During my time at Saint Xavier High School, I participated in the Robotics Team. The team met frequently in the innovation lab. It was here that I was exposed to the art of 3D printing, 3D modeling (CAD), and Embedded Systems Engineering. One day, I saw this video and I was inspired to build the Gray Fox Helmet from the game Metal Gear Solid. It took some research, but I was able to find 3D Models of a motorized Gray Fox Helmet here. While building this helmet, I encountered a few learning opportunities along the way. The 3D Models that I purchased did not include a ring light in the front of the helmet like it was in the game. It did not include mounts for the LEDs in the sides of the helmet either. To fix this issue, I had to outsource and design my own parts in Tinkercad to make a mount for an Adafruit NeoPixel Ring 12 as the front ring light.
Another issue that I encountered with the design was that SG90 servo motors that I used had such low torque that the top plate would not move like it did in the first video without a severe amount of servo jitter or motor failure. I fixed this issue by permanently attaching the top plate to the helmet base. Despite the sacrifice of the top plate, I was still proud of the end result since this was my first personal project. This first project allowed me to utilize and familiarize myself with Arduino, 3D Printing, and Embedded Systems Engineering. This project is featured on the Saint Xavier Youtube and News Channel.
Hardware
The hardware was relatively simple, which included the use of:
- Arduino Uno
- 2 SG90 Servo Motors
- Adafruit Neopixel Ring 12
- White 3D Printed PLA parts
- Black Acrylic Paint
- Tons of Wire