Welcome to the DIY Animatronic Endoskeleton project!
This project guides you through building your own animatronic endoskeleton, which can wave hi to people using affordable, easy-to-find components—even if you have no prior experience with robotics.
Key Features:
- Wireless control using two ESP32 WROOM microcontrollers.
- Designed for hobbyists, makers, and anyone interested in animatronics.
- Can wave hi to people.
- A Jaw which can move. You can configure how it moves in the receiver code.
- 3D-printable files for the endoskeleton (coming soon!).
- Step-by-step instructions and the code provided.
This animatronic endoskeleton is designed to be both accessible and expandable.
You’ll use two ESP32 WROOM modules to enable wireless communication—perfect for remote-controlled or semi-autonomous animatronics.
In future updates, I’ll provide STL/3D files so you can print the mechanical parts yourself.
- 2 × ESP32 WROOM microcontrollers
- About 6 × SG90 servo motors
- 4 × MG90S servo motors
- 1 × PCA9685 servo driver
- 2 × Analog joysticks
- A lot of jumper wires (F-F, M-F, M-M)
- 1 × 5V 5A power source (available on eBay/Amazon)
- Foam (for now, as a body material)
- Bamboo skewers (for now, for structure/support)
- Cardboard (for now, to help build the frame or for prototyping)
- 1 × Multimeter (compulsory for safety!)
- A few paper clips as servo linkages
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Clone this repository:
git clone https://github.com/urnormalcoderbb/DIY-Animatronic-Endoskeleton.git
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Prepare your hardware:
Gather your ESP32 modules, servos, and other listed materials. -
Upload the code:
Flash the provided code to both ESP32s using Thonny IDE or any ESP32-Micropython-compatible platform. To get the MAC of the Receiver ESP32 , use the getmac.py in the test codes directory. -
Build the endoskeleton:
Please refer to the build plans directory for detailed reference and step-by-step guidance!
The build plan offers diagrams(coming soon!), part lists, and assembly instructions.The main file includes a schematics diagram too.
If you want to experiment or prototype, you can still use foam, bamboo skewers, and cardboard as a temporary structure.
Use the 3D files (in3d endo plan) for reference to build the body.
For Hinges and Joints:
You can use simple hinges and joints—no need for gears at all!
Just search for simple hinges AND movable joints in robotics on Google, and you will see tons of them! Or you can take a look at the Ultimate Animatronic Endoskeleton Project Plan P3 PDF in the Endo Build Plan PDFS file.
- Power on both ESP32s.
- Note: Don't forget to give power to the Servo Driver, and don't forget to use the multimeter to measure voltage!
- Use the controller ESP32 (with joysticks) to send commands wirelessly to the endoskeleton ESP32.
- Please make sure to observe servo movements according to your programmed logic.
This section contains test codes to help you verify your hardware and connections before assembling the full project.
Test codes for servos, wireless communication, and other modules will be provided here. Please check back soon or contribute your own!
- Initial wireless code for ESP32s
- Provide 3D printable files
- Full build instructions
- Expand features (sensor integration, more DOF, etc.)
- Add comprehensive test codes and documentation
This project is licensed under the MIT License.
Feel free to open issues or pull requests! Suggestions and improvements are welcome.
Questions? Ideas?
Open an issue or reach out via my GitHub profile.