In this Instructable I will be showing you how to make a moderately complicated Animatronic hand, using the kinds of techniques utilised by actual animatronics specialists. The system is effectively a complex puppet, with servos putting the ‘strings’ to operate the fingers. Unfortunately I could not figure out how to make the wrist move so at the moment just the fingers move.
I would like to credit http://vegard.hammerseth.com/2009/03/school-projec… as the source of visual reference for my project. I made modifications to their design to make it easier to create at home with fewer specialist tools and an easier to use servo controller.
The project took me just over six weeks of problem solving and actual making (hopefully as I have worked out most of the kinks in the process it should take anyone following this ‘Ible a shorter period of time).
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
