The “Impossible” Design of Wheatley from Portal 2 | Mk III Animatronic

[@MrVolt]

If you like videos like this, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/mr_volt Sorry for the re-upload! Sometimes slip through the cracks. Also, I spent a lot of time animating for the first real time in this video. Let me know what you think! (I know they're kinda fast :O)

[@Blutankalpha]

Congrats on your work

[@thingpp]

the animation is great for the video, seeing it slowly come together as you explain is amazing :D

[@crazybird199]

should prolly pin this

[@Mark_the_Orange]

Link on the video "http" 🤡

[@PetrusProGamer]

u was waiting for another episode

[@rich_lord]

Heyy! A friend just sent this to me. I designed the model and rig for the in game Wheatley, and ur version is amazing! Great solutions to some things we handwaved over in the game. Love it!!! ♥ Particularly enjoyed your solutions so the eye lids don't crash with the internal mechanism. I kept the platform because I thought it was neat to see visually through the gap on the sides. But prefer your solution mechanically. So cool to see your approach with this. 😍

[@MrVolt]

Wow! Hey, that's amazing! The platform is definitely more fun to look at. I wish so badly I could handwave away some physics 😅 I just sent you an Instagram DM. Would love to talk more. Thank you again, really.

[@sarcasmenul]

oh my god you're a legend, from a 3d animation student, thank you, portal is one of the reasons I decided to study in the field

[@Obama_]

yooo big fan my guy

[@onerimeuse]

I'm no where near skilled enough to achieve the dream of an original designer making this kind of comment (yet), but this is a new life goal. Coolest comment I've seen on youtube ever. Your original design is still dopemcdopeface though. Iconic, classic, and timeless.

[@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer]

Whheatlr

[@MissFazzington]

Can't wait for someone to use this model to make a mod called something like "Mechanically accurate Wheatley" for portal 2

[@ali32bit42]

they would have to do all of the animations from scratch for that. seems like a pretty huge project to me

[@maxinealexander9709]

@@ali32bit42 not necessarily, you could use procedural animations and insert a software translation shim between the native controller software and the transforms of various model components in-game. Then you could mostly just use the software written to control the animatronic for the model animations. (I'm an embedded systems engineer with a background in AI and computer vision, including graphics/rendering)

[@ali32bit42]

@@maxinealexander9709 even with procedrual rigs, you would have to do a ton of keyframing to match the originals or create some kind of script to convert existing keyframes. someone with that level of knowledge is not likely to be making a mod like that

[@aRandomFox00]

All the new internal mechanical details and animations will no doubt cause some framerate drops.

[@MissFazzington]

@@aRandomFox00 yeah i forgot to mention "and just that one model will make the game run 3 times worse"

[@stuff31]

This guy needs to get on the mars rover team, his robotics skills are insane

[@ronaldiplodicus]

He could send Wheatley to space

[@random_number_sequence]

@@ronaldiplodicus or rather another core that's quite fond of space

[@MrVolt]

What a nice thing to say! My childhood dream actually was to work for NASA robotics...

[@foodeater3]

@@MrVolt you should make a rover

[@ImmortalAbsol]

I studied robotics and this gave me a headache, but like, as close to a good one as is possible. Like muscle fatigue but in the noggin.😅

[@myaccount6216]

I've been using Fusion for years, but "What the fuck" just fell out of my face when I saw how intricate and complex the internal mechanisms are. I am in awe. Good work.

[@MrVolt]

Thank you! Well, this is the third evolution of something I started two years ago, so it's been a trip to get to this point.

[@11Argetlam11]

That was the first thing to caugh my eye as well. I use fusion for tiny non complex projects and somehow always manage to create dependencies that make any reworks of details impossible so I start new over and over again 🙄. Having so many complex components fitting together with just millimeter tolerances is art

[@raul-aurelianserban8295]

Where is the "what the fuck" located on the face and is it bad if you lose it

[@Codename-Thefox]

​@@raul-aurelianserban8295it's located in your mouth and is safe to lose

[@LaserFont0103]

At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if you made a turret that could actually house, load, and fire hundreds of bullets.

[@kapa_nitori]

"Are you still there?"

[@LaserFont0103]

@@kapa_nitori “I’m different.”

[@amirsalih2332]

​@@LaserFont0103"I'm flying!"

[@50_cal_enjoyer]

The whole bullet. 66% More bullet

[@sib315]

And if it doesnt work use more gun - engineer tf2

[@TheNeverendingProjectsList]

I spent all weekend designing and printing the PotatoOS from scratch thinking how awesome it is and then this video pops up in my feed... I feel so basic now. It's insane how much design work you have into this I can't wait to see how it turns out. I'll just be over here in the corner playing with a talking potato until then.

[@MrVolt]

I've been working on this on and off for two years haha, so not a fair comparison to give yourself. You designed and made something that made you happy. Most people don't even start, but you saw it through!

[@TheNeverendingProjectsList]

@@MrVolt Yeah it's the little things in life I guess... If you ever want a PotatOS for your collection and don't have time to design one yourself just let me know and I'll share the files with you.

[@JamMonsterFrfo]

don’t talk yourself down like that just bc you didn’t make something as complex doesn’t it wasn’t good the person who invented the wheel is praised even though the wheel is really basic so keep making stuff its really cool ffs I want a talking potato! plz make me one🥺

[@TheNeverendingProjectsList]

@@JamMonsterFrfo Thanks... I appreciate the kind words but no worries I was more or less just joking and I'm very happy with how my potato is coming along. It's a lot more work than I planned on though so I wouldn't have time to make more for other people but the files to print your own will probably be available on my website (same name as on here) once I finish and finalize the design.

[@randomlynate]

@@TheNeverendingProjectsList Have you published it?

[@TiffanyElectricity]

Mr. Volt, making the impossible, possible. You're seriously amazing at this and I can't wait to see what comes next!

[@Inward3D]

I Rarely subscribe to a channel for a single video, but the fact you are still covering one of my favorite games years after makes me so happy. this is the exception. if you ever think of making tutorials or videos to help die hard fans to construct something like this, please do. I'd do anything to have props and collectables like this.

[@SeanCMonahan]

Same! Instant subscribe from me.

[@Rossv2motion]

Oh man, Wheatley from Portal 2 was a masterpiece in design. The way they made that quirky, neurotic AI character so lifelike and engaging is beyond impressive. Playing the game, you can't help but be drawn to him, whether you find him hilarious or annoying. The animators and writers truly outdid themselves!

[@SugarsnapCaely]

It's always so fascinating to see how you problem solved Wheatley's expressiveness while keeping him (mostly) in design!

[@Eaglewing747]

Can't wait for 2055 when you make Wheatly 1:1 scale, 1:1 design, and a perfect free thinking AI with Wheatly's entire personality

[@teresar6348]

Just don't give it control of anything

[@pinkie723]

and an AI copy of his voice lol

[@XemeraldXD]

@@pinkie723 or hire a voiceactor to read the lines cause voiceactors should get paaaaaaiiiddd This isnt really meant towards you, sorry lmao, im just frustrated people just dont realise AI voices made without consent of the original voice are also art theft

[@pinkie723]

@@XemeraldXD Something like this needs an AI voice though because it needs to be able to freely say anything at anytime since it's lines are AI generated on the fly

[@XemeraldXD]

@@pinkie723 yeah youre right, its 2am over here and i kinda went on a rant, sorry about that!

[@EngineMusic]

something that i take for granted with the portal franchise, is that the world building is SO GOOD, that the fact that this much thought, this much effort, and this much care would be put into a metal eyeball, just because Cave Johnson wants a funny metal eyeball that is fundamentally an overengineered key fob. Incredible work on this, dude!

[@samduggan7745]

In Valves “The Lab” VR demo you’re able to see cores in VR at a much more reasonable size if you ever decide to check it out.

[@ivanpetrovsky.]

real OGs know this is a reupload

[@numbglobe101]

I know, I tried clicking the notification and it said it was removed, and I was "wtf?"

[@POINTY097]

wondered why a 14 minute video i watched was released 9 minutes ago

[@elementalcreeper8532]

I though so

[@ms.pirate]

I've been subscribed to this channel for a while, and it never accured to me its was a re upload.

[@_comment]

real OGs commented telling him about the problem

[@4m0d]

It is fun to see such intricate engineering being put into making a fictional robot.

[@DVF_98]

I don't thing Weathly has an iris mechanism, rather the iris section of his screen is animated to be "smaller". Other than that in which I may be mistaken, this is an outsanding work, Great job!

[@oldvlognewtricks]

The video says this at 4:30

[@ultmateragnarok8376]

It's just thematically fitting for him to have a literal aperture iris.

[@TTHBLOX_]

I love that over the past 10 years so many people have buildt him. And each is as charming as the next

[@LincolnWorld]

Wow! I've invented / designed many things over the years, but nothing even remotely as elaborate as this. I am in awe.

[@realtimestatic]

I can't wait to see the full thing in action. Image if you hook a large language model like GPT-3 up like PygmalionAI and instruct it to roleplay Wheathley. Then you could use a tool to generate Wheatleys voice and basically have a talking life sized Wheatley! I love the presentation style of the video helping us understand your thoughts in design choices!

[@GameMaker3_5]

Ahh, I love the modern state of A.I technology!

[@ThatGuyRNA]

This will make theme parks significantly more themed I can’t wait

[@gzimpfer18]

There are also hundreds of hours of Stephen Merchant talking on podcasts online so training an AI voice synthesizer to sound like him paired with GPT could make him life-like.

[@raidwerks]

as a mechanical engineer i love how you aproach and re-engineer stuff that the game-devs just did to make it look right. great work, mr volt :D

[@PhantomEye11]

I absolutely love these animations to showcase the design!

[@MrVolt]

Thanks! They were fun/nightmarish to make

[@PhantomEye11]

@@MrVolt i can imagine!

[@tidmouthmilk12]

Always brightens my day to see another one of your Portal builds. The amount of effort you go to making these props functional as well as keeping the look faithful is astounding 💜

[@AchanCham_]

I cannot imagine how much time this amount of modelling and planning took. Thank you for making this! I look forward to seeing it come to completion.

[@theantman2203]

Wow this is incredible! Very elaborate and allows for every degree of motion within such a small space.

[@thatlittlefrog.]

So many other youtubers make compromises when replicating stuff from games, you keep every detail, which is amazing

[@massimocole9689]

The level of thought and CAD that went into all this is impressive.

[@TeoHarlan]

Just discovered your channel, totally awesome dude! As an engineer, I'm jealous of your design and problem solving skills. Looking forward to seeing more from you!

[@NitroLemons]

This is so neat! As a big fan of Portal I'm always impressed when people recreate stuff like this that was never really meant to be real, only to appear reasonable. Really makes me want to get back into 3D modeling work some time

[@WistrelChianti]

I'm in awe at the effort to get this done right... amazing work!!

[@SkylorBeck]

Damn was not expecting one of my favorite patrons to be your patron too! Badass! Kynan has helped me a lot.

[@YaroslaffFedin]

Really in awe of this. Makes me feel more confident about my designs, they are so trivial in comparison, they have a chance to work!

[@ava1294]

DUDE THIS IS SO GOOD AND COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! absolutely STOKED to see following videos!!!!!!!! i just binge watched all ur portal videos and your stuff is absolutely incredible. love this video especially, super fun and interesting to see how wheatley would actually function :] !! keep up the good work!!!

[@angryhob0z]

Seeing you go this in depth with the design and challenges that arise always leaves me awestruck; my brain just isn't that mechanically inclined 😂

[@nathanfisher6925]

your mechanical engineering is just on another level... I have trouble following all that, and on top of it you've got the software modeling down too. outstanding!

[@multimutantgamer4682]

How has this not blown up? This is absolutely incredible!!

[@40watt53]

Hey this is actually the most insane thing I've like ever seen designed. I've got a class where we do some part modelling in Autodesk Inventor and just looking at any bit of this it's insane the amount of precision and detail and thought and care that went into every little millimeter.

[@DMonZ1988]

wow, you're really going all in! fantastic work!

[@PstrywBerryVids]

This is absolutely amazing I hope you're having fun making him

[@somekid1302]

This is really good, I look forward to the release of the files! I will definitely be making this!

[@JesterLaPear]

I could've SWORN I was already subscribed, fixed THAT right away! You're making my high-school engineering pipe dream a reality!!!

[@spacepotato2516]

you are one of the best engineers/designers ive ever seen you have solved problems that many people would and have given up on solving. you should be designing rockets or equipment used on the international space station!!

[@Pendleton115]

You’ve really gone above and beyond with the design of wheatley here! I cannot wait to be able to build one of my own!

[@tealbites436]

This is amazing, holy crap I can't believe a person can just, create this stuff. From your brain! From looking at a game model! Engineers, and robotic enthusiasts in general amaze me- I've been following this video series since the mark 2 and despite having ADHD I sat in complete silence, dead still, for the entirety of this video just absolutely absorbed in what you've made and how you think through problems. This has really inspired me, thank you. It's also sick as hell. Keep doing this amazing stuff, man. 💪

[@BobzBlue]

I actually watched the taken down video in its entirety.

[@overvoltagestudio]

This is simply outstanding work! Rarely do I see channels go so in depth on problem solving in CAD, it really is interesting to watch the elaborate engineering that goes into these projects. I hope I too can achieve this level of CAD proficiency someday. Can’t wait to see it built!

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

This crazy thing looks like it's actually going to work 👀 I actually have a guy I'd like to build into real-life, myself; bit ambitious of a project for the moment, but hopefully when the time does come someone like you is around to help out with him. Hoping the rest of the Wheatley project goes well 👍

[@nicholaskremin4987]

This is incredible! Simply amazing work, reminds me of when I tried to make a working version of the broken turret in high school. I had a design planned out, but I remember it not working super well, so this is amazing to see

[@miniminerx]

I can't wait to throw the ai chatbots and voice tech into this. Your work is an inspiration to me, thanks!

[@wabbitseason4512]

It's you, you are Cave Johnson... It's crazy the amount of time that went into this to make so so complex, nice job!

[@tomothan]

No no, he's the "lab boys" 😂

[@wabbitseason4512]

@@tomothan lol

[@bshap495]

12:50 I actually had a realization awhile ago about how the handles might be intended to work. You know that extra inner piece that seems to do nothing? I think the cylindrical part is actually a small motor, and it's attached to a gear on the inside of the side piece. It probably works like a sun-and-planet gear (I think, I don't know the terminology well), where the motorized gear moves along a static gear, which would be connected to the attachment point of the chassis. The attachment point itself wouldn't move in this case, but the side piece would move around it instead. Sorry I suck at explaining things, so I hope that made at least a lick of sense. It may not be plausible on your design since it's down-scaled, but I figured I'd share that thought.

[@paulmccartney2327]

Surprisingly cohierent comment for a furry

[@bshap495]

@@paulmccartney2327 Lol a lot of furries have degrees in either engineering or IT. Not saying I do, but sometimes I like to learn about things like that.

[@xeozim]

Amazing video, you pack so much into 15 minutes, the robotics and design is superb and I love the animations! Looking forward to the next one

[@Jandodev]

I've loved all of these Wheatley videos since the jump! I'd love to colab to make the AI chat model to work live talking to Wheatley :)

[@mikaroni_and_cheez]

Oh that sounds so cool!! You should totally collab

[@darthmalice7464]

Yes please!!!

[@zacharybrafman402]

God damn, ive been following this a while and it keep getting more and more impressive

[@cinfdef]

Now THIS was what I was expecting when you were planning on creating Wheatley. MK III is the best, while most "accurate", iteration you've done!

[@DannyRandomz]

This is awesome and your Fusion 360 demonstrations are beautifully done! The artistry in your craft blows my mind.

[@MrVolt]

Thank you!

[@FlashDrive356]

This looks amazing! The way you seemed to work around every mechanical restriction so flawlessly amazes me, though I imagine this was harder than you made it look lol. I lead design and CAD for my high school's FRC robotics team and I'm drooling over your design. I aspire to be able to design systems with the efficiency and problem-solving you displayed here, beautiful work!

[@copperhead228]

Holy moly, this is one of the coolest things I've seen someone design. I can only imagine how much time & thought went into figuring out how everything would work mechanically. I'm really impressed.

[@rolux4853]

This is so amazing, I’m an engineer myself and designed my fair share of things from fixtures over custom machines to full production lines with 50+ robots, but this is a project I wouldn’t be able to design. You did not only do the design, but you even build this whole thing which is absolutely mindboggling! And you did all this without a multi million dollar company contracting you for it and paying every little expense you have. You did it in your time with your money! This is so unbelievably admirable and I really hope that project like this makes young people go get an engineering degree and design the great solutions of tomorrow! You are quite the role model man!

[@ProductionJournal]

Seriously you are my favourite artist on the platform. Can’t wait to see it all together!!!

[@MrVolt]

Thank you so much! Me too haha

[@LimeMaxx]

Making Wheatley a third time? I'm extremely ok with this!

[@mylittleparody2277]

That's some really well thought engineering! Well done!

[@fatassjerome2681]

Im so glad a genius is putting his knowledge to good use. Other people who are capable of doing this just make stupid shit to better society or whatever. Bringing portal 2 robotics to life is what we need, and it's fulfilling my childhood fantasy .

[@MrVolt]

Making silly video game robots is bettering society, right? RIGHT?... :P

[@fatassjerome2681]

@Mr. Volt absolutely 💯 . Seriously love these vids man, keep up the amazing work. In other words, keep testing.

[@hydrogen-8]

At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create The Torment Nexus

[@Spiker985Studios]

I have never seen or heard of you before, but you've definitely caught my interest and my subscription as well

[@hydrogen-8]

I havent looked too much at the mechanics of the cores (I wouldn't know what I'm looking at haha) - do the other cores share Wheatley's impracticalities? What about the ones in Portal 1? They're much more closed off, so I feel you could take more artistic liberties ^^

[@CountDooku420]

Bit late here, but while I don't know much about these mechanics either, I can tell you that, since the Portal 1 cores are way less expressive, they'd be incredibly simple compared to Wheatley. The handles are rigid, there aren't eyelids, the eye is directly attached to the two hemispheres of the core. So, basically, all the parts of Wheatley that make it mechanically difficult are gone. The only part I could see being a problem would be the two side plates. I could probably figure something out, though I don't have access to these programs to make 3D models.

[@stormy1303]

You're genuinely so talented, it's so fascinating to watch this design come together.

[@paradoxvalestein9118]

genuinely

[@stormy1303]

@@paradoxvalestein9118 How did I rewrite this comment like a thousand times and still ended up repeating a word? I don't know.

[@piotrdarnowski5190]

Awesome build ❤ You could put ChatGPT or some other model in it by adding a mic and a connectiom to the GPT API to make it in to a real life personality core 😳

[@commander-fox-q7573]

This is the type of engineering I love, wish I got to do this more it looks awesome. The model and details are looking crisp.

[@revanraven7172]

jesus christ

[@bemoreduck]

Absolutely incredible stuff, I can't imagine how much time this would've taken! Can't wait to see MK3 assembled!

[@saladleaf6024]

about to start studying robotics and mechatronic engineering and this video scares me for what is to come. great job!

[@solidshark91493]

Like others said, usually dont subscribe because of one video but Im sold. Recently getting massively into 3D printing, and with a huge interest in robotics Im sitting here wishing and hoping at some point I can 3D print my own! So cool.

[@vomitedthoughts]

I want to say that your Wheatly looks FUCKING AMAZING! also a thank you for the iris website i didnt know that was a thing. Also this video is very helpful to me since it gives a good video format i can learn from, if you dont mind me asking how do you go about planning your videos because im braindead in that department

[@KomradZX1989]

Wow the work you’ve done to make this all work is truly amazing and has blown my mind 🤯🤯🤯 It’s so cool when people like you make fantasy/sci-fi become real. Love it ❤

[@kyarumomochi5146]

The amazement i felt from this is just unexplainable You did an amazing job on this!

[@neocharl]

this is awesome! this video deserves 100x the amount of views it currently has

[@PotatoTimeYT]

I am actually genuinely surprised that I understand what you're saying in this video. This is absolutely stunning to see! Keep up the great work!

[@surfandi]

You just got yourself a new follower, Sir! I loved the video and your design work on this. Can't wait to see where this is going.

[@dragonjspider]

Give a scientist freedom and they study the universe, give an engineer freedom, and they create the universe. There's definitely a reason they often work together. ( that might be a quote from somewhere, but It just popped into my mind all of the sudden and I just had to say it.)

[@digicat0719]

THIS IS SO COOL?? i cant believe i just saw this you are literally so amazing at this

[@brycr_7469]

my man, you're doing such amazing work. Wow.

[@PCrailfan3790]

The amount of mechanics you were able to stuff in this tiny space is amazing

[@Isaiah_Robotics]

FUNFACT from valve i thinnk you can order a turrect replica life size,then mesure it next to Wheatley

[@Stellar-Cubes]

After watching my this video, immediately subscribed and notifications turned on. Love watching the problem solving and mechanical design process!

[@MrVolt]

Thanks! I was reaaally unsure about this video, but Im glad you enjoyed it Gwen. More vids like this to come :)

[@Stellar-Cubes]

@@MrVolt of course! Keep up the good work, can’t wait to see Wheatley come to life!

[@Manabender]

This is an impressive amount of engineering, all so that our favorite little round moron can be as expressive as possible. It's also a *ton* of moving parts, some of which are mounted on *other* moving parts. I look forward to seeing how well this actually comes together.

[@Kacper42PL]

Holy fuck chief, this is some NASA robot engineering level tomfoolery, and I absolutely love it. Actual genius solutions here that my goldfish-sized brain would never come up with.

[@eccomi21]

I love how this type of problem solving is the complete opposite of design follows function

[@BigBrainFnafGuy]

So what you’re saying is, you could just swap the animations, display, and sound, and get a whole new core? neat.

[@giovannirizzi516]

To avoid pin gluing. One of the iris blade pins can actually be a hole. The pin can be part of the outer ring itself, instead of bore.

[@DarkSpaceStudios]

Absolutely insane. I love this video. Your work is so professional and intriguing. I love seeing this process! Where did you get this knowledge, what's your background?

[@quotentroll1919]

why do i end up on videos like this when i am drunk.?. Big props to Mr. Volt! You are a hell of a GENIUS

[@nicolewolcott]

Absolutely impressive dude, this is fantastic.

[@RosemaryWebs]

friggin loving this! i love how this is a more in-depth explanation of the assembly, as ive been trying to make a model based on this to replace Wheatley's in-game model. now i can *properly* do that! i do wanna make one note: Wheatley's eye does not switch texture when the aperture opens and closes; that is actively part of the model that is *animated*. and yes, i hate it as well, especially as someone who actively makes custom core models. i *never* want to touch that part of the core. if you are ever curious about more nuance details that most people dont notice but somewhat makes a difference (maybe), id love to go over more of them models.

[@gustav5473]

The Engineer after playing Portal 2:

[@dexterman6361]

Oh my god this is INSANE. Amazing!

[@Cruznick06]

This is phenomenal. Thank you so much for making videos explaining your design process! I don't know if you'd ever be interested in building one, but the adorable drone bees from Slime Rancher have a curved front screen design I've always wondered how to implement in real life. I think it would be super fun to build one to function as a timer or alarm clock.

[@L_U-K_E]

Man the amount of design work you have put into this is insane. 👏

[@railworksamerica]

when you are completely finished with it, show up to Valve with it

[@lanceanthony198]

This is phenomenal and pretty Mindboggling in terms of complexity

[@iamstickfigure]

Considering how often things go wrong, this sounds like an INSANELY difficult and probably frustrating engineering project. Lol. Very impressive