Meccanoid Project

I like to build stuff, especially toys like RC cars, RC boats, and drones. Tanner also likes to build stuff, and Jared suggested that maybe we could build something together. Great idea. Robots. They're popular in Japan, we were planning to go there last fall, and I decided one of those might make a good project. I located a good shop in Tokyo, and we stopped there during our visit.

The Lizardroid looked perfect. We watched an assembled one running around, controlled by a cell phone app. So I bought it for Tanner's birthday in February. However, after giving it to him I discovered that it required an Android rather than an Apple/IOS app. I didn't have an Android phone. So I bought a cheap one on Amazon. Then I went to Google Play to download the Lizardroid app. Guess, what. That app isn't authorized for use outside Japan. So I searched around and found another app that spoofed Google Play into thinking my phone was in Japan. Then I discovered the phone I'd bought wasn't even authorized for Japan. So then I found I could root the phone as a superuser and make it look like some other model. Yeah, it was over my head, too. And the websites I was getting into were more ads and spam than apps. I finally gave up. at least for now. I'm now thinking the next time we're in Japan I'll buy a phone and download the app. But that left Tanner without birthday present.

So I went back to Amazon and found another robot on sale that looked pretty cool, so I bought it.

Last night, Tanner came home with us after his karate advancement ceremony. This morning we had pancakes and fried eggs for breakfast and then started working on the robot. With 497 parts, this robot was going to take us most of the day to assemble.

Here we are with all the unopened parts. 

We made a great team. One would hold the nuts in place while the other twisted in the bolts. 

Many of the parts looked alike, and it was sometimes hard to tell up from down. About four or five times we discovered that we'd installed something incorrectly a few steps earlier and had to undo and redo. But after it was all together, the robot did a self check, and all the parts were working correctly. 

A lot of the assembly required three or four hands. 

We're almost done. Just a few wires to plug in to the Meccabrain.

Oh, and the operating system had to be updated. With Meccanoid assembled, we could ask it questions and request it to tell jokes and stories. However, the response was always the same, "I'd be happy to tell you a joke--after you download and update my firmware." We really had a tough time finding and downloading the firmware, and the dickens of a time with the USB connection. Finally, just minutes before Tanner's parents showed up to head off to Kamas, the firmware download started, the robot was updated, and the installation was complete. We even listened to one "funny" story that Meccanoid told with his hands waving at all the right places. 

Tanner and Meccanoid. 

Ta da.