I've just moved into a makerspace, with all kinds of fun things. (Laser cutting machine, 3d printers, full wood shop, industrial sewing machines, electronics building stuff.) They also have connections in case the makerspace equipment isn't adequate.

I'm going to be doing a lot of experimenting in the coming year, and was wondering if anyone wants me to help solve any longstanding problems for them? In general, I'm going to be trying to make inexpensive, lightweight materials that puppets can be made around. Also moving parts & lots of LED lights.

...definitely eye mechanisms.

eyes for sure, big problem that I'm having at the moment is being able to manipulate the eyes (blinking) from inside the puppet with my hand.

LED lights incorporated into a robot puppet, that would be something I would love to see.  Also, on a larger (full body) scale, easy to maneuver eyes and mouth. 

Knees and elbow joints that bend normally instead of bending backwards or locking rigid. Pose-able finger mechanisms. Bendable tail supports system. More animal nose shapes, or maybe human nose shapes to be covered with fabric. I hate rubber bands to hold rod arms, I dreamed of a screw in rod that would need some wrist insert to screw into but still have some pivoting movement sort of like a ball joint.  So you could remove the rod for storage but would  not have to fear the breaking rubber band in the middle of the show.  Best ideas I could think of, good luck, excited to see what new ideas you have.

Knees and elbow joints that bend normally instead of bending backwards or locking rigid. Pose-able finger mechanisms. Bendable tail supports system. More animal nose shapes, or maybe human nose shapes to be covered with fabric. I hate rubber bands to hold rod arms, I dreamed of a screw in rod that would need some wrist insert to screw into but still have some pivoting movement sort of like a ball joint.  So you could remove the rod for storage but would  not have to fear the breaking rubber band in the middle of the show.  Best ideas I could think of, good luck, excited to see what new ideas you have.

Regarding removeable rods, I solved this recently. What I did was sew a little pocket into the back of the puppet hand. Inside this pocket I glued a piece of velcro and attached the other bit of velcro to the end of my rod. When you insert the rod into the pocket it fits snuggly and the velcro allows you to maneuver it around. When you want to remove the rod you simply pull down carefully and the velcro comes appart. With the puppet stitch you can hardly see the pocket is there at all!

For elbows and knees that bend normally try sewing in a wooden ball to the back side of the arm joint. It works as kind of a stop so the elbow does not bend backwards. 

I like the pocket and ball stop for joint ideas. After all the hours I spent thinking of how to do these better, these ideas never crossed my mind.  Thanks.

LED lights incorporated into a robot puppet, that would be something I would love to see.  Also, on a larger (full body) scale, easy to maneuver eyes and mouth. 

This place has a lot of LED light stuff, and one of the people in charge loves adding lights to everything! So I should get some cool insight into that. :D

eyes for sure, big problem that I'm having at the moment is being able to manipulate the eyes (blinking) from inside the puppet with my hand.

Do you have any pictures of your puppet? I'd love to see what you've got going on!