Building the prototype

This prototype project grew up to be extreme personal to me. Rather than using a pre-made model or a plush I wanted to build it from scratch.

And what are little owls made of? Plastic, glue, tape and feathers!

First things first. The garden protector (named Sid) needs it's shape. I started by cutting the bottom away from a white bucket and glued the shreds of dog's e-collar all around it. Then I started to bend them together to reach the roundness of the crow and used tape to keep it together.

When the form was finished it was time to think about the position of the eyes and wings. I made the holes with the help of a drilling machine and scissors. At this point I needed to take some measurements so the servos could easily move the wings.

Need some eyes?

Sid and his unnamed cyclops brother to whom I tested the drill.

Almost done! But the owl is not really complete without a nice layer or feathers or two. The black beak is made of plastic.

After 4 hours the shell was done. It would be time to power up my gear and wake him up...

Notifications and improvement ideas

Since Sid the owl is a prototype it is not suitable for the outdoor use. The final product don't contain real feathers but plastic. You can also scroll the head off and it is waterproof. 

Based on the prototype course by Tero Karvinen and the book Karvinen 2011: Make Arduino Bots and Gadgets.