Hello. I am a beginner with Arduino and I am working on an animatronic project. I have no prior experience with Arduino or C++ (or any coding language for that matter), and I have just learned the basics of C++ by watching a full beginner's course. I also did some additional research concerning initialization of variables so I know what variable types to use in what situation.
My project is a gorilla animatronic with three points of movement - a mouth, a right arm, and a left arm. The mouth (as you would guess) opens and closes, and the right arm waves. The left arm is of least priority right now since it is a continuous rotation "servo." I am currently only concerned with the mouth and right arm servos moving properly. There is a prerecorded speech that the animatronic is going to follow, so I am trying to get the mouth servo to match it approximately.
The physical setup consists of a "skull" that holds the mouth servo and an extension that holds the arm servos. Here is a video of basic movement of the assembly:
Arduino Animatronic
I have come from a previous post in which I admittedly foolishly attempted to get a code to work without understanding the language: I need a code please - Programming Questions - Arduino Forum Sorry to all those involved in that heck show.
Based on what I've learned, I've regrouped and put together my best attempt at a code aimed at completing my objective. My objective is as follows:
As soon as the code starts:
RightArmServo performs one up/down cycle (wave) <-- at the same time
mouthServo performs one up/down cycle (saying "Hi") <-- at the same time
500 millisecond pause (resembles pause in speech after saying "Hi")
mouthServo loops up/down movement for 3 seconds (next sentence in speech)
500 millisecond pause (pause)
mouthServo loops up/down movement for 3 seconds (next sentence)
(this will repeat another 4 times or so)
I have commented throughout the code to draw attention to what I am trying to do within the code in order to reach my objective.
#include <Servo.h>
Servo mouthServo;
Servo rightArmServo;
Servo leftArmServo;
unsigned long currentTime; //to keep track of the time
const unsigned long mouthServoPeriod = 3000; //marks the period that the mouthServo will start operating on loopMoveMouth()
const unsigned long mouthServoPeriodTwo = 500; //pause period that mouthServo will start using in loopMoveMouth()
const byte mouthMinAngle = 70; //mouth is closed
const byte mouthMaxAngle = 130; //mouth is open
boolean mouthMoving = true;
int mouthIncrement = 1;
unsigned long mouthStepStart;
unsigned long mouthStepPeriod = 1;
byte mouthCurrentAngle = mouthMinAngle;
const byte rightArmMinAngle = 0; //right arm is down
const byte rightArmMaxAngle = 90; //right arm is up
boolean rightArmMoving = true;
int rightArmIncrement = 1;
unsigned long rightArmStepStart;
unsigned long rightArmStepPeriod = 1;
byte rightArmCurrentAngle = rightArmMinAngle;
int currentPosition = 0;
int mouthCount; //number of times mouthServo reaches min or max angle; will switch to loopMoveMouth once mouthCount = 2
int rightArmCount; //number of times rightArmServo reaches min or max angle; rightArmMoving = false once mouthCount = 2
void setup()
{
Serial.begin(100000);
leftArmServo.attach(3);
mouthServo.attach(4);
rightArmServo.attach(5);
mouthServo.write(mouthMinAngle); //start with mouth closed
rightArmServo.write(rightArmMinAngle); //start with right arm down
}
void moveMouth() //controls mouth up/down cycle; will switch to loopMoveMouth() once mouthCount = 2
{
currentTime = millis();
if (currentTime - mouthStepStart >= mouthStepPeriod)
{
mouthCurrentAngle += mouthIncrement;
if ( mouthCurrentAngle <= mouthMinAngle || mouthCurrentAngle >= mouthMaxAngle) //still in range?
{
mouthCount++;
mouthIncrement *= -1; //change the increment direction if out of range
}
mouthServo.write(mouthCurrentAngle);
mouthStepStart = currentTime;
}
}
void moveRightArm() //controls right arm up/down cycle, rightArmMoving = false once mouthCount = 2
{
currentTime = millis();
if (currentTime - rightArmStepStart >= rightArmStepPeriod)
{
rightArmCurrentAngle += rightArmIncrement;
if ( rightArmCurrentAngle <= rightArmMinAngle || rightArmCurrentAngle >= rightArmMaxAngle) //still in range?
{
rightArmCount++;
rightArmIncrement *= -1; //change the increment direction if out of range
}
rightArmServo.write(rightArmCurrentAngle);
rightArmStepStart = currentTime;
}
}
void loopMoveMouth()
{
currentTime = millis();
if (currentTime >= mouthServoPeriod) //mouth will begin to cycle up/down on loop after 3 seconds have passed
{
moveMouth();
}
}
void loop()
{
currentTime = millis();
if(mouthCount <= 2) //mouth will perform one up/down cycle
{
boolean mouthMoving = true;
}
else //mouth movement will be controlled by loopMoveMouth if mouthCount > 2 so that its up/down cycle loops
{
loopMoveMouth();
}
if(rightArmCount <= 2) //right arm will perform one up/down cycle
{
boolean rightArmMoving = true;
}
else //right arm movement will cease once mouthCount > 2
{
boolean rightArmMoving = false;
}
}
When I run the code as is, the mouth and right arm servos seem to lock in place at their initialized min positions. I assume this means there are conflicting statements within the code. Other than not knowing how to incorporate mouthServoPeriodTwo, being the 500 ms pause intervals that come into play after the initial single up/down cycle of mouthServo and rightArmServo, I was able to account for everything I needed in the code. I have written this code to the best of my understanding of the language and I sincerely hope you guys can help me get it working. Consider this code a proof of concept, as I am not fluent in the inner workings of the language and hence seek guidance. Thanks in advance.