Johnny

Lives Again!

by Terry Andrews with Martin Pinner & Simon Marston

14

1 2

13

3 4

12 11 5

A cinematic robot that charmed millions is reborn

A sample of the parts and pieces obtained or fabricated for the new Johhny5. Note the blue Robotec controller, S28 Mag motors and the jigs on the left to make metal parts.

n May 9, 1986, the movie Short Circuit hit the silver screen and an amazing robot named Johnny5 HeroBot was introduced to the world. Unlike the robots

in many other movies, this was a Partly assembled, Johnny5 begins to assume his familiar appearance. real robot. Gone were the days when a movie robot was either an actor in a suit or robot movie-magic. Johnny5 (J5) was a fully functional robot. Countless people were inspired to pursue robotics by the J5 in the 1986 movie and its 1988 sequel, Short Circuit 2. Three people in particular were responsible for this: movie director John Badham; futurist/conceptual designer Syd Mead; and the movies robotic supervisor and designer, Eric Allard. Allard owns the All Effects Company in Los Angeles, CA, where approximately 15 robots and various robotic props were manufactured for Short Circuit. This account focuses on the one robot in that collection that was fully functional and known to the movie-making crew as the Johnny5 Hero-Bot, or J5. As you will see, we are re-creating Johnny5 using the best of modern robotics technology. THE J5 TEAM FORMS Three people in particular were overwhelmed by the robot and dreamed of building a fully functional Johnny5: me (Terry Andrews Jr., Pennsylvania, USA), Martin Pinner (Norfolk, UK) and Simon Marston (Leicester, UK). In 2002, I decided to build Johnny5, and began my search of the Internet. There was very little relevant information out there. First, I had to properly identify and find certain very

distinctive rare parts that were used in the original J5s construction. The eyes are one of its most recognizable features, and they could neither be replicated nor replaced by substitutions. For years, the J5s lenses had been misrepresented as being surplus photocopier lenses when, in fact, they were a copy lens made by the Wollensak Company. I was also able to locate a limited number of the original tires used on J5`s rear caster. In 2003, I contacted Eric Allard, J5s creator, and learned that he was curious about whether the public had an interest in the original Johnny5 blueprints. The question was posted on an Internet forum and a flood of replies confirmed intense interest. On April 11, 2004, I took the long flight to visit Eric and Johnny5 at the All Effects Studios in California. During my fiveday stay, we carefully disassembled, documented and then reassembled J5. I took over a thousand photos and more than 20 hours of video footage! On my last day, Eric treated me to a Hollywood tour during which I saw the original Energizer Bunny robot, which Eric built and still owns! Meanwhile, independently, in the UK, Simon Marston had been drawing his own 3D model of Johnny5. He was about 12 years old when he saw Short Circuit, and since then, he had worked on his own robot designs. His dream to design a J5 began to come to fruition after he joined our project. Some of Simons original

10 6 7 9 8

1. Single 8-channel receiver in head. 2. 19 servos in head. 3. Hydraulically operated neck cylinders. 4. Tonegawa SSPS-105 servo. 5. Four 8-channel radio receivers plus power-management systems. 6. Two 12V lead-acid batteries in base. 7. Track drive servo motor boards. 8. Two 3/4hp drive motors. 9. Three 12V lead-acid batteries per track side. 10. Two linear actuators for track-tip (aka tippy-toe) maneuver. 11. Two 1/4-scale RC servos. 12. Tonegawa SSPS-102 servos. 13. Two Tonegawa SSPS-102 servos in the tool arm that operates the master neck cylinders. 14. Tonegawa servo for necks forward-backward motion.

JOHNNY5 SPECS

ORIGINAL 300 lb. 7 ft.+ fully extended Over 45 axes of movement Aluminum Sealed lead-acid (SLA), 100Ah @ 12V DC 3/4hp Servodynamics, X2 Custom-built servo-driver board X2; 1119W capacity w/custom RC digital-to-analog converters RS232, analog input/output & encoders Track actuators combined thrust 675 lb. Top speed 30mph but deemed unsafe in case of malfunction run that fast to hit the kill switch!). Upper torso lifting force 50 lb. Lower torso actuator force 600 lb. Weight Variable height Degrees of freedom Body material Onboard power Drive motors Track drive motor controller

NEW Approx. 400 lb. Under 4 ft. fully retracted 39 servos/servo motors on board Aluminum & stainless steel SLA 212Ah @ 12V DC 4.5hp Magmotor S28 series, X 2 Single Robotec AX2850; 4800W capacity w/built-in RC, 1,575 lb. Top speed mechanically limited to 12mph (no one could 100 lb 810 lb.

design ideas were very close to the real robot, and several have enhanced the new design thats now under way. Another J5 fan, Martin Pinner, also joined our team. When Simon and I hooked up, Martin was studying for his degree in artificial intelligence and robotics at The Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland. His interest in a career in robotics had been directly influenced by the Short Circuit movies and J5. He had taught himself how to use SolidWorks 3D CAD software, which is a key component of the new J5 project. The three of us joined forces and mid-2004, and Input-Inc was born. The company name is that of a fictitious company in Short Circuit 2, and the sign was on the wall of that company in the movie is now in my shop. We have spent many long hours and late nights working closely with one another3D modeling, prototyping and fabricating parts to make the most accurate Johnny5 blueprints as we can. NEW JOHNNY5 DESIGN We are not making an exact replica of the original J5. Although bound by the appearance and dimensions of the original, we have extensively redesigned the internal systems and mechanics to take advantage of todays technology and make it more advanced and more efficient. Most of our problems are the result of the original
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008 53

The original Johnny5 recently sold on eBay for $125,000! The eye lenses are no longer manufactured, but Terry has 130!

52 R O B O T M A G A Z I N E

JOHNNY 5 LIVES AGAIN

robots being a movie-prop that was built back in X/Y axis movement of the eye lenses was not 1986 out of many surplus parts. possible. The new J5 will incorporate all of The shoulders of the original J5 have a black cylinthe J5 head functions in one head, and we der at both ends containing a mechanism that moves plan to have a working prototype completed the arms. These were SSPS-102 servo motors by by the end of this year. Tonegawa Seiko in Japan (now discontinued). The arms were designed around these servos, too, as they TOOL ARM were also used to move the elbow joint and other feaMartin and I completely redesigned the tures. We have considered many ways to make a rotary toolbox, or Tool Arm, with which replacement servo that looks the same and has the the J5 repaired himself and mixed breakfast same power and speed. for Stephanie in the first movie. In the one For track drive motors, the original used two 3/4hp used in the film, wires and pneumatic lines servo motors, each driven by its own servo driver got tangled during operation. The toolbox board and having a complex custom-built RC interface. could rotate only in one direction, and most Eric had mentioned that although the robot performed important, when it had rotated to the last tool well, he would have preferred more powerful drive on the carousel, it had to be manually motors. The new J5 sports two 4.5hp motors and one released and reset back to the first tool. motor controller. Electronically, the project is still very The new tool arm has electrical slip rings open-ended, and no reasonable ideas are discarded. so there arent any wires to tangle. It can Were intentionally designing the system to be as flexirotate in either direction and doesnt have a Original (top) and new tool-arm gripble and open as it can be to accommodate any reasonstart or finish. We eliminated the original per. The redesigned tool arm is an electromechanical device with a posiable features and future upgrades. pneumatically operated system and its assotional optical sensor interface that Structurally, the new J5 is about two-thirds comciated remotely located air-delivery systems outputs binary code. It retains the plete. The lower halfs skeleton is complete, and we are in favor of an entirely electromechanical syssame form factor. It reports which tool now working on the cosmetic coverings. The upper tem. The arm includes an onboard, integrated is in position and where the gripper arm or tool is. half still requires a finished shoulder design, and the sensor and power assemblies that enable it to arms and head are still in the early stages of producoperate fully and communicate directly with tion. The original fingers and thumb were controlled by one servo a microprocessor. We spent the end of 2006 and the first quarter of for each hand, so all moved at the same time when the robot gripped 2007 building and testing. Our Tool Arm is now complete, fully anything. The new hands will be more versatile so that the two finoperational and ready to be installed on J5 when its ready. gers and thumb can articulate independently. There are about 20 servos in the head, which is one of the most 6.5 FEET TALL, 400 POUNDS complex systems. Movement includes the eyes, irises, eyelids, antenBy rotating the track drive units, we have successfully tested crouchna, boom microphone and many other functions. Originally, when ing and postural changes with the upper and lower torso sections, the film was rotation at the waist and standing on tiptoesjust as the first made, several J5 movies five Strategic Artificially Intelligent Nuclear Transport heads were built SAINTrobots did to salute. The lower torso can lift in excess of and swapped for 200 pounds, and so, too, can the chassis when its tiptoeing. The different scenes. shoulders are designed to lift 75 pounds by means of the upper When the origitorsos linear actuator. With all that strength, we dont have to worry nal J5`s eyes about J5 moving itself, but we do know that we will need a hefty popped out, a power source for all this. fully articulated We also know that a 6-foot 5-inch-tall robot that weighs about 400 pounds could be dangerous, especially if it malfunctions. Because of this, there will be many fail-safe systems, including the operators ability to immediately shut the robot down using a remote switch or emergency stop buttons on the robot. Our new J5 uses many electronic systems, motors and 45 to 50 servos and has a dramatically increased onboard amp-hour capacity. This will help it to operate for significantly longer than the original design. CONTROLLING J5 Our J5 will have an onboard PC with HDD, touch screen LCD and, possibly, wireless networking. The operator will be able to dial in preset sequences using many different systems. And the feedback of various data to the PC will help J5 to know its surroundings. Infrared (IR) and/or ultrasonic sensors are planned. Still in development is a feedback system that will allow the new J5 to know the position of its limbs so that they will not accidentally collide. In the movies, J5s arms were controlled using a telemetry suit linked to a pair of radio-control model controllers. The new J5 will be similarly controlled. We plan to have cameras in J5s head that will send live video to a virtual reality (VR) headset. Wherever the operator moves his head and arms, J5 will follow. MINIATURE RC J5 Since we started our team Web page (www.input-inc.com), many have enquired about smaller RC J5 replicas. Simon has started some designs and made a few prototype parts, but at this time, it is just a side project. The miniature version of J5 MJ5will eventually be produced using some of the J5s design templates. We plan to produce three Johnny5sone for each of us. We have ourselves created 99 percent of the unique parts used to prototype the new J5 and did so with a very modest budget. Our team is dedicated to take the time required and make the effort to design the best possible Johnny5 robots. The result will be a robotics system that is not only technically advanced but is also robust enough to take punishment and still last a lifetime. Our special thanks to Eric Allard, without whom the official Johnny5 project would have not been possible. Editors note: perhaps most interesting is that the team members have never actually met one another and that this entire project has been managed over the Internet with video-conferencing! During the years, Terry, Martin and Simon have developed a friendship, a bond and a trust that ensures that this team will answer the dreams not only of theJ5 team at Input-Inc, but also of
Team members Terry Andrews Jr. (Pennsylvania, USA), Martin Pinner (Norfolk, UK) and Simon Marston (Leicester, UK)

those of Johnny5 fans worldwide. Potential sponsors who would like to facilitate the progress of this impressive project are encouraged to contact Terry Andrews at J5GURU@comcast.net or call (570)-971-6909. Robot magazine will keep you posted on their progress. Links Input-Inc Johnny5 Project; www.input-inc.com SolidWorks, www.solidworks.com, (800) 693-9000 For more information, please see our source guide on page ___.

Left: Parts still to be installed include head, arms, body covering, drive system, electronics and control systems. Right: The new Johhny5 prototype is shown in extended and collapsed positions. Notice also the track tip posture (also called tippy-toed).

54 R O B O T M A G A Z I N E

JULY/AUGUST

2008

55