Building an Animatronic Wheatley (Portal 2)

Support the Ukrainian people: crisisrelief.u...
Learn CAD to build your own Wheatley: www.cadclass.o...
Join the Wheatley Builder's Club: / discord
‪@Harry101UK‬ when can we make "Meet the Cores: IRL?" Would love to work together!
Follow me on Instagram: @mr.v0lt
3D printable files are linked below:
drive.google.c...

[@MrVolt]

If you like videos like this, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/mr_volt Glad to finally share this with everyone! Wheatley's been a long time coming. Is he perfect? No, but I hope he makes you happy. Here's some FAQs: You forgot about (X) Why doesn't he have (X) feature from the game? I've spent over 300hrs to get to this point and some features didn't make the cut for this video, but I'm aware of them. Things like eye VU meter/flashlight are to be added etc. What about (popular voiceline)? While I included some of the voicelines, some of the "angrier" ones looked odd with his body not moving, so those will be saved for when he's on the MR arm. Can you import the animations from the game? No. My model is mechanically very different from the game model internally. Will you make me one? Nothing for sale unless (until?) I get approval from Valve :)

[@pedrosso0]

"Can you import the animations from the game? No. My model is mechanically very different from the game model internally." Can you try to recreate the animations from the game?

[@GameIdiots69]

Speaking about valve Can’t wait for the day that you deliver one to them

[@redLEGO999]

OMIGOSH I love Harry, an IRL or just a 4th one would be great.

[@antonliakhovitch8306]

As far as the animations go - Even though the model is mechanically different, it has a lot of the same degrees of freedom (ie- the eye assembly can pan/tilt, etc). I'm sure SOMEONE could come up with a script that does some funky forwards/inverse kinematics and converts the animation, although I'm definitely not doing it and you surely have enough on your plate.

[@cryphorce9686]

you mean GLaD?

[@SrPelo]

IMAGINE THIS!! GAME AWARDS AND THE ONE GIVING THE AWARD IS WHEATLEY!! And animation of him, FINNALLY on earth and then some robots put him in front of the crowd!

[@llvidlo]

That would be actually really nice

[@Goontender]

Sr Pelo?

[@MrVolt]

That would be amazing! Maybe someday

[@jellycore1316]

Ohh, that sounds so cool! XD Aww

[@seankeegantracey578]

Pelo has come up with yet another great idea!

[@kip258]

Here's an idea: Program some keyframed animation and feed it to the animatronic wheatley! It might be possible to make the movements faster and much more robotic, like he is in-game, without using the puppet control mechanism.

[@MrVolt]

For sure! Keyframe animation will be necessary once he's on the rail, since that will add at least five more degrees of freedom that I can't puppet simultaneously.

[@teamspen210]

I wonder how hard it'd be to translate across the game's animations to the servo positions, so you could then feed the original choreo scenes right into this Wheately. VCDs are text so you could pull out timing at least.

[@Wertyhappy27]

@@teamspen210 could export to blender, and then convert that to something usable

[@NerdWithABeard]

@@Wertyhappy27 Maybe make it so there's a 3D computer model that synchronizes each part with the physical animatronic, making it so that you could move a part of the 3D model, and it'll move the animatronic the same way in real time (with delays, of course). That way, you could set up pre-made animations that the animatronic could directly read and replicate.

[@Sivanot]

@@teamspen210 Itd likely take a lot of work to make the original animations work, at least considering the fact that some of them make his parts clip into each other. It's probably better to just fully recreate them.

[@drsipp407]

We are getting THIS much closer to having a real life Wheatley and idk if that’s good or bad

[@MrVolt]

Good. Definitely good!

[@madztheidiot]

I'd say it's good! Just don't give him power over anything

[@Creepars]

We know what will happen then...

[@martinadini4142]

clap. clap. clap. good it still works

[@Nothing-x8o]

@@MrVolt both.

[@joirent]

the animation for the voice line at 3:55 is actually perfect. the amount of detail on this thing is so damn good. you even added the ripped up sticker that wheatley has on the left side of his face. usually nobody ever gets that or let alone notices it lmao

[@cavejohnson2453]

This is a mann of passion, commitment and pure [REDACTED] will. I've been here since you constructed GLaDOS and am happy that it's all come this far. I aspire to have the dedication of people like you and thank you genuinely for your work. I hope VALVE sees this video, and that it instills them with new motivation to see their fan base going to such lengths.

[@mkapsteve]

Hi cave

[@Twojstaryszpieg]

It is not Whetley; its asbestos

[@boingo696]

holy crap louis it's cave johnson!

[@lavasqrl702]

You finished with those combustible lemons? I'm interested in buying.

[@screm5514]

I would love to buy some compostable lemons to burn some house down It would great april fool prank next year

[@mrpoki9]

The first personality Core that has the moveable eye. That’s awesome because everyone that wants to build one for himself too, sees that it’s possible. That Wheatley absolutely rocks man!

[@pokocrow]

I love that Aperture took their name and logo from the camera setting, so the thing that makes Wheatley’s iris expand and retract is called an Aperture and therefore it is a pun

[@TheImmediatePastPrez]

Oh yeah, it's all coming together

[@aninkytheorist1133]

XD ok I see the pun in that. Also, the way you said that made it almost seem like GLaDOS was saying it instead of you.

[@aecholapis]

I swear, one day the fans are going to build a replica of Aperture Science Laboratories on their own, just because they can. This small fandom has some talented, very dedicated people that might even turn the entire game into reality which is a terrifying but amazing thought.

[@Mr.JesseR]

i just hope they leave out the little neurotoxin

[@Doopen]

@@Mr.JesseRa little neurotoxin never hurt anyone

[@alccoderonscratch7909]

*cough cough* yeah about *cough* that

[@alccoderonscratch7909]

Substitute core, are you ready to start the transfer

[@SuprSBG]

We do what we must because we can

[@codaboi138]

That is outstanding. Honestly, I bet you could get Wheatley to star in some live action portal skits. I don't know if they're still being made nowadays, but I remember a few back in the day. He's a wonderful prop and I just wanna see him talk all day. This project has made my 13 year old dreams come true, and my 22 year old dreams, aswell.

[@the_numb_skull]

I do hope Valve takes you up on that offer. It would be so cool to see that animatronic next to the Level 1 Sentry that’s already there, as well as the Portal Turret animatronic

[@vinyl2780]

This has got to be one of my favorite channels. I’m a big portal fan and I love mechanical design, so you basically combined two of my favorite things in one. I’ve been following the whole process of you making Wheatley and I’m super impressed. Keep up the great work!

[@MrVolt]

Thanks for sticking around this long!

[@ronaldiplodicus]

Love the orange & blue tie! As always staying stylish while making incredible builds.

[@zed17317]

Man really hope you get hired into Valve or at least contacted by them for the amount of talent in this.

[@rosariobono438]

Very very cool! I noticed that some voice lines don’t move as much, however it is still very impressive! Is it because of integrity issues, or something else? Also is it possible to hook him up to a management rail?

[@br0kenPixel]

A management rail would be epic

[@ApertureEntertainment]

he is currently working on the management rail, alongside some missing features and more voice lines from the game.

[@justinh5382]

Hi tpt2 guy

[@memor22]

It is actualy possible to place him on the rail!

[@Bleats_Sinodai]

Moving parts have momentum, which can be disregarded in a 3D model but not in real life. Some movements are just impossible to replicate 1:1 simply because the weight of parts being moved around doesn't allow for it.

[@overhyeong]

You're one of the main reason I'm into mechatronics, I'll be following your work for life, thx you for this wonderful channel and everything else.

[@SugarsnapCaely]

AHHHH he looks amazing! Seeing him fully in motion is a treat. It's like a dream come true. Seriously, mad respect for you skills ^^

[@MrVolt]

Glad you like it! Thanks for sticking around this long

[@jettyseb]

You should make a tutorial for Wheatley. He's quite complex and some people might not know how to put him together. But I have to say, this is the best Wheatley replica I have seen!

[@bennyjackson5149]

Absolutely amazing, it really feels like Wheatley popped into the real world! The only "flaw" would be that he is slightly slow in his movements, but he MOVES!!! Great stuff!

[@javo2432]

Holy, these mechanism and whole programming is just amazing! you earned a subscribe

[@shlokwaghela9560]

This channel DESERVES more subs. Talking about Portal is enough to book me.

[@runespar]

Would it ever be possible for you to add the ability for his eye to extend/retract forwards and backwards? It's a pretty significant aspect of Wheatley's dialogue in the game.

[@Keegerwocky]

I agree. That is an important part of the cores expressiveness.

[@joehelton6421]

maybe it could be done within the eye display as idk tho im not an engineer

[@nicholasiovino7690]

69th like lol

[@MrVolt]

In the game, Wheatley's face clips through his shells when he does this. For it to work in real life, the face mechanism has to started retracted so that "popping out" doesn't smash into the body, but if the face assembly is retracted, this limits how much he can look around, because my design has motors/etc where there are none in the game model. If you check out the MK II design video, you can see the clearances between parts are very tight, often 1mm or less.

[@runespar]

@@MrVolt Thanks for the insight, this makes a lot of sense.

[@postmortemguitar]

I love how people still make things related to Portal. I just love Portal and the vibe that it gives. Awesome job. Thank you!!

[@MrVolt]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

Can't help but watch this with a huge grin, seeing all of the animations going on simultaneously. I know I'm a bit late to this, but gg on making it work :p

[@JonnyBoyOfficial]

Hey Mr Volt, just letting you know that my short film is finally out! It’s on my channel, and I have credited you in the description of the video! :)))

[@MrVolt]

Awesome! Thank you. Looking forward to seeing it

[@modsandendsGG-3883]

Through the whole video, I kept thinking, "I need to like this video" only to realize I already had. Three seconds later I was doing the same thing. Great work! I can't wait to see more.

[@electrocubic5116]

This man just straight up recreated Wheatley from Portal 2 IRL. I know it's extremely difficult to replicate Wheatley's every moving mechanism, and even more difficult while he is talking, but 3:55 is the most Accurate motions I have ever seen! I don't care how many features you have added, or how much closer you can bring Wheatley to reality, I am just really glad that you tried your best to make Wheatley IRL. Keep up the amazing job!!

[@elisanimation1323]

Wheatley is one of the best parts of the Portal series and I think that this was a really cool recreation of him (and in real life none the less).

[@kaisumisu]

this is absolutely amazing dude! seeing portal based builds even after all this time is incredibly cool, huge props!

[@МатьТьма-г6ъ]

Это выглядит так хорошо, сделано с такой любовью 🥺🥺🥺🥺 Я просто в восторге, чувствуется что человек горит идеей и любит серию Portal Я как фанатка говорила о том что у меня достаточно много часов в стиме, так как часто перепрохожу игру, но это... Я не смогла бы с этим сравниться Мое уважение 👏👏👏👏

[@Rhomita]

This is just amazing! It's incredible how you made the whole thing!

[@masterluke2513]

I am sure the guy who narrated Wheatley probably wants his own core as well. (Looks like you have a lot of cores to make) should probably start a business for it! \o_/

[@shApYT]

That looks so good. I feel like it needs more powerful motor so the animations can be more sudden and immediate.

[@TheLocalKook]

Dude this is actually underrated how COOL THIS IS

[@allisonmcclain8213]

Oh my god, the up lighting for his ghost story lines absolutely KILLED me XD! What a fantastic job, this made me so happy!

[@louitdev5540]

Cant wait to see, I’ve been waiting for weeks! This projecting is amazing

[@13Js0]

This is amazing!!! and the files for FREE?!?!?! You're insane dude. Congrats!

[@Shinny591]

as an idea for the next video, you could buy a decommissioned salt mine to make the Aperture Science mega complex 😉

[@Diastrefo]

Absolutely incredible work, as always! Just going through each detail you've put in has me giddy as a schoolboy, the attention and precision is so incredibly admirable. Thank you for sharing your hard work! I genuinely hope VALVE see this video.

[@Algia_]

I'm very happy you have finished this project and I hope you can get that miniature one out and then you can finally relax after this difficult looking project

[@temutemacular]

This is so underrated! Here's to hoping it gets a million views!

[@JayRawr2000]

I would love to see this Wheatley animated using Tim Hendricks blender to servo animation plugin, the movement will look super smooth and you could possibly import the animations to the animatronic puppet from the game itself!! (Of course with some minor tweaks) Over all I've been watching your whole process from beginning to end, and I love every second of it! GREAT JOB!!!

[@roo.pzz4380]

dude this is actually amazing. like I never even imagined this could be a real thing you could make in real life

[@THE-CRT]

I’ve been here since the beginning of Wheatley being made, and you’re amazing like this is awesome you deserve way more subs, imagine what would happen if you made Mr. Beast amounts of money, you could probably remake all of aperture!

[@amirahelewa3547]

THIS IS THE COOLEST THING IVE SEEN TODAY. Portal is my favorite game, and this is incredible!! Thank you so much for making the files available for free, Im just starting to learn mechatronics and 3d printing, and while this is waaaay outside my skill level, someday I'll definitely try and make this!

[@MrVolt]

Thank you so much, Amira. I hope you do!

[@bosco02_]

I've been a fan of Portal since it's release so THANK YOU for uploading such an amazing work! I want you to keep it up!! Also, little request, I would LOVE to see how you would build the drones from Oblivion, I think that'd be a pretty fun project, otherwise keep it up!

[@MrVolt]

Thank you. Love love love that movie. That would be so cool!

[@bosco02_]

@@MrVolt I can't wait! That would make my dream come true. Thank you!! 😭❤️

[@02_920]

congrats - this is incredible, well fricking done. This seriously deserves more attention

[@CRaDOS]

Part 2: Launching my Wheatley into deep space with a core who is completely obsessed with space.

[@wheatleyfromportal8564]

Finally, a friend

[@CRaDOS]

@@wheatleyfromportal8564 Glados Crab ha ha hahahaha

[@wheatleyfromportal8564]

@@CRaDOS "if i were a-"

[@wheatleyfromportal8564]

@@CRaDOS also i meant that i wanted another friend in space, i currently dont have any

[@CRaDOS]

@@wheatleyfromportal8564 yeah I know, and what did you do to space core?

[@gelatin.skeletin]

So much if this character comes from the syncing of Stephen Merchant’s voice with the tilts and zooms of the core, if the servos we’re just a bit tighter and faster or if the shell lighter I think the character would come through much clearer. I’m extremely impressed with how far you’ve come with this project, don’t give up. The end is within reach!

[@benji-menji]

I'm happy that this video is only 5 minutes. Just wish that we can also get a more in-detail design video that helps support your work by inherently being longer.

[@MrVolt]

Noted! Well, there are 8 build videos before this one for the curious, including one just on CAD that goes a bit more in depth for the mechanical design

[@serpentartist1348]

Damn, he’s incredible. I can’t begin to imagine the amount of work that’s gone into him, but it certainly shows: he’s incredibly close to in-game Wheatley. Brilliant work

[@nope4879]

Looks great

[@dolphinsnape]

Okay, till now, thus is the best animatronic Wheatley I have seen!! the range of motion is so close to the original And you gived him even the banana sticker!! Tremendous!

[@TiffanyElectricity]

Literally 100/10, brilliant, just brilliant work!

[@TheRealII773]

Saw this in my recommendation feed, and DAMN, THIS IS SO COOL, HOW HAVE I NOT SEEN THIS CHANNEL!?!

[@anthonyoliver418]

Wheatley is the character everyone wants to make but he is insanely difficult even without his design flaws when making him IRL.

[@Warner1929]

I absolutely LOVE this. Seriously wish I had my own, but I'm no scientist or programmer or anything like that. This still is incredible and love how passionate you are towards such an amazing project.💕💖

[@GameIdiots69]

Nice for Wheatley to be real

[@beep_]

need space core now

[@username5155]

How the heck did you post AND edit a comment in 50 seconds?

[@GameIdiots69]

@@beep_ that shouldn’t be too hard to do

[@GameIdiots69]

@@username5155 speedy fingers

[@ramrodestuff]

This is so cool!! I would love to see some behind the scenes of your process or even building and distressing of Wheatly. Keep up the good work

[@MrVolt]

Thank you! Well, it is a build series. There are 5+ videos before this one that go into more detail of the design process.

[@ramrodestuff]

@@MrVolt I will gladly watch more, thanks for pointing that out!

[@stacksmasherninja7266]

I wonder if you could hook GPT to generate text. Then pass it via 15.ai to get audio and automatically adjust the emotions using semantic meanings and then it just talks to you like that

[@notpartially_mist76]

Looking at this design compared to the first is crazy, everything in Mk II was so much more well thought out and everything worked much much smoother and looked much better. You have done a really good job here and I'm so glad to see how well the final result turned out.

[@Blueskies2513]

You should combine an AI language model with an AI voice generator to make an actual personality core like Wheatley

[@voodood]

This is so cool! Portal 2 is my favorite game, I just love Wheatly. I appreciate the vertical arc movement, as well.

[@SebiTheHunter]

I want Valve to hire you for the Portal movie

[@gustavohermandio1440]

the beauty of the portal games could not be replicated in a mere movie

[@SebiTheHunter]

@@gustavohermandio1440 There is actually a short movie and it’s very cool

[@ObserverQR]

This is a really cool Wheatley core. I advise you to keep it in good condition until better times. If in the future scientists can really create artificial intelligence, then this will be a good chance to load it inside your Wheatley core.

[@plutototoh]

This is SO cool! Love watching your process, I know there is much more work that we don't see. This is an amazing passion project! You're an incredible engineer!

[@MrVolt]

Thank you so much! Definitely. Well, there are eight Wheatley build videos before this one if you want to see more.

[@daddygar1036]

Hope this gets more traction, you definitely deserve it.

[@MrVolt]

Hope so!

[@camerongoodall7453]

u should record the lines over a slowed down version of the quotes & then speed it all back up to capture the erratic movements of cores

[@MrVolt]

Great idea!

[@aninkytheorist1133]

Wheatley was always my absolute favourite Portal 2 character and seeing someone actually fully build a near perfect replica of my favourite metal ball of deliberate sarcasm really got my morning off to a good start! Nice work dude.

[@CamTheCan]

Incredible as always!!

[@jesperlivid9184]

I love the fact at one point my favorite murder-sphere is held together by what looks like a few oversized binder clips at the seams. We love that sort of ingenuity and frugality here at Aperture Science!

[@CricetoFunni]

Been waiting for this!

[@deeznuts23yearsago]

I remember seeing like 10 years ago someone making a Wheatley puppet and I’ve wanted it so much

[@bamxmejia]

This is so well done, I thought it was animated at first. Good job!

[@thetwistedsamurai]

You know you’ve played WAY too much Portal 2 when he said the whole brain damage monologue and I said to myself “that’s not how he normally is animated...”

[@softsounds8453]

Not me being called out in this comment section 😭

[@thetwistedsamurai]

@@softsounds8453 Literally don’t even need to hear the audio I can imagine it perfectly 😭

[@FallenDj122]

puppet master line was a little too ironic lmao but seriously this is badass! amazing work and dedication

[@wheatleyfromportal8564]

1:59 Let's not? ._.

[@STB4G]

._.

[@Red_Dragon4977]

No your duty

[@saturnsmoonies]

I just got the funniest thought, When you put Wheatly next to GlaDos they start to make a annoyed look on their faces and then start to argue and then GlaDos' eye turns into a potato referencing what happened to her in Portal 2

[@overgrownghost]

This is so cool, I've been following this for so long and I've been super excited about the outcome! This looks amazing and I wish I could build this but I don't have the time, skill, training, or resources to even start. So lovely!

[@statelyelms]

God, Valve's office would look so cool with Wheatley in there. Especially if they installed rails for him to sweep around the room on, and programmed some default animations and interactions into him!

[@superNova5837]

Add in the turret they got a while back and a companion cube

[@reene_the_mess]

the motion capture thing is still one of the coolest things ive seen

[@maxkopchev9259]

It's incredible, I don't understand why you have so few subscribers. Waiting for the turret.

[@JasmineAndCaty]

My favorite Wheatley line is "Act natural! Act Natural! We've done nothing wrong- Hello! 😅" it's just that nervous hello that makes it amazing

[@lavasharkandboygirl9716]

Hey Mr. Volt? You realise that you’re the single most talented hobbyist electrical engineer on this planet. I’m not exaggerating. You’re amazingly talented

[@MrVolt]

There are many others far more skilled than I, but Im flattered haha

[@lavasharkandboygirl9716]

@@MrVolt no, you wrong. Much love

[@DM00SE]

That is beyond awesome, i wish i had the tools to build my own because i need one of those in my life, well bloody done sir

[@crazyguy4053]

this is very VERY cool and you can not be stopped but feels like he is always looking down

[@zonx7693]

iv'e been so hyped for this vid and i have i a challenge that i don't think i have seen anyone do yet and i think it would add more life to the movement if your up for it, so in some lines from the game his eye actually moves in and out of its socket and i think that would look really cool. cant wait to see more!

[@homeschoolcomputer2337]

One other feature I thought of: remember in the beginning of the PORTAL 2 game where your in the relaxation room, wheatley comes in and tells you how long you've been in hibernation, his eye extends out of his sphere shaped body. I just thought that would be cool to see, although I still like how you built it a lot, Congratulations.

[@msheahan7]

Incredible

[@MrVolt]

Thank you very much!

[@sealguy2704]

I think I saw someone make a puppet of Wheatley as well, where they could control his eye movement and stuff. Really cool!

[@pnwscitech1589]

Yay! Great to see your hard work paid off. Even the fiddly little things no one else cares about.

[@cose]

awwwww that marriage proposal at the end was the cutest thing

[@DinoDaniel]

thats so cool, been watching the process and it has turned out spectacular!

[@ggtwinbee8506]

This would be cool to use in a portal short film

[@AlbertSchneiderGB]

Wheatley once said " adopted fatty fatty fatty" 💀

[@yourfavoredguy]

it would be fun to see a personality core building community similar to those who build Astro-mech droids from star wars. Fantastic work!

[@leafyswords]

Getting recommended this was so nice! 10/10 for wheatley and 10/10 for handsome guy talking about said robot 😆👌✨

[@viickytea2933]

holy, this looks absolutely amazing! A bit of drybrushing will make him look aged just like in the game, just a visual suggestion! Keep up the incredible work

[@ginqus]

Wow, this version of Wheatley is the best I've seen. It would be really cool if you could program his movements to the phrases the way they were in the game, but I perfectly understand that this is very difficult. However, it looks very cool and as realistic as possible.

[@aidarosullivan5269]

Can't believe you've actually put an aperture back into Aperture Science lore!