Pimp My Halloween Costume??

[macgeek]

Well, its time to present

Pimp™ My Halloween Costume 2007

http://bandster.us/Mhween/1.jpg

This year I wanted a Costume that would be seen, and not lost in the crowd
of the NYC halloween Parade, So I purchased on E-bay a
"Vampire mickey air blown inflatable"

http://bandster.us/Mhween/2.jpg
A bit larger picture - Notice the handlebars are nowhere to be seen
there Inside the Inflatable (as will be the glider.. ME!)

http://bandster.us/Mhween/3.jpg
Of course I am going to use the segway with it, Here I am testing
the inflatable, and seeing what problems I will encounter with it on the Seg.

http://bandster.us/Mhween/4.jpg

I am mounting a 12V car Battery as well as a 400W power Inverter
I am using a wayne side Mount.

http://bandster.us/Mhween/5.jpg

One of the first Major problems I encountered was his Feet
sticking out the front, no matter what I tried they would catch
on the tires, So I removed em!


http://bandster.us/Mhween/6.jpg

Here is another shot

http://bandster.us/Mhween/7.jpg

And another one of the back

http://bandster.us/Mhween/8.jpg

Here are some pictures of the Power Plant and
Blower Mounted on the wayne carrier

http://bandster.us/Mhween/9.jpg

The 12V battery is in front, the Blower mounted on the back
I will have a box painted black covering it when I am done.

I will post a few more pics of the finished product in a few days.
I need to do some more testing to make sure I can see out of it
and I have full control of the segway, with wind, etc conditions.

http://bandster.us/Mhween/10.jpg

Jonathan

[SEGsby]

I think Robo / Vampire Micky will freak a lot of kids out.

Awesome. :) Costumes that don't scare are a waste of time, IMHO...

SEGsby

[bentbiker]

This year I wanted a Costume that would be seen, and not lost in the crowd
I think I can safely say you achieved your goal. Unbelievable . . . if you don't win first prize, I want to see pictures of the winner. Great job -- thanks for sharing.

[KSagal]

Nice Job. Good luck.

[bystander]

Well, its time to present

Pimp™ My Halloween Costume 2007

This year I wanted a Costume that would be seen, and not lost in the crowd
of the NYC Halloween Parade, So I purchased on E-bay a
"Vampire Mickey air blown inflatable"

A bit larger picture - Notice the handlebars are nowhere to be seen
there Inside the Inflatable (as will be the glider.. ME!)

Of course I am going to use the segway with it, Here I am testing
the inflatable, and seeing what problems I will encounter with it on the Seg.

I am mounting a 12V car Battery as well as a 400W power Inverter
I am using a Wayne side Mount.

One of the first Major problems I encountered was his Feet
sticking out the front, no matter what I tried they would catch
on the tires, So I removed em!

Here is another shot

And another one of the back

Here are some pictures of the Power Plant and
Blower Mounted on the Wayne carrier

The 12V battery is in front, the Blower mounted on the back
I will have a box painted black covering it when I am done.

I will post a few more pics of the finished product in a few days.
I need to do some more testing to make sure I can see out of it
and I have full control of the segway, with wind, etc conditions.

Jonathan
Looks great!

You're pretty far into it, but some ideas come to mind. Don't change anything if you're happy with the results so far.

1. Mylar helium balloons in the feet and ears, suitably sized for each location. Hopefully the lift would keep the feet from dragging in front - maybe not. Using balloons in the ears will keep the costume up with less air pressure from the blower. Something you might become worried about as the lead-acid battery discharges.

2. A "skeleton" interior framework made of those long balloons that clowns use to make balloon animals. The framework is lightweight, and keeps the figure up while you are entering it. If the framework is strong enough, you can reduce the blower power and get longer run time.

3. Replace the AC blower and use a DC blower from a car instead. Being on 12 v already, you can skip the inverter and get longer running time. But you have to find a DC blower with equilavalent pressure as the original AC blower.

4. Avoid trailing / hanging around idling cars, the exhaust fumes could get into the blower and make it unpleasant for you inside.

5. Interior LED lighting for the hands and face?

[polo_pro]

I agree with bystander's second suggestion having actually implemented it. I was amazed at how important it was to have a frame. You won't be going too fast, but as you learned from Mickey's feet, you can't afford to have any part of it sag.

Are you planning to have spotters with you when you go out? I'm not sure I could have pulled things off without my three gliding spotters around me when I was in my snowman.

ps - BTW, my snowman's lower sphere was perched on the lower cargo system above the tires. I'm not sure how well hoop solutions at tire level really work. I'd be a bit scared to try that even if those angels costumes seem to make it work.

[macgeek]

Great suggestions.
Right now i'm doing a Burn test with the battery / blower / inverter

As far as Air needs my body is filling up a dramatic amount of space,
so the blower is filling a smaller 'space'.

As far as changing blower motors to DC, I thought about that but
I have a 6 HR window with my current setup,
which is more then enough time for the whole parade.

I have an aux power source (NCharge (Saphion) Li/On) battery packs for Lights
and "accessories" All of those have been tested on Baron for years!

:)

I still have to work out some of the bugs. [Like]

I still need to get In the costume and glide around with it

I need to figure out my vision points as well as Lighting points
(Most of this will be on 6th Avenue - big open road,
no real potholes and I will be going slowly) But it will be 'dark'

I have to make sure things are protected from people interacting with me
My biggest 'fear' is people covering up the air intake and being 'stickered'

Since I will be enclosed, I don't think I will hear much (roar of fan, street noise)
so there wont be much interaction with people

Steve, A spotter is a good idea, I cut the seam in back and put in velcro,
so I do need help getting into the costume, and sealing myself in.
Maybe I can get a friend of mine to walk along side me, and be my
'Body guard' :)

Since my handlebar is inside, I have my hands available to steer and also to wave with
if I pull my hands out, the air still keeps the inflatable's hands out

I still have 4 days, but it looks like a winner!

:)

Jonathan

[polo_pro]

Steve, A spotter is a good idea, I cut the seam in back and put in velcro,
so I do need help getting into the costume, and sealing myself in.
Maybe I can get a friend of mine to walk along side me, and be my
'Body guard' :)

You'd be surprised how different riding in a crowd is going to feel. You lose alot of the cues you're use to. For instance, you find out how much a horizon helps you maintain balance and give the correct input to the segway. I never had any problem where I tilted to the point of speeding out of control. But I definitely had a good chance of moving forward or backward 3 feet before realizing the tilt had occurred and countered it. Thus my spotters were always verbalizing when "motion had started" giving me that crucial half second jump on countering it.

Being a private pilot, my circumstances could be compared to going IMC (instrument meterological conditions) without IFR training. Your years of gliding experience are going to be put to the test. The environment is not friendly where even just clipping someone's foot could have disasterous consequences. (Though we both know this is also the case in a normal situation...I'm trying to say you'll have NO chance of recovery.) And finally, you're going to have alot of attention placed on you, so if things go wrong it's going to get blown out of proportion.

Spotters just make sense....

ps - Try to arrange it so you have at 6 feet clear around you at all times. Or at least have ONLY knowledgeable people within that range that can "get themselves out of the way" and are constantly monitoring where you are.

Oh...and BTW the scale icon for positive rep is
<---------------------

[wwhopper]

I think that Tarkus should be with you as you wear that costume!

[polo_pro]

I think that Tarkus should be with you as you wear that costume!

Handing out big foam bats to everyone showing what really should be done to the mouse, eh?

[macgeek]

Spotters just make sense....

ps - Try to arrange it so you have at 6 feet clear around you at all times. Or at least have ONLY knowledgeable people within that range that can "get themselves out of the way" and are constantly monitoring where you are.

This will be my THIRD parade, umm i usually have 6 INCHES clearance!
sometimes 6mm

Jonathan

[macgeek]

I think that Tarkus should be with you as you wear that costume!

He should be walking (segging) in FRONT of me with a Giant red:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/SlashCircle.svg/600px-SlashCircle.svg.png

Jonathan

[macgeek]

Oh...and BTW the scale icon for positive rep is
<---------------------

I think My hard work deserves some rep points too!!!

(cough) hint (cough)

Ok 12:30 PM burn test ended. total time: 8 HOURS!
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Jonathan

[nickyboy]

Hats off to you Jonathan. I never cease to be amazed by some peoples inginuity and the lengths they will go too to entertain themselves and others.

[nickyboy]

He should be walking (segging) in FRONT of me with a Giant red:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/SlashCircle.svg/600px-SlashCircle.svg.png

Jonathan

HMMM, rather you did'nt. If it gets seen over here they'll be walking in front with red flags again.

[David Long]

Incredible! Will you be able to safely exit the Seg if you needed to in an emergency?

[macgeek]

Incredible! Will you be able to safely exit the Seg if you needed to in an emergency?

Yep, there is a Velcro opening at the back, I can exit in about 4 seconds,
Strangely enough though, since I am 'inflated' (NO NOT MY EGO)
if I fell, I would be cushioned! and if the segway malfunctioned, and I fell over
I would be surrounded by a 'airbag' BUT I DONT WANT TO TEST THAT ONE!!!
LOL!!!!

Jonathan

[bentbiker]

. . . if I fell, I would be cushioned! and if the segway malfunctioned, and I fell over I would be surrounded by a 'airbag' BUT I DONT WANT TO TEST THAT ONE!!!
LOL!!!!

Jonathan
No, don't test it -- since you are inside, there would be no airbag effect; you'd have only one layer of fabric between you and the ground.

[KSagal]

This begs for someone to comment on the likely over abundance of hot air in the immediate area...

I don't plan to attend, so that will cut the hot air in half, but I am sure there will be plenty generated just the same...

[macgeek]

This begs for someone to comment on the likely over abundance of hot air in the immediate area...

I don't plan to attend, so that will cut the hot air in half, but I am sure there will be plenty generated just the same...

Uh Oh Karl attempting to be funny


**DANGER **DANGER

Jonathan

[william collins]

Boy you keep good secrets //I chat with you daily and you never even hinted of this ..I have too see it on chat ..Sorry no kudos for you today .:).But tommorow I will change heart and give you some Rep Point...
OK anyway Great Costume...but Tarkus is not going to be talking to you for awhile ..ya know he has it in for the Mouse

[polo_pro]

Incredible! Will you be able to safely exit the Seg if you needed to in an emergency?

At the first sign of trouble, the afterburners kick in....the air in the mouse heats up...and MacGeek, the segway and the balloon all start floating away over the crowd. From what I understand, the Secret Service has approached MacGeek about licensing his patented technology as an escape device for the president during parade appearances. 8^) 8^) 8^)

ps - I tried to rep point you, MacGeek...but it says I've given you too many already. Are you hoarding them?

[Mr_Laurenzano]

Good job John. Your work space looks like my garage, I have a smoke machine like the one in the pic's hooked up in the same fashion . It goes in a boat made with a 7 foot plant shelf. (Note DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITH KEY SPEEDS ABOVE 5MPH YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO STOP), Three beta's and two fenders later.
I'll post pic's on my space.
Crash
:)

[macgeek]

OK update time

http://bandster.us/Mhween/mfront.jpg
Here is count mikula, outside being tested for wind and also my first attempts
at riding inside it.

http://bandster.us/Mhween/mside.jpg
The strange thing is, there is nothing like REAL WORLD TESTING
everything I thought I would need to do, was for nothing!

http://bandster.us/Mhween/mside1.jpg
The screen and camera mount was below my neck, so they were useless
and I can see out of the eyes. (I thought I would come around nose level)

http://bandster.us/Mhween/mtravel.jpg

This is my 'travel position' with everything stowed away


http://bandster.us/Mhween/travelback.jpg
And the back.

Jonathan

[LycanFire]

I know you don't need more input, but with your limited visibility you might consider a vox headset and radio so you could have communications with your spotter/s.

[bystander]

Looking good so far. Thanks for the update.

...and I can see out of the eyes...
Did you only check visibility in daylight conditions?

How's the operator visibility in the dark with internal lighting? Might cause a glare condition that decreases visiblity quite a bit.

[polo_pro]

Having ridden in the FrostySeg, I think only a head's up display would work. And even that wouldn't seem to be of much use IMO. The real difficulty is getting peripheral vision in a timely fashion. During the whole parade, I never worried about me running into something. I worried about someone (ie. toddler, dog, etc) running out in front of me, and me never realizing it until it was far too late.

[KSagal]

I think it is a great costume. If Jon can see out the eyeholes, I do not know if he would be more at risk of someone running into him than if he were simply walking in a similar costume.

Of course, the results may not be the same, even if the exposure is.

In the concept of keeping some space around the rig safe, I do recall a device that had a short life in the 70s and 80s for people who do not know how to parallel park, called "Curb Feelers". The resembled metal cat's wiskers that you could attach to your car fenders and they would alert you when you were too close to the curb.

Maybe Jon could install a number of them around the base of the seg, so if he bumped into, or more appropriately, if someone else bumped into him, he could feel it before the seg reacts.

[macgeek]

Having ridden in the FrostySeg, I think only a head's up display would work. And even that wouldn't seem to be of much use IMO. The real difficulty is getting peripheral vision in a timely fashion. During the whole parade, I never worried about me running into something. I worried about someone (ie. toddler, dog, etc) running out in front of me, and me never realizing it until it was far too late.

Hi steve,
I bought a 5 lux camera and mounted it in the Black circle on the chest

http://bandster.us/Mhween/cam1.jpg

This is a B&W camera with LED lighting (invisable to naked eye) that I mounted
so I had both night vision, as well as a View of whats in front of me

http://bandster.us/Mhween/cam2.jpg

The problem I encountered was the display, that I had it mounted on the handlebar
protector, but the neck of the costume blocks me looking down

http://bandster.us/Mhween/cam3.jpg

This is what the camera looks like (well the image from the camera) in darkness

Good idea, bad execution.

Jonathan

[nickyboy]

Hey Jonathan, your in sooooo much trouble now!

My 10 year old daughter just caught site of your outfit over ny shoulder and exlaimed "Wow thats WELL cool, what are you going to do Dad, can we do the same on our Segways"

AAAAARRGGHHHHH :D

[macgeek]

Yea, well.. Its a rare thing for us cross the pond to come up with something original!

:)

Well, The bad news is, even though I can see. I have no sense of motion.
I can't stand still in the costume, I drift forward and back, which makes this too dangerous
to do in a crowded situation, SO I am switching to walking along side the seg,
and tether it, with a few leashes, weighing down the platform to detect rider,
custom keying it to 1 mile / 1% turn - and being a puppet master.

I did a 'walk thru' my neighborhood and THAT WENT excellently

I was able to interact with people, stop it and fully control it.

Here are some pictures:

http://www.bandster.us/Mhween/jon&mik.JPG

And to show JUST HOW BIG IT IS

http://www.bandster.us/Mhween/ron&mik.JPG

I'm ready for the Parade!

(More pics to follow I am sure!)

Jonathan

[bystander]

Yea, well.. Its a rare thing for us cross the pond to come up with something original!

:)

Well, The bad news is, even though I can see. I have no sense of motion.
I can't stand still in the costume, I drift forward and back, which makes this too dangerous
to do in a crowded situation, SO I am switching to walking along side the seg,
and tether it, with a few leashes, weighing down the platform to detect rider,
custom keying it to 1 mile / 1% turn - and being a puppet master.

I did a 'walk thru' my neighborhood and THAT WENT excellently

I was able to interact with people, stop it and fully control it.

Here are some pictures:

And to show JUST HOW BIG IT IS

I'm ready for the Parade!

(More pics to follow I am sure!)

JonathanSince you're going to "leash" it, have you considered a "Pluto" costume for yourself? Might be a little late to do that.

And I think you will find if you engage a single rider detect, the PT will operate at a even lower limit than the key setting. The minimum may be 3 mph, not 1 mph. It can be set as low as 1, but 1, 2 & 3 settings all give 3.

[macgeek]

And I think you will find if you engage a single rider detect, the PT will operate at a even lower limit than the key setting. The minimum may be 3 mph, not 1 mph. It can be set as low as 1, but 1, 2 & 3 settings all give 3.

I have it on crawl speed (2mph) and black turn (25%)

I may up it a bit if its not responsive enough

Jonathan

[nickyboy]

It did'nt occur to me at the time but we have done some work with a blind rider and he has no sense of motion initially.
To others out there, get on a flat surface, stand still and close your eyes, and see how many of you "drift". Oh, and have a spotter with you of course!
I would have thought that your camera screen would have picked up enough movement for you to aclimatise and compensate, but, as you say, in a crowded area its a little (lot?) dangerous.
Funnily enough I spoke to one of my customers early last night who was getting ready to do exactly the same thing,so I'll ask him how he got on.

[SegwayJay]

Managed to get a shot of a gorilla on a Segway.

Trick or Treat?...

See attached...

...Jay

http://www.northshorerealestate.com/images/SegwayGorillaMarketingImage.jpg

[bentbiker]

Managed to get a shot of a gorilla on a Segway.

Trick or Treat?...

See attached...

...Jay

http://www.northshorerealestate.com/images/SegwayGorillaMarketingImage.jpg
"Gorilla Marketing", huh! Very clever.

[polo_pro]

I have it on crawl speed (2mph) and black turn (25%)

I may up it a bit if its not responsive enough

Sooooo...how'd it go?