Big Brother is watching you. Big Brother knows where you are. Big Brother follows you and changes his expression (eye & brain colors, breathing pattern) based on your proximity to him. Big Brother first debuted at Burning Man 2005. Big Brother’s head is a decommissioned pistol cylinder from a rotary airplane engine. His brain is cast acrylic made from a rubber & plaster mold created from a sculpted clay model, a skill learned at The Crucible. Inside Big Brother are two ultrasonic sensors, one custom mother board, six daughter boards and a geared DC motor. Power is distributed to the rotating head via a custom slip ring comprised of two circular etches on a PCB and offsetting carbon brushes. Don Gray designed the electronic hardware system. Big Brother was programmed in low-level Assembly. In addition to going to Burning Man, Big Brother has been Decompression, Maker Fair and recently made an appearance at the Burnal Equinox: ROBOTA OBLONGATA in San Francisco at Public Works on Saturday March 3, 2018.
Based on proximity, eyes and brain change color and breathing pace changes as indicated by oscillations of the green EL-wire
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Freshly assembled with uncovered ultrasonic sensors
programming the head
Mother board mounted on top of the geared dc motor
Slipring assembly consisting of PCB etch and offsetting carbon brushes
