I was going to post this thread after Christmas but...
Thats right, Innerbreed is going to start an animatronic project.
Well ever since i was a boy i always loved the animatronic side of film production.
I have decided to make an animatronic Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo Regalis).
With this project in mind i have been researching the hawk to get a better understanding of its movements, size, shape and any other credentials i'd need for this.
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The Research:Name: Family: Hawk family Accipitridae (ak-sip-IH-try-dee), from the Latin accipiter meaning "hawk or bird of prey."
Buteo (BEW-tee-oh), which is from a Latin word meaning falcon or hawk. Commonly describes a group of medium to large birds of prey that have long and broad rounded wings and short tails. These birds are masters at soaring for long periods of time. Twelve species of buteos breed in North America north of the Mexico border.
Species: Regalis (reg-AY-liss), from Latin meaning "kingly" or "royal." These are the largest of the buteos.
Common name: Ferruginous (fer-OO-jin-us) means "rusty color" and refers to the coloration of the birds wing and legging feathers.
Description:
The ferruginous hawk is the largest buteo in North America averaging 22.5-25" long, with a 53-56" wingspan. Sexes are alike, females average just a bit larger than males. Two color morphs occur, with intermediates. Light morph: Rust colored back and shoulders; head paler, grayish and streaked, and white tail has pale rust wash on end. Undersides are white with limited streaking and rusty spots; leg feathers rust colored on adults, white on juveniles. Large, white crescent-shaped patches occur on the upperwing surface on the primaries. Beneath the wing, large dark comma-shaped patches occur at the wrists. Dark morph: Entire head and body and wing surfaces are dark brown to cinnamon-colored. The yellow gape (mouth) stripe is visible. Upper surface of wing at the base of the primaries shows the white "window", similar to light morphs.
Ok Lesson over...!
Not just Hawks but most (if not all) Birds have a very fast reaction time, this is due to a higher brain processing power. they can also process far more frames per second with there sight.
To closely replicate this sharp, fast reactions i have written the code in a very simple and basic way that just a simple touch from the controller will result in a very life-like twitch that birds have. The control is variable so softer movements can be achieved too.
What others have done regarding robot birds:Here we have an animatronic Raven
Animatronic Duck
And a Hawk
Unfortunately i don't have any internal images of the hawk.
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My Hawk Project:Ok first off, you might ask' why an Animatronic Bird?
The main reason for this project is to create a Realistic Decoy Hawk that could be used to scare off unwanted pests.
Many people prefer to scare birds away, and use conventional decoy birds to do this. The most common way of doing this is by positioning decoy birds of prey on the building. The results by using this method vary. Some find that their problem is solved immediately and the birds never come back, others find a small reduction in bird numbers.Correct positioning is essential to success and turning the decoy once a week does seem to give better results
With my project, i intend to make a decoy that will do the job properly. It will be as life like as possible regarding look and movement. It will be self contained and will "Eventually" be autonomous and there for saving time from "turning" or repositioning it.
The Mechanics:Here is the 5th version of this i have built. The current structure consists of 5DOF and soon will become 6or7.
it wont make much sense at this stage but i hope you can see what will be happening with the movements, just by looking at the servo axis's.
*Starting from the top(tip) we have a small HS-225bb servo: This will activate the beak movements. (open/close) As i wont be adding sound i may even ditch the idea of an opening beak. space is tight in the head as it is.
*Attached to that is a Hs-485bb servo: This works the heads Tilting action (up/down)
*Then we have a HS-645mg servo: This is the Head Rotate (twist)
*Next we have an in-direct axis that uses another HS645mg servo: This adds another axis to the head tilt called neck tilt.
This servo is very interesting, it adds a very realistic movement to the head by allowing it to achieve a higher level of tilt and adding a flinching effect to the head.
*Then we have a HS645mg servo at the bottom of the tube: This Rotates the head shaft (Pan)
I plan to add a body tilt and maybe sway (side to side) for a more realistic effect. And then maybe wings but these will only have a slight movement to them and not a full flap.
for the programming i have started writing the code from scratch. i have used the controls like this:
Right J/stick U/D NeckTilt
Right J/stick L/R HeadTurn
Left J/stick U/D HeadTilt
Left J/stick L/R HeadRotate
A very animatronic way of programming.
The program at the moment works really well and the movements are fast and reactive like a bird.
To begine the body structuring phase, i will be making an Inner Structure made of Sintra. This will form a basic shape around the SES Skeleton.
An Exo-Structure will then encase the SES Skeleton and the Inner Structure.
I plan to make a clay master of the bird and then make a cast from this. Then i can make a mold. From the mold i can make the Exo-Structure, using EasyFlo Clear Polyurethane Liquid Plastic casting resin.
At this point the Sintra head will then be replaced with a resin cast plastic skull.
To Be Continued from here....
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I love the solution for rotating and tilting the head.
Awesome! 
