• Robotics
• Creative Work
• Sports & Other

Anyan Yao

Current Activities

I am currently working on a robotic dog that can be controlled with Bluetooth, in Vex IQ robotics, multiple sports, and also have a YouTube Channel.

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• My robotics youtube
• Space Sim

Robotics

ihammer tech - Where It All Started

My first encounter with robotics was at a rather young age, around 1st grade. At the time, I was living in HeFei, AnHuei, and found out about a new robotics camp nearby. Interested, we signed up for a robotics course, which took place across several weeks. Each course focuses on building a robot from start to finish, from cutting out parts and drilling holes, to soldering boards and programming. The first robot that I built was a simple RC car. It was controlled by an Arduino with a Bluetooth module. In the following years, I continued to build robots there, and competed in 2 competitions. There, I also learned to program with Scratch and with a block code version of Arduino IDE.

Me working on a robot at iHammer Robotics in 3rd grade.

Robotics Competition with iHammer Robotics

Vex IQ - Competition and innovation

In 6th grade, I was introduced to another robotics system, Vex IQ. At that time, I had already moved to the US, and wanted to try it out. Compared to the fully DIY robots I built in China, this system was much easier to start on, using plastic beams and connectors similar to Lego technic. Vex IQ also had a different goal. It was a competition, with the goal of scoring as many points as possible during 1 minute. The challenge differed from year to year, so teams would have to develop a different robot for each challenge.
The first year in robotics started at the school robotics summer camp. There, I found one of my friends from last year, who had a team with his sister. His sister was one grade above us and had already done robotics in the previous year so had more experience and was able to guild us through the initial phases. Currently, it is my third year in robotics, and our goal is to qualify to Worlds.

• My Youtube Channel with DIY and Robotics videos

Project Dot - Fully Costom

Though Vex IQ was fun and exciting, it had many limitations because it was part of a competition, like motor count, size, and parts. In addition, Vex IQ only goes until 8th grade. Because of these reasons, I've decided to try building a robot myself. My goal is to have it be expandable, affordable, and also have all the features I need.This is why I had been looking for a new robotics platform for a while now, and ended up using Arduino. These function like mini computers, but are able to manually output power through pins on the board, allowing it to control any electronic and receive data via any sensor.Now that I had the hardware, I started thinking about what to build. For years I have been fascinated with the work Boston Dynamics had done in robotics. They were able to make a functional robotic dog and humanoid robot. Because of that, I chose to try and make a smaller and simpler version of Boston Dynamics Spot robot, which is their commercial robotic dog. I started out with a simple prototype of how my robot Dot was going to work.

I then designed a 3d printable shell in a CAD (computer assisted design) program. This was to make a stronger body that would be able to house larger components.I also built a test leg to test the components and the code I made, which takes in a coordinate and uses inverse kinematics to calculate the positions of each joint in order for the tip of the feet to be at the coordinate.To do this, I learned C++, which is essential in making Dot move. While learning the coding language, I made some text based RPGs and programs, which can be found below.

• Spece Sim - My C++ project

Unfortunately, the 3d printed shell did not work. As it was my first time 3d printing, I did not account for things such as limiting the amount of overhangs and keeping loose tolerances in the design to account for inaccuracies and warping when printing. I quickly designed another shell, but the school 3d printers were being used for a school project. Instead, I made a test bed out of foam board to test the electronics and code. In this version, I was able to make code to control each leg of the robot and make it stand by itself.
In addition to updating the design, I also switched from using Arduino to using ESP32. This switch was crucial because ESP32 was not only more powerful and supported more servos, but also has an integrated antenna. This will be important when making the robot remote controllable.

Eventually, I was able to get the new design printed out and built. Currently, Dot is able to stand and has a walk cycle program, but it is glitchy when trying to run it. I think the problem is that when all the servos are active they draw too much current and causes the system to reset. A solution may be to switch to a larger battery or to add a capacitor.

• Back
• My Stop Motions
• My Exeter films

Creative work

姚(Yao) Books - The Beginning

This project started in China, with me bringing in books from home that I no longer read for other classmates to read. I first set up the library in an empty reading corner in my school in China in third grade, gradually expanding and transforming the previously abandoned reading corner into a library full of people and books. During that time I also created a newspaper for the library, which was a predecessor and a source of inspiration for the later Fun News. 姚 (Yao) Books was the name of my library. I picked it because 姚 is my last name in Chinese.

Fun News - A business

Fun News was created when I first moved to the US in fourth grade. During fourth grade, I seen and heard about stuff I haven't even dreamed about in China, such as books and stories with people selling newspapers. Fueled by this knowledge and eagerness to connect with the community, I made my own newspaper, Fun News. I began by going around the neighborhood and selling it door by door. In Fun News 3, I improved the news by digitally designing the front page, improving clarity and legibility. In Fun News 5 and 6, I experimented with a subscription model, including a long story split between the two issues and selling them as bundle then delivering the news separately to improve efficiency. For a while after Fun News 7 in 2023, I didn't release any more Fun News issues, because by that time schoolwork had increased and I was also enrolled in other after school programs, such as robotics and swimming. Just recently, however, I decided to make a new Fun News when met with an assignment in class to make a zine, which is a hand drawn magazine. This time, Fun News 8 featured 8 pages of colored drawings and detailed my experiences at Exeter summer. I went on to deliver the news, walking to each house just as I did 4 years ago, only with greater experience and dreams.

Click to enlarge

YouTube - Digital Media

As I became busier, I found that I had less and less time to go out and make, print, and deliver paper copies of Fun News. I, however, already had my eyes set on a much grander goal: the internet. Realizing that I could share my ideas and creations with people all around the globe, I decided to create both a website and a YouTube channel. The website was made on word press and contained information on my projects and digital copies of Fun News, though it has since been replaced with this website. The YouTube channel, however, is still running
and has 14 videos and 41 subscribers. It includes animated short films and Lego stop motion videos. The channel is called Creeper Hugger Stopmotions.

• Link to my Youtube Channel

Exeter Summer - Going Pro

Last summer I had the chance to go to Exeter summer. Of the many courses offered, I chose the film making course. When I first arrived, I expected something less professional, like something at a summer camp. However, I soon discovered that the course was very professional. Over a few weeks, I learned about screenwriting, filming and editing, and the history of film. The classes helped my a lot with going further in my journey and I also got to experience what it was like to actually go through the pre-production, production, and post-production phases.

• My films on Youtube

This is the last film we made during Exeter Summer. Unlike the other films, this one was a solo project. Because of this, most of the shots were done on a tripod.The prompt was a film releted to a poem. I chose "When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer" by Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

I chose it because I notice that a lot of times people are overly obsessed with data, facts, and statistics that they forget to go out and simply enjoy the thing itself, and I wanted to express that with this film.The video starts out with me walking to a class, noticing nature along the way but preoccupied with facts and data. I arrive at the class, just to be met with more facts and data until I can't take it anymore and walk out. As I exit, I look up and the math slowly fade, until it's just a peaceful night sky.

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• My Stop Motion youtube

Sports & Other