Not every impulsive purchase on eBay leads to possession of a wooden Dalek, but when a friend did exactly that, [Tony Goacher] did his part to turn ‘Dalek Bob’ into a motorized and remote-controlled unit of impressive stature.
The purchased Dalek is made of wood and, with the help of two bolts, is of sufficient size to trap a human inside. There’s a bench of sorts upon which the captive can sit, and with some effort, shuffle the surrounding frame awkwardly about. The scale of the Dalek is impressive, but it was clear the effect of human-powered locomotion was lacking. The solution was to install wheelchair motors, tires, and an ESP32-based remote control.
Quite a lot of work went into mounting the motors and wheels, and the challenges will be familiar to anyone who has done hobby robotics. One can choose ideal motors and wheels, but making them fit one another can be an entirely different story. Shafts and hubs are of different sizes, motor mounting doesn’t quite match the platform, and it’s all a bit like fitting a square peg into a round hole. But with access to the right tools, it’s nothing a little metalwork and welding can’t solve.
For the control system, the ESP32 (with a beautiful CNC-routed custom PCB) sets itself up as a wireless access point that serves a web-based control panel for piloting, and controls two H-bridges to drive the motors. What’s more, it also provides a sound board from which a second operator can trigger appropriate phrases and sounds from the Dalek.
Some folks prefer their remote-controlled Daleks plush and cute instead of large and looming, but we like the smooth movement and imposing stature of this one. Watch it all in action in the video, embedded below.
Bob is pretty large. You could fit good sized battery and Computer in their. An AI driven Bob would be kind of fun to see.
I’m in enough trouble as it is…
Has to be large. A small dalek wouldn’t inspire the right level of fear.
And to tonygoacher — I’m surprised nobody called the cops on him at the mall. Must be nice to live in a place where everything isn’t an arrestable offense.
Full disclosure: I volunteer at a none profit tech hub there (Inclusive Bytes) We have permission!
Can you send it into a beautician at the mall?
“Exfoliate, exfoliate”
We have a coffee shop there. We did a ‘caffeinate!’ sample!
There’s also the matter of it being a Dalek in the UK. If it were anywhere else, or anything else, yes, the masses would cower in fear … but there, Doctor Who is a nationwide institution carried byu basically every member of the population. It could just as easily have been Shaun the Sheep, except that would be even less recognizable by Murricans & their ilk.
You see the kids playing with it, the lady dancing with it. EVERYBODY knows Daleks, and, nobody, apparently, fears them =))
“EVERYBODY knows Daleks, and, nobody, apparently, fears them =))”
Except for hair balls. Well… hairballs and robutst BMs. Both are terrified of the Dalek’s toilet plunger arms.
except that would be even less recognizable by Murricans & their ilk
Depends where in ‘merica… Those of us who still have PBS available get to enjoy Dr. Who, Red Green, Black Adder, Red Dwarf, etc. Back in the day, Dr. Who reruns were almost as common as MAS*H reruns in my area.
Woah, settle down there Davros!