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My R2D2’s First Walk
Most R2D2 builders will end with a fantastic droid replica. The same was true with me for a long time. Although at the beginning of my project the clear intent had been to fabricate a full blown and operational droid unit, the project had come to a point in time in which mobility seemed like a brick wall. It was indeed a brick wall for months, until I managed to implement a series of mechanism which to my amazement worked! Because I am an electrical engineer, not mechanical. I assure you, there is a reason for this!
But it moved! Without ropes tied to a car bumper, or without taking advantage of gravity as it slid down a tilted surface. Oh no! It was a mechanical wonder (at least to me) and I had to show all of those who mocked me, how wrong they were.
So I created this very short video. The music was created with what was my music recording studio back then. Although my musician years had been from 1986 to 1994, a hobby which I left behind to pick up the R2D2 builders robe, I had a blast creating this little piece which still today I enjoy quite a bit, listening too. Hopefully you will too. I apologize for some of the lyrics to be in Spanish, but as you can hear from my English, it should have been in Spanish in its entirety! That is why none of my songs on www.avayan.com are in English. Too much complaint from the dead!
The video was edited using Premiere 4.0 NLE software back on 1997. It consisted of a few scenes glued together. The R2D2 did not have any circuitry. I was simply attaching the motor wires to the batteries. Still, the unit moved and it was a clear indicator of whether the mechanics would hold or not. There was little point in undergoing all the electronic development if the drive system was not operational. At this point I was a happy camper!
One last note. The sounds you hear may prove useful if you want to have your R2D2 unit ring like the one in the movie. Feel free to download the following archive filled with about 20 MP3’s. You can download these on any MP3 player and control them by some means. In the 2002 unit (just the head on top of my Montero) I used these as I went by the movie theaters. In the 2005 unit I placed these files inside the R2D2 Mini ITX computer and controlled using a VB6 application.
R2D2 Sounds Download Here!!!
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