Robobird and the Peeps

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Robobird and the Peeps – 2007

Robobird and the Peeps / Robobird II is a robot “animatronic” character which combines elements of David’s expertise in sculpture, theatre and engineering. Robobird ll got his initial start as quick pencil sketches drawn on the back of a napkin and over the course of one year morphed into a 2’ tall, free form sculpture that creatively combines aluminum, copper mesh, motors, wires, ping pong ball eyes, a vise grip tail and of course, a sassy yet engaging personality.

David programmed Robobird II to perform a very entertaining 3.5 minute song and dance routine accompanied by his lovely and equally talented robot backup singers, Peep 1 and Peep 2. This animatronics show synchronizes a prerecorded soundtrack to the lifelike movements of the robot trio. It’ll make your head bob and your toes tap!

The show choreography took about 6 hours per one minute of actual runtime to program. DeMattia’s unique style has been heavily influenced by his childhood in Southern California where he was immersed in a culture of Movies, TV and Disneyland. His journey has taken him through hands on experience in art, theater and engineering. So far, he sees virtually no distinction between the arts & science and instead sees them as a compliment to each other. This new work, which took over a year to build, combines his skills as an artist, engineer and performer.

This activity was made possible by a grant from the East Central Arts Council (ECAC) and the East Central Regional Development Commission with funds appropriated by the McKnight Foundation.

Video:
Robobird and the Peeps sing the WAS, NOT WAS tune: “I Feel Better Than James Brown”.

Photo Gallery:

 

SHOW DATA

TOTAL MOVEMENTS
1. Body Up/Down
2. Left Wing Up/Down
3. Left Wing In/Out
4. Right Wing Up/Down
5. Right Wing In/Out
6. Neck Up/Down
7. Neck Left/Right
8. Mouth
9. Eyes
10. Crest
11. Eyelids
12. Perch Left/Right
13. Peep 1
14. Peep 2

SHOW CONTROL SOFTWARE
Brookshire Software VSA

SERVO CONTROL BOARDS
3 – MiniSSC II’s

CONTROL COMPUTER
PIII 500Mhz 256MB RAM