Romaire Studios leveraged in-house expertise for the artistic design, engineering, manufacturing, testing, programming, and installation efforts required for each of their projects. They leave no detail unresolved, which is critical to the successful design of unique products, purpose-built for a specific applications. Clients typically provide key references to the studio, including a creative direction and technical requirements, but it is the responsibility of the studio to take those references and develop a robust and reliable design. In the case of animatronic figures, these references can include a list of anatomical functions that the figure must possess, such as facial expressions, head movement, limb movement, body twists, and more. All functions, regardless of speed or range, are approached with the same attention to detail and engineering precision. 

In this article, we will discuss the design and fabrication of five animatronic figures the studio built for a THEA-award-winning attraction operating in a major Hollywood theme park. One particular figure is considered one of the most complex animatronic characters the theme park has ever commissioned in terms of function count and packaging density. Each of the five configurations of the figures had to fit within the unique storyline of the scene in which it was located. The animatronics were mainly constructed from CNC-machined aluminum parts, but they often incorporate steel components when additional strength was needed. The shells that form the organic body shapes of each figure were designed to be fabricated using 3D printing technology. 

Each animatronic incorporates multiple motion systems that must be accurately controlled for position and speed so that the figures can be programmed to play back show-specific animation profiles. An animation is typically generated via live puppeteering or derived from a digital animation using Maya software. The animation is then streamed to the motors via an animation controller. If the motors cannot keep up with the motion, the system will produce a fault. Using reliable high-performance motors is the only approach that ensures the system will run flawlessly. 

After the studio’s team of engineers have designed the mechanisms for a figure’s functions, they use multi-body dynamic simulations to calculate the torque and speed required to meet the creative performance of each figure. The whole process is highly iterative because the figures are so densely packaged. The motors selected to achieve the required motions must fit into compact spaces alongside various other mechanisms; oftentimes, the character must be redesigned using different mechanisms, alternate motors, or both. Adjacent mechanisms often affect each other as they battle for space until the final product is achieved.

Motor Selection

The motors used in Romaire Studios’ animatronics must offer high-performance, high-reliability, and long life; the minimum lifespan of a figure is typically 20 years, operating for 16 hours per day, 365 days per year. This means that the motor manufacturer must be as detail-oriented, and quality-focused as the studio. This is why maxon precision motors are often selected to be incorporated into their designs. 

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It is important to note here that the motors are not used like they might be when incorporated into a manufacturing setting where constant speed or torque is required. Rather, the motors must follow an animation curve that is delivered using 16-bit position data at 100 frames per second. For the award-winning Hollywood project, the company purchased 63 motors for the project, using up to 24 maxon motors in a single animatronic. The main components used were brushless DC motors. EC-max motors of various sizes from 16mm to 30mm were combined with integrated planetary gearboxes of various reductions. 

At times, the motors interfaced with maxon motor’s EPOS4 50/5 drives, depending on the application. The engineering team at Romaire Studios used EPOS Studio to commission the drives, which made implementation fairly straight-forward. The hurdle was in developing the animation controller to work with the EPOS drives, which took additional firmware updates and troubleshooting before it was developed into a reliable system. 

Maxon motors offer a wide range of advantages to Romaire Studio’s projects. For example, the DC brushless motors provide a high torque value from a very small package. The line offers a wide variety of speed and torque combinations, as well, which allows for an ideal motor package to be available within a very confined space. This goes along with the availability of various gearboxes with very high ratios (>300:1), allowing for extremely high torque in a small package when required. Most importantly was the smoothness of the motion the motors are able to provide, even at slow speeds, due to the non-cogging motors. Compactness is a valuable feature of maxon’s motor drivers and controllers as well, which allows the company to package them within the figures, rather than externally. 

Great design and performance are important, but so is customer service. Maxon sales engineers were available to help the studio specify the required motors whenever there was a concern about proper fit and performance. Questions about the full capabilities available to them were answered quickly and with backup information when needed. All aspects of the working relationship were up front and quickly handled. 

Challenges Overcome 

Packaging all of that equipment inside an already full mechanical structure can definitely be a challenge. During the design stages, Romaire Studios engineers must come up with innovative solutions to achieve the desired motion within very tight spaces. In fact, the company was awarded a patent for a curling ear mechanism designed for this particular project. Another unique challenge they faced was the combination of performance with creative intent. Every customer has a particular vision for their project, and often meeting their vision with mechanical and motor solutions creates new ways to approach a project. Every animatronic must look as good as it performs. 

Through the use of realistic artistic designs and highly innovative mechanical and electrical engineering, Romaire Studios has helped to set the standard for movie-quality realism in theme park animatronic figures. Incorporating the highest quality mechanical systems and motion components helps keep the company at the forefront of the industry. 

For more information:

Romaire Studios, Inc.

maxon motor