WAL-LEAF

WAL-LEAF and its electronics
WAL-LEAF is always ready to help the environment
WAL-LEAF can be a companion sustaining relationships
WAL-LEAF's different attachments for different sustainability missions

Inspiration

When we thought about saving the world, 2 robots came to mind: WALL-E and Eve. WALL-E is one of the greatest movies of all time, and it tells the tale of a disturbing future, where 2 robots practically sustain Earth and humanity. We saw this as a source of inspiration. We could take an all-time favorite character and modify it to create impacts and help sustain and improve current living situations.

What it does

WAL-LEAF is a robot that offers you, the user, the ability to decide how it will be used as. WAL-LEAF with an assortment of accessories can accomplish a ton of different goals. Whether it be converting your living room to a virtual meeting with your distant loved ones, or planting 1000s of trees, WAL-LEAF can be used to sustain relations or ecosystem help. It truly is the ultimate sustainable hack.

How we built it

WALL-LEAF's main body is made through 3D printing. We found a model of WALL-E online. We hollowed it out and modified it to accommodate the electronics inside. The treads were also made to move with a motor and the head to swivel. Once the designing was done, printing started. Once all parts were printed, they were assembled using snap fits and glue. For the electronics, an Arduino Uno was used to control the two 12V motors and five servos. After the electronics were wired, they were programmed in Arduino IDE and then a Python script and GUI were made to communicated with WAL-LEAF through serial communication.

Challenges we ran into

Throughout the design process we faced many issues. This was mainly due to issues regarding the assembly of the robot. Many of the tolerances were not enough and had to be widened post-print. Additionally, we were given limited materials and were not able to fully motorize the treads due to a lack of a power supply.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

In the end, as a group we were very proud that we accomplished making this functioning robot within 36 hours. It was nice to see the robot functioning and working with our code.

What we learned

Throughout this process we learned a lot about building and programming robots. We utilized many tools such as CAD, 3D printing, soldering, coding, and prototype assembly.

What's next for WAL-LEAF

WAL-LEAF is about building and sustaining communities. We hope to create an open source library where people around the world can upload builds they are working on. We designed WAL-LEAF with creativity and scalability in mind. For us it is more important that people collaborate to improve human condition, that's why, similar to Adafruit, we created a modular design, that can be improved not only by us but also anyone with a WAL-LEAF. We intend to grow not only bigger in terms of community, but also in terms of our robot. Most importantly, however, we hope to change the world one WAL-LEAF at a time.