Johnny Five (Johnny 5) Rebuild Project

ABOUT US

Input-Inc.com was formed in 2004. Terry Andrews Jr. had a dream to build the most complex movie robot ever built. Now he and his input-inc team are reverse engineering the robot to meet today's robotic standards and create the most functional Johnny 5 robot ever made. “With a marvelous personality to boot.” - Oscar (Short Circuit 2)

OUR GOAL

Our goal is to build the most accurate and functional Johnny 5 in existence, including a working tool-arm, laser and tool-box. This robot will be semi-autonomous at first, but we are working on a fully autonomous system.  We plan to have working heads in the next 6 months.  Please check back for more details.

TIMELINE

We are hoping to have the robots’ main assemblies built by 2015. Programming is an ongoing area of the project that is constantly in development. The voice library is already set to contain 10,000 entries and this is just the first version.

CONSOLE GUI DESIGN AND MORE PART FABRICATION

After a long search for a display that fits the very limited space of the Johnny Five lower torso console we have found a perfect match. This display is also a touch screen which gives the robot an updated feel, but with the GUI interface looking exactly like the original it maintains its military look and stays true to the original. Like everything else on the robot it works perfectly, but just barely.

Devin has been working on recreating the numerous displays shown in the movies and making them both screen accurate and functional to the actual robot as well as new interfaces for controlling and programming the robot.  We are implementing a numeric keypad that will be used in a few applications, one being a password blocked menu to protect unwanted users from hurting themselves and J5 himself.  Next we will be working on integrating the head controls and voice recognition into our so called “J5 OS” (unnamed at this time).  We will also be creating a mock up lower console with a working door, buttons, and lights. Terry has been working on getting his CNC router up and running as well as diving into the world of CNC machining in order to fabricate the track drive idler wheels.  Joe has 3D printed many parts for the team as you can see below and will be tackling a full mock up head prototype for testing and to help us get ahead on programming.  We will, however, be machining a lot of the final product from aluminum for rigidity and aesthetic appeal.  Andrew has been working on finalizing the cradle base design so that Simon may begin fabricating them for the team. Simon, in his off time from the project, has purchased a virtual reality gaming system and has been working on that for the last little while (we all need a break once in a while).  Hash has been traveling for work and is excited to get back into the project and help with programming and part fabrication. During his time on the road he is also researching battery recharging systems as we have recently made a big change in our battery design. Martin has been busy with work, but as always offers his wealth of knowledge as much as he can.

We are doing our best to work as fast and as accurate as we can, and we hope to have more mechanical drawings available for you all soon.

We have also been discussing having some input-inc.com J5 t-shirts made and possibly some other swag to help us fund some of our research and development.  More to come soon.

Until we have more to share, please take a look at the video of the console GUI interface and the pictures of our progress. Thanks for you interest and support!

THE INPUT-INC TEAM

We do not own any rights to “Johnny Five” as a character or the “Short Circuit” movies.  We are not affiliated with Sony Pictures, Dimension Films or any other production company and we do not intend on profiting from our work.  Please understand that we can only share limited information on our progress and the documentation, blueprints and information we provide is to be treated the same.  We are not liable for any legal action taken against you if you so choose to do so. We have spent years reverse engineering the Johnny Five Hero-Bot and it is a completely different machine than what was produced for the films.  Unless otherwise stated, all images and information shared is owned by the input-inc.com team.  We hope you enjoy watching our progress and help keep “Johnny Five alive!”.