I recently finished working on an animatronic project for Halloween. Overall, I feel proud of what my group was able to accomplish, but just as with any project, there could always be improvements.
Firstly, I want to start with what went well. We were able to make a fully functional puppet which hid inside a box and jumped out when somebody walked in front or tried to take candy from the pile. I was very happy that that the animatronic could reliably react to anyone after I had spent so much time testing different sensors and their quirks.
As with any project, there were also some issues that could have been improved. Although our goal was to make our animatronic "scary," most remarks from passersby exclaimed that the little white ghost face that popped out was "cute". If I had another chance to make our puppet, I would spend extra time making the face creepier, whether it be adding rougher texture, including teeth, or increasing the size.
Taking what I've learned from the Halloween Animatronic Project, I would tell my future self to have a clear plan along with back-up plans at the beginning of the Capstone Project which can accommodate for any unexpected changes that occur.
