Cheerleading Robot: Red Panda Task Tracker

Sometimes staying motivated and on track when tackling a bigger project is hard to do, so I created this cute robotic cheerleading assistant to help me out.

A bit of advice I ran into recently is that when you are in the middle of a large project, it is better to separate it into smaller chunks and each chunk into even smaller pieces. When you put those into a chart where you can "check off" those smaller tasks one by one, the thrill of seeing it slowly getting full will help encourage you to keep going. You can also celebrate each task you finish.

With this in mind, I combined the idea of a cute robot friend celebrating your small victories with an LED "chart" that you can fill out as you go. With each step you "check off", the little red panda cheers you on. And hopefully wanting to see him celebrate will motivate you (me) to keep finishing tasks.

This Instructable will cover the building of the cheerleading red panda, and the task tracker (the base with the LED chart). You might want to just create the little critter and not bother with the task tracker, or the other way around, It is up to you.

ELECTRONICS:

For everything:

1. MakerPort
2. 2 small servos (something like this)
3. Power source (it can be something like this or a 9v battery with cord)
4. A computer or chromebook to code the MakerPort
5. USB C to whatever your computer has as USB connection to code.

If also building the task tracker (I got most of the parts from a special MakerPort Kit, but these are the closest I could find):

1. Ribbon cable for MakerPort for touchpoints (included in MakerPort kit if you buy that).
2. LCD screen with adapter cable
3. RGB LED Matrix 8 x 8 with adapter cable
4. Access to a laser cutter will make cutting the pieces of the task tracker a LOT easier.

CRAFT SUPPLIES

1. Flat, clean pieces of cardboard. Cutting up large cardboard boxes works great. The cardboard I used for this project is roughly 4 mm thick, so if yours is thicker or thinner, you might need to adjust the templates.
2. Regular scissors
3. Cardboard cutting tools (these are some of my favorites)
4. Tape (mainly to hold parts in place while gluing, so any masking tape will do)
5. Assorted art supplies to color the red panda (up to you).
6. Glue (for gluing the paper of the panda to the cardboard. I like this one, but even a glue stick will work)
7. Hot glue
8. Mini pom poms. I found some gift bows at a Dollar Tree store that work great with the size of the character. They are about 9cm or 3.5 inches in diameter.
9. Black craft paint if you want to paint the back of the panda.

I will provide templates to print and/or laser cut in the relevant steps.

For the cheerleading red panda, I have three templates: two for the paper layer of the red panda that you can glue onto the cardboard (one color, one black and white if you want to color your own), and one for the cardboard backing. If you want to paint straight onto the cardboard, you don't need the separate paper layer.

You can print the cardboard base templates onto paper and then transfer them onto cardboard, or you can cut them with a laser cutter if you have access to one. The shapes are simple enough that both methods will work.

Once you have the cardboard backing templates cut, it's time to decorate. As mentioned, you can paint straight onto the cardboard or print the paper templates and glue them onto the cardboard. You might've noticed a small circle on the arms of the panda. That is the back of the arm. The paint or the template should be on the front of the arm.

I happen to like the look of watercolor on my creations, so I printed the template onto a piece of watercolor paper, and then painted it and glued it to the cardboard backing.

With all your pieces ready, it's time to add the servos to the cardboard base holes. You insert the cord through first and then place the motor with the geared part pointing to the top. You can put a little hot glue to hold the motors in place.

Using the small circle of the arms as a guide, hot glue one of the servo horns that come with your servos taking care to line up the center of the horn with the circle. Do not put too much hot glue on the center of the servo horn as it can overflow and cover the geared sides and no longer fit on the servo.

Before inserting the arms on the servos, it will save you a lot of time if you code the servos to be in the initial position you want them.

First, connect the servos to the MakerPort. The arm on the left when you see the panda from the front will be Servo 1, which is the top connection where it says Servos, taking care to line up the ground (black or brown) wire with the G. The arm on the right will be Servo 2, which is the bottom connection.

Since I used a MakerPort, the coding is done with Microblocks. For this step, we just need to code the servos to be in the correct positions. The MakerPort has a switch on the side to let you code it, make sure it is on that setting, then go to the website, go to Browser -> Run, connect to the MakerPort (make sure it is plugged into your device). Connecting to the MakerPort will automatically add the special blocks for the device, but you also need to Add Library -> Servos.

The code is simple (I have a photo or a video if you need one). You will need a "when started", "Makerport initialize", "set servo 14 to 90 degrees", "set servo 15 to 0 degrees".

You might be wondering why we use servo 14 and 15 instead of servo 1 and 2. That is because the internal pins the servos are connected to correspond to Servo 1 = 14 and Servo 2 = 15.

Hit play, and the motors will go to the correct positions. If it is not working, add a separate power source to the MakerPort.

Now you can connect the arms keeping in mind that the positions we set the servos in are the highest position the arms will be on. Mind the head!

With the arms on and the servos ready. It's time to connect our two layers of the red panda together. Insert the feet of both layers of the panda into the slots of the pieces that were labeled stand (either the ones labeled for just the panda or the task tracker). It is a tight fit. Be gentle. With the task tracker stand, the feet of the panda will NOT be level with the ground.

Add the Pom Poms to the red panda's hands. Depending on the kind of pom pom you've found, you can tape them in place, glue them, or make holes in its hands to push through the material.

Now it's time for the red panda to do a bit of a routine. The angles of the arms for the lower positions are Servo 1 (14) = 0 degrees. Servo 2 (15) = 90 degrees. With that in mind, you can code the arms to move within that range at certain time intervals and repeat. You can look at some of the code examples I'm attaching. The most important thing to keep in mind when you want the servos to move is to have the start position and the end position separated by a wait so the servo actually has time to get to the position you want.

Try some of the routines or make your own. Doesn't he look cute?

Make sure you download the code you created onto your computer for coding later as it does not automatically save to it.

For this part of the project, it would be much easier if you have access to a laser cutter so you can cut the console parts as they are much harder to do by hand. I like using cardboard for projects as it looks more approachable for my students. The one I used here was roughly 4mm thick, so I designed the pieces with this in mind. You might get a different fit if the cardboard is not the same thickness. The templates are attached. I created the box using boxes.py website and then customized it. I highly recommend it. Please not that the layer with text is to be scored, not cut.

Once you have the parts cut, you can assemble the console. I like to use tape to hold the pieces in place and then use hot glue to keep them there. Leave the back and the top off for now so connecting the components is easier. I'll talk about the small L shaped pieces in a later step.

To place the components, first, make sure to unplug anything you already had plugged into the MakerPort.

Gently push the LED matrix into place with the grid of holes. If you are using the same matrix I used, the first LED would end up being the one in the lower left corner. The cords will stick out to the left when seeing it from the front. It should stay pretty well on its own as it is pressure fit, but you can always add tape to hold it in place.

Push three MakerPort's touchpoint pins through the holes on top of the marks for "+ - Return". From the back you can connect them to the touchpoint ribbon cable. They will be connected the + to pin 1, - to pin 5, and Return to pin 12. I chose those numbers as they are easy to test with the extra connections on the MakerPort.

Next, it's the LCD screen. When using the one I listed, the cord will stick out on the left when seen from the front. If not, try to make sure it's right side up!

The LCD plugs into the MakerPort on the LCD-I2C port taking care the ground cord lines up with the G.

The LED matrix plugs into the Other category with the ground cord lining up with the G.

Next, you will add the top of the console (the oval hole goes towards the back) and glue it in place. Grab the assembled red panda and insert the stands through the slits on the top until the feet are level with the console. You can glue them in place.

Push the servo cords through the oval hole so you can plug them into the MakerPort. When looking at the panda from the front, the left arm should be Servo 1 (top position) and the right arm should be Servo 2 (lower position).

Attached you will find the code I made for the task tracker. Download it to your computer, open it on MicroBlocks, then connect to your MakerPort and hit Play.

*Microblocks' file extension is not supported by Instructables, so I am attaching screenshots of all the steps. If you are interested in the code, DM me.

Try it out. Are the "buttons" doing what they are supposed to? Is the LCD showing the text correctly? Are LEDs lighting up? If not, check the connections again. Make sure you have an extra power source connected to the MakerPort.

In the next step, I'll go into detail on how the Task Tracker is meant to work. I will not go into step by step on how to code it, but follow the explanation and look at the code provided. Can you figure out how it's working? There are more efficient ways to code it, but I try to keep the code as simple as possible so it can be puzzled out by students.

The idea of the Task Tracker is that each row of LEDs represents a task and each column a step towards completing that task. You can set the amount of tasks (1-8) and the amount of steps (1-8).

I'm providing a "chart template" that you can put on top of the grid and write by hand what each task and the steps represent, so it can be easy to see what you are working on. Remember those little "L-shaped" pieces from before? I glued them onto the scored markings and they will help keep the paper in place.

When you turn on the assistant, it'll ask for the number of tasks (8 max) and the number of steps for each task (8 max). Once that is set, it'll ask which task you want to work on (by using the face template it will be easier to see what each row is representing), which will start blinking, and then ask whether you finished a step for that task.

If you say yes, it'll keep that LED on and the red panda does a cheer routine with sound (I used a sound found on Pixabay), then go back to asking which task you are working on, and so on.

So, for an example of how to use it I'll use my own planned usage: say you want to create a comic book that has several pages. You can make 8 pages at a time (# of Tasks = 8). Each page you need to make has to be planned, sketched, inked, and colored (# of Steps = 4). Let's say you are working on page 4 (Which task do you want to work on? = 4). You already finished planning it, so when asked "Finished a step?", you select 1 to say Yes. The LED on that Task/step will light up and the red panda will cheer. You will find him so cute that you just have to see it again. But you need to work on your comic book pages and finish your next step first! ;)

The more tasks/steps you finish, the more lights will turn on. When you are done planning, sketching, inking, and coloring each of the 8 pages, there will be a celebration and then it will go back to the beginning where you can set a new number of tasks and steps for your next project.

There you have it. A cute red panda assistant to cheer you on as you complete your tasks! I don't know about you, but I'm ready to start working next to my little friend.

Would it be easier to just keep track of your work with a pen and paper chart? Or maybe an app? Sure! But it would not be nearly as cute nor would you have a good excuse to procrastinate before starting your actual project!