My attempt at Man's best friend

Susurro · January 2016

I've got a thing to share with you all. This may not be enough detail, so feel free to ask for more. I've got lots more pictures if you want them!

My wife happens to be a huge Dr. Who fan, so for our wedding I decided to create a full size K-9 to be our ring bearer. I was unsure of my ability, so we kept it a secret. But now that our wedding is passed, I can share it with you!

First, this began with much High Impact Polystyrene. A whole lot of cutting of Polystyrene with a utility knife.

I glued all of these pieces together with a polystyrene adhesive that basically melts polystyrene to allow pieces to melt into each other.

Eventually, I had a shell that resembled K-9.

With some putty and sanding, I had a reasonable representation of K-9.

After all of this shell work, I began work on the electronics. I had an Arduino to control the lights, as well as an Arduino to control the sounds. I used a remote receiver to translate controls from an RC controller. Some of which went directly to a drive controller to run the motors to the main wheels.

I created a controls board to contain all of my systems.

This involved places to run all of my electronics. Power switches, 12V and 5V hubs, a 12V to 5V transformer, MP3 trigger, Arduino, amplifier, drive controller, radio receiver, and a ground hub.

Here is all of the electronics connected inside the body. I also included speakers and a photo frame in the body.

And after all of this, I ended up with a robot worthy of carrying our rings down the aisle.
I perhaps should take some more external pictures, but I will definitely do that in the future. I painted the outside with a metallic silver and added lights and such, as well as a rubber neck and ears made of metal netting and some wire bent into position.

And here is K-9 coming down the aisle

Followed by an apperance during the reception, where the DJ busted out "Who Let the Dogs Out?"

I thought you might enjoy!