The development procedure of an animatronic figure is harder than it sounds. Every particular feature follows a specific guideline and demands minute attention from the roboticists. For instance, an animatronic head is comprised of eyes, lips, hair, nose, and lips. And each of these ‘organs’ demands a distinct treatment.
Today, we will concentrate only on the animatronic eye, its development procedure, and the application.
So, without further ado, let’s dive in.
Background of Animatronics:
Animatronics have found wide applications in the entertainment industry for bringing human-like figures or mechanized puppets and characters into “life”. Animatronics are used to make inanimate objects appear to be alive.
Animatronics are utilized in the movie making field to offer a realistic and lifelike action in front of the camera along with other entertainment settings like theme parks. This is also used in various situations where it can be too dangerous for any living actor to execute a performance or illegal to use any living animal.
They can be manually controlled or computer-controlled with the actuation of some specific movements that require hydraulic cylinders, electric motors, cable-driven mechanisms, pneumatic cylinders, and sometimes even simple rods attached to limbs that are puppeteered out of frame of the camera. These are selected as per the requirement of the show or ride setting or particular character parameters and movement demands.
Mechanism of Animatronic Eyes:
In the domain of animatronics, there is a rising demand to produce animatronic characters that can accurately imitate animal and human gestures. Now, most of their expressions are communicated through eyes including gaze direction, eye movement, and eye contact. The roboticists seek to mimic the subtle appearance and movements of the human eyes to make the animatronic figures more engaging, realistic, and lifelike.
However, it was a challenging task for the animatronic designers due to the requirement of smooth and rapid rotation of the eye in a socket.
The actuating mechanism comes in handy during such a scenario. To rotate or actuate the eye, the actuating mechanism can drive or move an eye-shaped or spherical orb in an animatronic head that includes servos, external motors, belts, hydraulic cylinders, gears, and several other assistant mechanical drive components.
An animatronic eye assembly can also use fluid suspension for a position-able and rotatable eye (for example, spherical orb, eyeball, or such others) that is electromagnetically driven. It may include a clear and solid plastic inner sphere which is suspended or floated in a clear liquid. The index of refraction of the suspension or floatation liquid may match the plastic of the eyeball and the outer housing or shell so that the entire eye appears to be a solid and crystal sphere.
Video Capability:
Thanks to the experimental mindset of the animatronic designers and the latest technological innovations, the outer shell, inner sphere, fluid, or the eyeball may act as a video or stationary camera. It can be mounted to the backside of the outer shell. The front portion of the eyeball or inner sphere may be painted in a way to produce a human eye-like appearance. And the center sphere surface may pass the light to the camera.
Conclusion:
We believe this is just the beginning as imagination knows no bound for the animatronic designers. Are we about the see even advanced animatronic eye designs and mechanisms in the near future? Let’s wait for that!
For further information about the animatronic head, contact the professionals at Custom Entertainment Solutions. Call 01.801.410.4869 today!
2020