Mindy Mindstorms, the robotic cheerleader: A LEGO® creation by Family Vuurzoon : MOCpages.com

Mindy Mindstorms, the robotic cheerleader

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The Cheerleader Minifigure is adorable and now she can dance too! It’s Mindstorms technology that brought her alive. Watch the video to see Mindy dance to the music.

About this creation

Video: Robot Mindy dancing to the beat of “Alpha One”.

Cheerleader figure

This cute Cheerleader belongs to the very first Collectable Minifigures.

Mindy is 9 times bigger than the Minifigure. She’s made from 1000 Lego bricks.
The pom-poms are from wool.

Robot design

Mindy is balancing on only 2 wheels. A gyro sensor from HiTechnic (certified & sold by Lego) is used to detect unbalance. The Mindstorms NXT computer calculates the required power to the wheels, to prevent that Mindy falls over.

With a weight of 1.3 kg & height of 35 cm it’s a big challenge to stay in balance. The fast dance moves make it even more difficult. Light weight construction techniques and a low point of gravity are used to get good performance.

The right arm is directly driven by a servo motor. A slip clutch with end stoppers is used for the left arm, which enables Mindy to move both arms out of phase.
The construction is build modular.

Robot software

Mindy is programmed in NXT-G (the standard NXT program language).
The software part for balancing is based on an algorithm by HiTechnic, that can be downloaded at www.hitechnic.com. Changes and extensions are mandatory to handle Mindy’s mass & size. For instance, to deal with vibrations that occur due to play between the internal gears of the servo motors.

All dance moves are programmed in Mindy’s mind. Different dances can be created using the same set of dance functions. A second NXT computer is applied to synchronize Mindy’s dance steps to the beat of the music. Communication between the NXTs is by Bluetooth.

Enjoy Lego dancing!
Arjen Vuurzoon.

Comments

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I like it

LEGO Ninja

May 20, 2012

Cool! :D

I like it

cyberfrank 2010

May 11, 2012

impressive! it s also funny, your set up is well conceived, buying the blue tooth is in my plans, combining it with a lap top is a dream, you re in buisness! do you plan to get the solar kit?

I like it

NXT Liftboy

May 9, 2012

Incredibly convincing! This is amazingly hard to achieve, combining keeping it upright while additionally making well orchestrated moves. Hats off, you nailed it again B-)

I like it

Yuri Fassio

May 6, 2012

It's a DUDE!

I like it

Nick Barrett

May 6, 2012

Fabulous and funky! Love it.

I made it

Family Vuurzoon

May 6, 2012

Quoting Michael O'Keefe Nice! How did you get the youtube video emmbeded?

Hi Michael, Thankx. Go to Mindy's YouTube video site, choose "Share" and than "Embed". Select "Use old embed code". Regards.

I like it

Michael O'Keefe

May 5, 2012

Nice! How did you get the youtube video emmbeded?

I like it

Steffen Rau

May 4, 2012

Perfect!

I like it

Dave Benson

May 3, 2012

The music makes me dance too! Awesome!

I like it

Country Girl

May 2, 2012

Wow nice creation!!!!!

I like it

Ian Spacek

May 2, 2012

Heh, can't say I'm huge on Dubstep/Techno, but build sheer genius. Well done!

I made it

Family Vuurzoon

May 2, 2012

Quoting Sebeus I That was just amazing, (seen it live :P )

Hi Sebeus & others, Thankx for your comments! After her introduction at Brick Mania 2012 in Wetteren (Belgium), I thought it would be nice to show her on MOCpages too.

I like it

Scott Allen

May 2, 2012

LMAO! That is hilarious, and very well designed. I agree that the face is bit off (trans-gender cheerleader FTW) HAHA! Great job with the dance software and the rest of the model is spot on! ~cheers