While the Deathstar, and X-wing squadron might have failed to gain crowdfunding traction, there is a realistically obtainable piece of technology we can create today...the B1 Battle Droid.
This droid functions similar to a Spring Flamingo design for the legs, upper body balances like a "hoverboard" at the hips. Remote control is done with a vr headset, and 360 degree live streaming camera. The user feels they are the robot. Autonomous mode is also an option.
Thingiverse contains item number 505758, a printable lifesize battle droid, scaled up 400% from a figurine model.
Using the Instructable found at http://www.instructables.com/id/Life-Sized-Star-Wars-Battle-Droid/ we can create a pepakura variation of this droid.
The pieces of the instructable make up 218 pages of A4 cardstock that is cut and assembled to create a unique frame for advanced experimentation in robotics.
The parts catalog can also be upgraded to CNC milling for plastic injection molding. Limited edition runs, or mass production of this unit would then be possible (either as an officially licensed product, or a modified variant).
The challenge is to make this prop "do" anything useful.
An arduino board with H bridges control points of articulation on the robot, it is not a motionless statue.
The Droid is easy to redesign to avoid intellectual property right issues, but a functioning model of a well known droid is already branded, and therefore more marketable as an officially licensed product. This droid functions, even constructed from cardstock or PET plastics.
The weight is extremely important, and that's why I recommend cardstock lightly coated in vinyl, or lightweight PET plastics (think the plastic bottled water comes in).
For the electrical system we don't want to use more than 500mA at up to 36V to power motors, unless we redesign the circuit boards to handle more power, and that is using the H bridge method. Otherwise Arduino boards burn out above 5V at 500mA, so that's the range of power that we areally dealing with. 5-36 volts at 500mA for each point of articulation. Try to keeping both weight and noise under control, so most of points of articulation will be done with small motors, walking and balancing will be done with larger motors and gyro sensors.
Bipedal walking robots are challenging to build, but this model is really not reproducing the Honda laboratory's work with Asimo. This is a much more scaled back and conservative locomotion style, more similar to the walking style of a wind up walking toy. This is done with a combination of trigonometry and physics. The mass of the robot and the constant of gravitational force determines the rate at which the robot falls forward, and the foot needs to move at an upward angle to be in the location to catch it on the way down. This will involve some programming experimentation, so don't be surprised if everything doesn't come together just right on the first attempt.
Original designs are often made from cardstock, though most are coated in resin, epoxy, and paint when finished. However, this droid needs to be light weight, so perhaps finished in a light coating of vinyl
I have begun the construction of the pepakura variant of this project.
The build requires 218 sheets of A4 cardstock, printed and cut.
Currently I am assembling a first pair of arms.
The files for this robot frame can be found on Instructables
http://m.instructables.com/id/Life-Sized-Star-Wars-Battle-Droid/
Files for the 3d printed variant can be found on Thingiverse, item number 505758
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:505758
Pepakura Biped by dmahan26 is licensed under theCreative Commons - Attribution - Share Alikelicense.
This is an original creation based on designs from the movies. I, Ecogeeco, metaform3d, & Darth Raider retain no rights to the design which presumably belongs to LucasFilm and Disney.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/pepakura-biped