Long Furby

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  Long Furby (without the car) supporting itself on the chair

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  Another angle of Long Furby (without the car)

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  Long Furby attached to the car

Inspiration

We wanted to create a project that would be fun to make yet still stretched us to our full potential as beginners.

What it does

This long Furby can slither around and chase those via an RC car.

How we built the Furby

The Furby faceplate was 3D printed, sanded, then had eyes added to it. A dome pattern was created for the head, then the length of the body was expanded.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge we ran into with the Furby was creating the pattern for the long Furby since creating it from scratch (without a real Furby as a base) is not common at all. We also needed to figure out how to create his skeletal structure since a series of joints would not be possible to 3D print because of the size of the Furby. We overcame this when we discovered that thick, metal wire would work and support the body of the Furby while allowing us to manipulate its shape.

There were some challenges with connecting the motors as they worked very inconsistently (one motor would run even when in the wrong port and would stop and start at random, while another didn't work at all). We overcame this by testing the wires and what exactly triggered these motors to go off. We also stripped the wires and replaced a few of them, which allowed the motors to work consistently.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are very proud that we were able to get the car working, as there were issues with the hardware connecting and working consistently. Additionally, sewing projects tend to take a while, so we are proud that we were able to finish the Furby within the time constraint without a formal/premade pattern.

What we learned

We learned how to better integrate hardware, software, and aesthetics into this project. Jordan also learned how to slice and 3D print objects, as well as how to formulate their own sewing patterns. Gian learned how to attach an Arduino and program custom movements (like the slithering motion).

What's next for Long Furby

Ideally, we would have liked to make the Furby move entirely wirelessly. If we did not have to return the car base that we used, we would have liked to implement that, but as we do not have those resources, Long Furby's life is short-lived, though its legacy will live on in our hearts forever.

Built With

• arduino
• blender
• c++
• cura