Hello everyone, I would like to introduce you to a project that I have started since the first of the year. It all happened when I saw the WowWee's Elvis Alive bust. I have been working on an animated head on and off until I seen this. This was just what I was looking for, a head that moves, turns, eyes that move and a mouth that moves. The Elvis had all of it, so I started to think what am I going to do with it? I started talking about the head on www.RoboCommunity.com and got a lot of ideas but the one that I liked the most was to turn the Elvis into the Terminator. So the name The Elvinator was born. This project is a very hard robot to build and to make the necessary mods including making your own main brain board, constructing the Terminator eye with a glowing red LED, building the jaw piston, re-skinning the face to look like it has been burnt off and of course programming it to move, recognize voice and learn as it interacts with people. As you can see where I am in the project just look at my Avatar photo, yes that is the Elvinator. So I would like to show you what’s inside him and how to modify the Elvis and turn him into the Elvinator. This project is not finished yet but I will be adding more steps along the way. I not sure how many steps but I know there are a bunch. I am using a Basic Stamp 2 from Parallax right now for testing purposes then I’ll make a board that is controlled by a PC once I get to that point.
This is the first step in transforming Elvis to "The Elvinator," an ongoing project. This first article is about opening your Elvis to reveal some of its electronics. The next article will be about removing the skin and so forth.
So, are you ready to get started?

Support the Elvis upside down, either in an empty trash can or in your lap. If batteries are installed, you will need to remove them before beginning this step, since you could slip and make a short circuit in it. If you look at the base, you will see that there are a lot of screws to remove. Make sure not to forget about the ones in the middle of the white standoffs. See the picture below.

After all the screws are removed, it's time to start on the vest. The picture below shows that the vest is connected in the front on 2 posts. Remove these connections first by prying up on them with a screw driver, going up and over the post.

Once you have these connections loose, the next step is to release the bottom base from the upper torso. By doing this, you will be able to get to the electronics. Notice that around the bottom of the vest, there are locking tabs holding it in place. There are 2 more locking pins; one on each shoulder. By pulling up the vest from the bottom, you will come to the point where the vest won't move. Twist the locking key 90' to unlock and pull it out. See photos below.

Now that all the locking pins are removed, it's time to remove the vest. The vest on each shoulder has a connector on it. These connectors are for the IR (Infra Red) transmission (TX) and receiving (RX) Transistor on the vest pocket for the right and left. Remove the connectors and then pull the vest up and over Elvis's head. We are now ready to examine the insides.

Finish opening the base from the torso. Be careful not to pull on the wires too firmly. On the base, you will see the pink speakers; one on the left, one on the right. The PCB on the far left is the audio amp, and the upper center is the main PCB (or "brains" if you will.) Front center is the audio interface board which integrates the micro phone and audio in from the CPU and out to the speakers.

Next is a look under the shoulders. This is where the head is controlled; it can tilt right, left, up and down. Two motors control these functions in the X-Y axis using worm gears and a gear box. Notice the large silver washer. In between is a thick rubber washer, so the motor gear box can move without breaking or locking up. The board to the right of the center motor is an Hbridge circuit for controlling the movement of the motors forwards and backwards. Also in the motor gearbox is a PT sensor ( Photo Transistor) for detecting speed and lack of motor movement. On the far left and far right is the board for the IR sensors on the vest. The center bottom board is a power distribution board.

Next is removing the skin to reveal more electronics and the workings of the facial movements.
Now, it's time to remove the skin. This part is one of the most time consuming steps. First, DO NOT use a razor blade. Instead, use the small flat blade screwdriver. This will prevent any slipups; you could potentially cut the robot skin in half. We'll start by removing the wig. The wig is hot-glued to the head until the point where it reaches the skin then it is sewn on. From the back, simply pull up on the wig all the way to the skin on both sides.

Once you are at this point, it's time to remove the wig from the skin. Pull up until you see the thread, which is close to the ear or possibly a little bit further up. Cut this thread and pull it out one thread at a time until you reach the center of his head. There, you'll find another thread to cut. Continue all the way around until you get to the other ear. Cut the thread there also. Now, the wig will be completely removed.

We can now remove the robot's skin. The easy way is to start at the neck where the skin meets the head. Use the flat head screw driver and pull up on the skin, and scrape the skin away at the base of the plastic as you go. Once you get to the ears line trace the screwdriver between the plastic and the ear. This will release the glue from this point; while pulling a little on the skin continue to the center of the head. Then, start on the other side. This does take a lot of time, so don't rush it.

At this time, we will be working on the chest area. This is one of the hardest places. Continue on which ever side you choose, and scrape and pull the skin away. This silicone has good elastic to it and is around 1/4 inch thick in most places. Once the chest is off, pull the top part of the head over his eyes. Here, you'll see that the eyebrows can be disconnected, once the forehead is off. Disconnect the eyebrows by pulling them out of their sockets.

Now for the eyes. Take your time with this, so you do not cut through the eyelashes. The skin is also much thinner at this point. Once you have the eyelids loose, pull down until you get to the nose. The nose is connected by a screw that is inaccessible at this point; you'll have to cut out the silicone that goes through the nose to get to it. Use a pair of clippers or a razor blade for this.