Cardboard poking trio

I’ve been thinking about this simple poking mechanism for over two years now, but I never actually spent the time to build it. Now it’s a thing of the past! I took 3-4 hours later yesterday and this morning to make this first iteration out of foamcore, cardboard, pins and hot glue. I used three Draganfly 9 Gram Sub Micro servos to actuate the linkage. The resulting force is amazingly high for such tiny (and weak) servos.

I used RJ-45 (network) plugs and cable for the wiring. It took a bit more time to build but I feel it’s nicer and more convenient in the long as I plan to test and swap output modules often while prototyping various alternatives. I still have to work on a proper sequencer for this. Now the very basic sequences are hard-coded in the Arduino sketch.

I’m really happy it works so well and that it took only four hours to build. Will it last long, problably not, but then it’s a good excuse to make an improved version, with 5 servos, add a flexible/bendable casing around or just try another genetic variation!

What it does: The servo rotates and the link bars are pushed outward. It should poke the user’s hand.

Build notes: Pins are sharp, be careful while piercing through foamcore.

Next step: Improve the package. Link to a decent sequencer/trigger system (recycle an old one from HAPI or build one from scratch, maybe with Processing/Blender). Plan a standardized RF-45 configuration for all my devices (when possible): same pins for Vcc, GND and PWM at least. Laser cut the panels. Make it stackable/modular?