 0,0,0 up to 255,255,255
            // Here we're using a moderately bright green color:
            pixels.setPixelColor(i, pixels.Color(0, 150, 0));

            pixels.show();   // Send the updated pixel colors to the hardware.

            // delay(DELAYVAL); // Pause before next pass through loop
            if (!strcmp((char*) onoff.lastread, "OFF")) {

              flag = 1;
              Serial.println("Stop Dance");
              break;
              if ((subscription = mqtt.readSubscription(5000))) {
                if (subscription == &onoff)
                {
                  //Print the new value to the serial monitor
                  Serial.print("onoff: ");
                  Serial.println((char*) onoff.lastread);

                  //If the new value is  "ON", turn the light on.
                  //Otherwise, turn it off.
                  if (!strcmp((char*) onoff.lastread, "OFF"))
                  {
                    flag = 1;
                   
                    pixels.setPixelColor(1, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));
                    pixels.setPixelColor(1, pixels.Color(0, 0, 0));
                    pixels.setPixelColor(2, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));
                     pixels.setPixelColor(2, pixels.Color(0, 0, 0));
                    pixels.setPixelColor(3, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));
                    pixels.setPixelColor(3, pixels.Color(0, 0, 0));
                    pixels.setPixelColor(4, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));
                    pixels.setPixelColor(4, pixels.Color(0, 0, 0));
                    pixels.setPixelColor(5, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));
                    pixels.setPixelColor(5, pixels.Color(0, 0, 0));
                     pixels.setPixelColor(0, pixels.Color(255, 0, 0));
                     pixels.setPixelColor(0, pixels.Color(0, 0, 0));


                    pixels.show();   // Send the updated pixel colors to the hardware.

                    pixels.show();   // Send the updated pixel colors to the hardware.
                    Serial.println("Stop Dance");
                    break;

                  }
                }
              }
            }
            delay(DELAYVAL);
          }

        }
        while (!strcmp((char*) onoff.lastread, "ON"));
      }

      else
      {
        Serial.println("Stop Dance");
      }
    }
  }

  // ping the server to keep the mqtt connection alive
  if (!mqtt.ping())
  {
    mqtt.disconnect();
  }
}


/***************************************************
  Adafruit MQTT Library ESP8266 Example

  Must use ESP8266 Arduino from:
    https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino

  Works great with Adafruit's Huzzah ESP board & Feather
  ----> https://www.adafruit.com/product/2471
  ----> https://www.adafruit.com/products/2821

  Adafruit invests time and resources providing this open source code,
  please support Adafruit and open-source hardware by purchasing
  products from Adafruit!

  Written by Tony DiCola for Adafruit Industries.
  MIT license, all text above must be included in any redistribution
 ****************************************************/

void MQTT_connect()
{
  int8_t ret;

  // Stop if already connected.
  if (mqtt.connected())
  {
    return;
  }

  Serial.print("Connecting to MQTT... ");

  uint8_t retries = 3;
  while ((ret = mqtt.connect()) != 0) // connect will return 0 for connected
  {
    Serial.println(mqtt.connectErrorString(ret));
    Serial.println("Retrying MQTT connection in 5 seconds...");
    mqtt.disconnect();
    delay(5000);  // wait 5 seconds
    retries--;
    if (retries == 0)
    {
      // basically die and wait for WDT to reset me
      while (1);
    }
  }
  Serial.println("MQTT Connected!");
}
	

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Project video

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