Outcomes

The owl performed well. Its wings actuated to the degree expected and on cue. When the owl was not longer able to view the human, it paused in caution and when the owl could “see” the human again it began again its threatened dance. The size of the bird made it far more fierce than had it been smaller and the noise of the stepper motor made it sound additionally aggressive, despite not being an intended feature. In addition, it managed to keep the aggressor in its gaze for the range of motion acceptable from the neck of an owl. The exposure of the actuators did not aid in the convincing power of the robot, and made clear the necessities of creating skin or shelling for a robot. Making the skin more closely approximate the reality of the animal I am seeking to model makes the model more seemingly real. This can be seen in the design of stuffed animals.