Portal turret plushie1/2/2024 ![]() Over at Site 3, my friend Dana Sarafinchan is working on a life-sized Turret replica. There will be at least one more revision, because we both want to have one to keep, so we’ll have a chance to incorporate things we’ve learned from this first version.Īs mentioned above, I’d like to have the LEDs controlled by the Arduino, so that they can fade out when the turret “shuts down.” I’d also like to add in an additional amplifiers, to allow a wider range of volumes, and make the controls a little more accessible: right now you need to reach inside the turret to turn it on and off, which, in additional to being inconvenient, feels a little wrong. There are, of course, many little improvements that both Leigh and I want to make to our respective parts of the design. All it all, the interactivity works pretty well (if I say so myself). It’s not quite as simple as “event triggers sound”: it only places a “tipped over” event if it’s also “lifted,” after being righted it plays an “activated” sound before resuming normal behaviour, etc. I wrote a function to randomly play a sound file from a given directory, and then tied a directory to each event. If you’d like, you can download the code. In a future version I’ll have them controlled by the Arduino, so I can fade them out when the plushie is knocked over. The LEDs are completely independent of the rest of the electronics. The weight of the plushie keeps it pressed when it’s standing up. I’m particularly proud of the “lift” sensor: it’s just a little button on the bottom of one of the legs. The Passive Infrared sensor detects changes, so it can give a lot of false positives and false negatives in the future I might try an IR rangefinder instead, but they come with their own problems. If I make more, I’ll use something like a BBB instead of an Arduino to keep costs down, but I used what I had handy. Tiny tact switch to detect if it’s lifted.Passive Infrared sensor to detect motion.Adafruit Wave Shield to play the sounds. ![]() The pattern is still a work-in-progress, but once Leigh’s ready I’ll post that here, too. Information about the electronics are provided below. So, if anyone from Valve sees this and wants to talk about giving us permission, or at least turning a blind eye, please get in touch! Otherwise, sorry: you’ll have to make your own. Internally, the electronics are housed in a plastic cup to keep them separate from the stuffing (thanks for the suggestion, Adam Smith!).Īs much as we’d love to make you one or sell you a kit, the last time I suggested doing something like that I was very quickly disuaded. It may not be pretty, but it gets the job done. ![]() The structure is made from heavy-gauge copper wire, a laser-cut platform, and hot glue. Here’s the Terminator-esque skeleton of the electronics and supporting framework. Leigh both designed the turret pattern and sewed it together (which, to me, is essentially magic). Fortunately, I was introduced to Leigh Nunan amongst other things, Leigh has created an incredible giant squid plushie that’s about twice as large as I am. I can barely hem a pair of pants, so I’m certainly not skilled enough to design and make a plush toy. Exaggerated features for extra adorableness.Tilt sensor, so it knows when you’ve knocked it over.Pressure sensor, so it knows when you’ve picked it up. ![]()
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