The internet is full of amazing things, but every now and then something comes along that is so incredibly amazing it blows my mind. This animatronic Peep is one such thing.
From a blog about the most realistic robotic looking Peep:
“The only problem with Peeps is that they’re not… well, alive. That’s where animatronics comes in.”
“I’ve always been interested in robotics, and I wanted to do a project one year that was more ambitious than anything I’d done before. I had the idea to take an ordinary marshmallow peep and turn it into a lifelike robot. The idea was to make an animatronic peep that would move around, make sounds, and seem as real as possible. After some research and experimentation, I managed to create ‘Bo Peep,’ the first-ever robotic Peep.”
I’ve recently stumbled across a blog post on animatronic Peeps. These Peeps are the most realistic looking robotic Peeps I have ever seen!
The first thing you notice about these animatronic Peeps is the attention to detail. The mouths look like real beaks, and their feathers look as though they were taken directly off of a real bird. But as you start to read more into this blog post, you will see that the construction of these animatronic Peeps is really quite simple.
The best part about this blog post is that it provides instructions on how to build your own animatronic Peep. You can use these instructions to create your own robotic Peep, or even create a few of them for yourself at home.
I love the fact that someone has written a blog post about animatronic Peeps, because they are such fun toys to play with. These toys can be made from just about anything, such as wooden blocks, Styrofoam balls, or even PVC pipes. You can use any type of material that you have around the house, and you can even make them for friends and family members as gifts!
This is my first instructable and I hope you enjoy it.
I wanted to make the most realistic robotic looking Peep possible. I did my best to make it look like real peeps and not just a robot in a costume. This is not a simple costume, it is an animatronic robot with a peep costume on. I believe you need some basic knowledge of electronics and robotics to attempt this project but I will try to break it down as much as possible.
For the past few years, we have been interested in building animatronic Peeps. We spent this winter and spring in a frenzy of activity to create a first prototype. Here it is:
The most difficult part was to build the body in such a way that it would have some flexibility, yet retain its shape. A polyurethane resin was selected as being the best candidate for the job. The mold was made by pouring hot wax into a custom-sculpted form and then making a silicone mold around that. The final product, of course, is not edible (some might argue that Peeps are not edible anyway), but it does look and feel remarkably lifelike.
A small plastic robot could be hidden inside for future enhancements…
With just a few days to spare before Easter, I have finally managed to resurrect my animatronic Peeps. This is the fourth incarnation of the project, and is intended to be the last (for now).
The concept is simple: use servo motors to make Peeps move. In 2007, I created a simple proof-of-concept animation with one moving chick. Then in 2009, I made three more synchronized Peeps. Last year, I tried to make them more animated, but had some difficulties with the mechanism.
This year, I’ve gone back to using a simpler mechanism. The electronics are still quite complex; I’m using an Arduino Uno microcontroller and some motor drivers that allow me to control up to 24 servos from a single board. But the Peeps themselves are much simpler than previous versions: no gears or chains or other complicated linkage. Each Peep has one motor mounted behind it, which rotates its head back and forth at about 2 Hz (120 degrees back and forth). That’s it!
I have been hard at work with my Peeps on a Stick project. I am trying to create realistic looking robotic Peeps that can move their heads and eyes and make sounds.
I added servos to the eyes, so now they can look around, and it is fun to watch them look at things. You can see in the picture how they look when they are just hanging out.
My latest animatronic creation, the Peeps Candy Chick. I’ve been working on this project since late January and I am very happy with the result. The animatronic Peep is a sophisticated model that utilizes pneumatic motion together with dynamic animation to achieve life-like movements. This model has a large following in the animatronic community and is extremely popular among children and adults alike. The model is designed to be operated by an experienced technician who can handle the delicate nature of this piece of machinery. The Peep is an extremely complex machine that requires a great deal of care and maintenance during its operation.
The model was created using an innovative new technology called “Motion Control” which is used in many high end robotic devices such as the Roomba vacuum cleaner. Motion Control is a revolutionary new technology that allows for precise control over the speed and position of any object within a controlled environment. Motion Control has been used to create robots capable of dancing, playing music, walking, running, jumping, flying and much more. It is also used in many industrial applications such as manufacturing, packaging and food processing industries where precision motion control makes possible many tasks that would otherwise be impossible due to human error or lack of skill.
The Peeps Candy Chick was designed