FURREAL MUNCHIN' REX

Hasbro | Animatronics Co-op | Jul - Dec 2017

OBJECTIVE

To help program Munchin' Rex's motions and synch movement with prescribed audio tracks under a tight deadline. To test animations and receive approval from the Design and Marketing teams before integrating with production level code.

SKILLS SNAPSHOT

VISUAL SHOW AUTOMATION (VSA) PROGRAMMING

QUALITY ASSURANCE TESTING

TIME MANAGEMENT

INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMWORK

DESIGN STEPS

Split the code with my supervisor: he worked up from the first animation and I worked down from the ~115th so that we would "meet" in the middle
Validated the logic dictating "hunger", "thirst", and "playfulness" counter loops to ensure Rex's animations were always changing
Used Visual Show Automation (VSA) to program a certain range of head and trunk motion for each animation
Ran each animation with the corresponding audio to ensure motions were synched
Conducted low voltage tests to ensure that Rex would turn off if his batteries ran low (instead of running slowly or producing distorted audio)
Identified a motion combination that resulted in a "hopping" movement to show Rex's playfulness

RESULTS

Wrote ~40% of Rex's final Play Mode production code
Wrote Rex's final Try Me production code for Toy Fair debuts in Hong Kong and Nuremburg
Presented animations to Design and Marketing teams' approval
Was the first co-op given the ability to work independently with such a large deliverable
Munchin' Rex debuted for the 2018 holiday season and reached the #5 spot on Amazon's Top 25 Holiday Toy list

SKILLS DEMONSTRATED

Learning a new programming language (VSA)
Identifying opportunities for growth ("hopping" motion)
Quality Assurance testing
Communicating on an interdisciplinary team
Time management

An example of the VSA programming window

(Image Credit: Brookshire Software)

The official TV spot for FurReal's Munchin' Rex (Video Credit: Hasbro)

Myself and Munchin' Rex