←back to thread

The Old Robots Web Site

(www.theoldrobots.com)
198 points jfil | 2 comments | 02 Sep 25 02:43 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
wgrover ◴[05 Sep 25 13:53 UTC] No.45138608[source]▶
A parenting tip for those with geeky kids:

You can get some of these (like the smaller TOMY robots) for pretty cheap on eBay. They're usually broken, but the innards of these robots are so interesting, just taking them apart is a learning experience. TOMY was brilliant at making seemingly sophisticated toys that were actually run by a single DC motor; all the movements, sounds, sensing etc. were implemented using gears and cam shafts and other mechanisms. A great way to learn about simple machines, and a bonus if you (or your kid) can repair them and bring a 40-year-old robot back to life.

replies(5): >>45139962 #>>45140212 #>>45144107 #>>45147256 #>>45148352 #
1. BoxOfRain ◴[05 Sep 25 15:51 UTC] No.45139962[source]▶
The original Furby was interesting on this front, I have one controlled by a Pi Zero using a motor controller and LED driver board (you need an LED for the cam position sensor, and this way I could backlight the eyes with RGBs too). Every expression the thing can make is driven by a single motor via a series of gears and cams, so it's pretty straightforward to get up and running. The main issues are that clearance is really tight and the gearbox is pretty noisy.

My eventual plan is to hook it up to an LLM and use it like the world's most uncanny Alexa, but there's an issue with the audio board I've not got around to fixing yet. Got a bit sidetracked by the server software which I'm using as an excuse to learn Cats Effect properly.

replies(1): >>45151328 #
2. accrual ◴[06 Sep 25 17:41 UTC] No.45151328[source]▶
The Furby + LLM is an amazing and hilarious idea. Please post about it if you do this, would love to see!