How should I go about animating a skeletenon with robotics?

[Glycan]

I have 4 months too make a project for the science fair. For a long while, I've wanted too animate a skeleton with robotics. I was thinking of making "muscles", either by moters winding up eleatic string thingys, either by pistons (or clockwork?). How should I start, how should I plan, and so on.

I'd like to get basic motion (arm waving), but a ultimate goal would be walking (surely there are some inverse kinectic libirarys out there, right?)

EDIT: Turns out this is called animatronics.

[newInRobotics]

I have 4 months too make a project for the science fair. For a long while, I've wanted too animate a skeleton with robotics. I was thinking of making "muscles", either by moters winding up eleatic string thingys, either by pistons (or clockwork?).

There are few approaches:

• Servos (depending on size of the skeleton high torque might be required)
• Air muscles can be used, they would operate and look like human muscles
• Hydraulics
• Pneumatics

How should I start, how should I plan, and so on.

First decide what You are going to use to move the skeleton; then, grab pen and paper (or CAD software) and draw; then, decide upon actuators values required to move certain parts of "the body" based on Your CAD and weight calculations;

[...] but a ultimate goal would be walking (surely there are some inverse kinectic libirarys out there, right?)

Kinematics will be the easy part of walking, balancing is something different and harder to achieve.

[garrettg84]

I have 4 months too make a project for the science fair. For a long while, I've wanted too animate a skeleton with robotics. I was thinking of making "muscles", either by moters winding up eleatic string thingys, either by pistons (or clockwork?). How should I start, how should I plan, and so on.

Do you have a budget for any of this? Seems this may turn out to be rather expensive...

Do the joints have to maintain all the freedom of motion a normal human does?

[Glycan]

PAMs sounds nice. Would I be able to make the tubes look sort of like viens and arteries (bonus points for making the compresser a heart, I guess)?

Draw what, exactly? How? I'm not sure about wieghts and suchlike, and I have no idea how one should draw this kind of thing.

Yes, I understand.

The less the better, and I don't think I could go out of 150-200$

Uh, hopefully...

[newInRobotics]

PAMs sounds nice. Would I be able to make the tubes look sort of like viens and arteries (bonus points for making the compresser a heart, I guess)?

I don't know, would You?

Draw what, exactly? How? I'm not sure about wieghts and suchlike, and I have no idea how one should draw this kind of thing.

Draw the sketch of Your system and keep refining it. Good CAD software such as Solidworks helps a lot with weight estimation. If You feel that You have no idea how to start things, then You should research topic of Your project a little bit more.

[Glycan]

I am not in fact sure how to start. What exactly should I research?

[newInRobotics]

I am not in fact sure how to start. What exactly should I research?

If You want to go with pneumatics, then You can start from this video and work Your way to where You understand what You need to control the skeleton etc. Maybe on Your way there You will decide that pneumatics are too heavy, or expensive, or blah blah blah and decide to go for another system 

Introduction to Pneumatic Control Systems: Clip 1 of 5