Functional Pip-boy 3000 Mk IV from Fallout 4

Aaaaand two more things. Did you ever talk to that guy in San Antonio who was working on Pip Boy UI stuff? And how much space is there behind the knob below the screen next to the power light? I might have some actual ideas come Monday.

--Jonah
 
Inquisitor Peregrinus, their project seems to be stalled also. At this point I am not planning on in-game functionality. I am not much of a programmer, so someone can perhaps add that later.

There is about 15mm between the interior plastic wall, and the armband behind that button. I do intend on trying to get design in a five-way nav switch into that area.
 
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I have a few more leads on nav/joystick units like the one I linked some time back -- 360-directional, two-way rotational, center-select. I wanted to compare dimensions with available space. It's frustrating that that initial one I found is only a couple millimeters too deep to fit. :p That figure you gave me is even factoring in that that knob seems to be mounted on a projecting bump?

For the display, I'm actually not interested in in-game functionality. At this point I'm looking more at Google Glass and Niantic's Ingress level of enhanced-reality. I love the idea of something like a Fallout version of Ingress where local landmarks, art displays, public buildings, etc., show up on a Google Glass type overlay in an NCR Veteran Ranger gas mask or power armor helmet or even just a pair of sunglasses as they do in F4 -- compass dial across the bottom of your field of view, with points of interest appearing and growing brighter as you near them. Then when you "discover" them, they show up on your Pip-Boy map accompanied by the "location found" sound effect. Minus the head-mounted display, the arm unit on its own would tag locations once you got close enough, with the sound alert to let you know. Internal to the Pip-Boy, all this would require Bluetooth linking for any headset output, plus wi-fi and cellular antennae and a SIM card reader for those of us who would want to add it to our cell provider data plan and not be totally reliant on wi-fi. I know as this has developed, you've looked at one or another form of wireless connectivity, but I don't remember the latest state of that.

I know a couple folks who are working on a design.doc for the map feature, and we're currently debating trying to do it open-source, or approach Niantic to propose they work with Bethesda for an ER game similar to Ingress or Pokemon Go! for smart devices (for the commercially-available model that holds those) and the firmware in your Pip Boy (since, IIRC, you're using Android OS in this thing...). We have vague notions past that for quests, rewards, and inventory tied into that. But only vague. There'd definitely have to be some sort of online/cloud/account based tracking of what you've got, what you're "carrying", and what you have "equipped".

--Jonah
 
Inquisitor Peregrinus

There isn't just an issue with depth, there is also an issue with the amount of movement that the joystick can have. Because I don't want to put a larger diameter hole around the knob, which would break the game-accurate look. So the switch has to be a short-throw type.

As far as wireless, the DragonBoard 410c has both WIFI and Bluetooth. If anyone wants celular, it is easy to run a battery powered mobile access point.
I am not longer planning on running Android. Instead it will run Linux. Getting all the hardware interfaces to work in Android requires a secondary level of programming.

Keep in mind this is still a hobby project, don't count on anything I have written as set in stone.
 
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The LCD is thin and fragile, so it will need a cover. I also want the cover to help hide the edges of the display.
However since the display is only ~100 nits, I don't want the cover to diminish the brightness of the screen.

Well at work I have a acrylic sample kit with various colors/tints. As you can see in the first image, the 100% green acrylic works great at reducing outside glare with no loss in image brightness. And in the second image you can see that it it only lets through green light. This makes the display monochrome entirely. Not a problem for a stock Pip-Boy of course. So this is what I am going with for now. It can be swapped out later for those who want a color display.

Since it blocks out most other colors, it also helps hide the edges of the display.
 
Looks great. The only downside I see is it interferes with changing the display color, as in the game. For me, I don't care -- I leave it green. Would you still have that as a built-in function, and if someone wanted the ability to chage the display color, they'd have to replace the screen cover with a non-green one?

--Jonah
 
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I managed to get some time to work on the Pip-Boy over the holidays.
As requested by you folks, I added a navigation switch to the bottom-right knob.
The switch will mount to a PCB, and the knob will simply snap into place.

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The switch allows for Up/Down/Left/Right and Push controls. This will be needed since the screen won't be a touch-screen.
The position of the knob should also work well as it will sit about where your thumb would rest.

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Speaking of the screen, I also designed in the new 3.8" High-res AMOLED display.
The display will mount to a 3D printed mounting bracket. The bracket will allow it to attach to the PCB directly. So it can be assembled and tested before final assembly.
The green acrylic sits on top of the LCD, and fills the rest of the display opening.

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With these changes I made an all new rendering. I am very happy with the way it looks with the new LCD.
The display was the last part of the design that wasn't really game-accurate.

There are lots of other internal changes/tweaks I made while I was actively working on the design.
For example, the background of the rad gauge and radio guage was originally going to be 3D printed pieces, but instead I changed them to a stackup of laser-cut acrylic.
 
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Voltaire Surge, I know. I feel bad. Working on my house is taking a lot more time than expected. I also got caught up in a few different games. (Planet Coaster roped me in)

So far I have been putting in just around two or three hours a week into the electrical side of the project. I have rough collection of all the circuits I plan on using, I just need to get in and spend a lot of time bringing them together into a combined schematic.

I also keep watch out for useful circuits, such as this certified PIN diode geiger counter module. The module is small enough now that I could be installed as an optional addon.

Until I move house, which is hopefully before the end of summer, I really can only work on the virtual side of the project. No physical prototypes or PCBs until I have a new workshop established.

I know there are lots of people still following the project. I get about one new person replying to the interest survey every two weeks or so. I am thinking about making the whole project open source, or "early access" to allow more folks access to the design. But I will have to write up a disclaimer trying to discourage all the folks who think they can just send the files to their FDM printer and get something functional out of it.
 
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Hey, i'm glad you are still workingo n this in some form. i mean we have had so many projects rise and fall on this and yours has been the best, and if someone wanted they could possibly just reassign locations for the innards in a shell made after any of the other pipboy types and those would be done, i mean it would be sloppy, but hell you have everything to make a pipboy, whats left is to get the plans fully assembled yeah? and adjustments of course. either way i am happy to see a response. good luck with the move and all.
 
I've just finished reading through this thread in its entirety, and I am just stunned at the level of detail and passion you've put into this project. I am amazed at the quality of your renders and your superhuman ability to cram all this functionality into a Pip-Boy. Also, my deepest condolences to you and your wife over the passing of your father-in-law. Going through a loss and subsequent life-change can put projects like this on the back burner, I know. And lastly, hello, fellow Austinite! I'd love to snoop on your projects in real life, and get together to brain-storm some projects. I'm glad to see you're back at it. Keep up the amazing work!

Kyle
 
Thanks Kyle, also I notice you're in Austin. Perhaps when I finally get back at the project you can see some it in person.

Update on stuff:
This weekend I cleaned out my office and moved the Pip-Boy components into storage. It feels like I have to clean out half my house before it is ready to sell. Real life as always is putting up roadblocks left and right. I am getting the electronics plan more focused however. I am scaling back some of the built-in features in favor of using off-the-shelf devices. For example I wanted to integrate a heart-rate monitor directly into the Pip-Boy. But the mechanics of getting one of those working is far trickier than you would think. So instead, I plan on figuring out how to interface a bluetooth heart rate watch. The watch could be worn under the armband.

One of the other very difficult things is figuring out a way to secure the Pip-Boy to your arm. If you have the Pip-Boy edition then you know that just putting a pad and velcro sucks. The Pip-Boy rotates too easily, and because it is far larger on one end, it constantly falls towards your hand.

I am trying to come up with a method which would be as secure as it seems in game, without just clamping it on with a ton of pressure.
To that end, I am thinking of perhaps using a low-temperature thermoplastic to create a custom formed cuff, or perhaps leather. Then figure out how to secure the Pip-Boy to that. Basically the arm band is the last mechanical component which I can't really figure out how to do well.
 
Thanks Kyle, also I notice you're in Austin. Perhaps when I finally get back at the project you can see some it in person.

Update on stuff:
This weekend I cleaned out my office and moved the Pip-Boy components into storage. It feels like I have to clean out half my house before it is ready to sell. Real life as always is putting up roadblocks left and right. I am getting the electronics plan more focused however. I am scaling back some of the built-in features in favor of using off-the-shelf devices. For example I wanted to integrate a heart-rate monitor directly into the Pip-Boy. But the mechanics of getting one of those working is far trickier than you would think. So instead, I plan on figuring out how to interface a bluetooth heart rate watch. The watch could be worn under the armband.

One of the other very difficult things is figuring out a way to secure the Pip-Boy to your arm. If you have the Pip-Boy edition then you know that just putting a pad and velcro sucks. The Pip-Boy rotates too easily, and because it is far larger on one end, it constantly falls towards your hand.

I am trying to come up with a method which would be as secure as it seems in game, without just clamping it on with a ton of pressure.
To that end, I am thinking of perhaps using a low-temperature thermoplastic to create a custom formed cuff, or perhaps leather. Then figure out how to secure the Pip-Boy to that. Basically the arm band is the last mechanical component which I can't really figure out how to do well.
You know, if you're wearing it with a long sleeved costume, like a vault uniform you could use snaps integrated into the sleeve maybe, or some neodymium magnets sewn in to the fabric with corresponding magnets on the pip boy. So long as the sleeve cuff is secure, it should be fairly stable.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
 
really cant wait to see more of this, i was just looking back through the thread, still cant get get over the depth and complexity of this, amazing work.
 
This project is making amazing progress. I love all of the fine tuning you have been doing with the knobs and well everything really. Excited to see how it turns out!

I made an account for this site because of this thread. Amazing work.
 

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