Alpha Training Blue
In 2017 we worked closely with Mattel to develop an animatronic, 6-motor, interactive velociraptor for the newly launched Jurassic World film franchise. We developed a motion-controlled play pattern, intricate animations, and a mechanically-complex robot to act out all the great moments from the movie.
The controller would read a user's hand motion, compare it to a stored sample, and then send a command to the robot if the samples matched. In this way, a user can "train" or command the velociraptor with hand gestures.
A Nintendo Wii nunchuck controller was re-purposed to house a microcontroller, wireless module, and accelerometer. We also added extra buttons and haptic feedback for more functionality.
Animating the movement of the raptor was accomplished with a large amount of custom-made mechanisms. Above you can see a cable driven combined eye and blink example in the head.
Two capacitive sensors were installed: one in the chin and one on the top of the head. These allowed the user to interact with Blue by petting her, and would trigger animations (positive or negative depending on how much you've "trained" her).
We worked with an officially licensed sculpt from the movie and converted the mesh to a CAD-friendly format in order to add linkages, motors, and electronics.
Blue released as a high-cost collector's item with Mattel in October 2018. It has received very positive reviews from users.