![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/62d794_f007187f322b44a19660ee79a5852e50~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_758,h_755,al_c,q_90,enc_auto/62d794_f007187f322b44a19660ee79a5852e50~mv2.png)
Parrot Animated Figure
-Project Timeline: March 2018 - May 2018, Revisited in 2021
-Skeleton design: Dominick Civitano designed in Fusion 360
-Main control system: Arduino connected to a custom designed PCB controlling 4 servos, a relay, and a sound module
-Main structure material: 3D printed using PLA on a Lulzbot printer, repurposed parrot puppet
This project was an entry into the Technology Student Association's (TSA) yearly design competition. They offer a plethora of challenges but this one was to qualify for the animatronics challenge. The challenge statement was:
"Create an animatronic exhibit that to be placed in a local zoo"
This was an early prototype to test the wing mechanism. I designed the 3D printed wings and torso in Fusion 360. we used an Arduino Uno to control the servos
![Parrot progress.JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/62d794_839b31b9b3334bbfbc3ab6d564f8e098~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg/v1/crop/x_0,y_882,w_3024,h_3150/fill/w_495,h_514,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Parrot%20progress_JPG.jpg)
We were able to find a puppet on amazon that would act as the skin of our animatronic. After de-stuffing the puppet and cutting a gap so we could access the head, we were able to slide the puppet over our 3D printed skeleton.
![Tiki room parrot.PNG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/62d794_702a1738367747eca244c9dd9ac8daa7~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_309,h_550,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Tiki%20room%20parrot_PNG.png)
![Tiki room parrot 2.JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/62d794_b4484ca139b74922a505c09f4166fdec~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg/v1/crop/x_0,y_186,w_3024,h_3150/fill/w_600,h_625,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Tiki%20room%20parrot%202_JPG.jpg)
These pictures show the final animatronic and its display. The tree was made from a PVC pipe that was then coated in plaster and painted to give it the appearance of bark. I was able to design a PCB in Express PCB so that we could solder all the electronics to one board. We also needed to have one movement that required a fluid, so we used a piston attached to an air compressor that was controlled by a relay to move the bird's tail up and down.
This video shows the full figure in action. It had 4 points of articulation and used a sound module attached to a speaker to produce the bird sounds.
Parrot Animated Figure Revisited
In 2021, I decided to revisit this project that I hadn't touched since high school. I began by doing some design work with a new sculpt for both the head and body. after hollowing out these sculpts, in Solidworks, I implemented servos for the body pivot, the beak ope/close, a head tilt, and a head turn.
After I solidified the design, I created a perch for the bird to sit on and then programmed a simple animation using audio from the original attraction and Visual Show Automation software to sync the servo movements with the audio. The final product is shown below.