My only thinking behind using the 8052 was becuase it was recommended in the Muscle Wire kit that I bought to figure out how to use the SMA. You are correct... it is the model from the Make-zine article. I have rebuilt this model to make it out of 1/4 acrylic rods and lighter gauge elastic wire to make the tower more flexible and easier to transform with the SMA wire. The reason I wanted to use a micro-controller is becuase I wanted to use computer input to control the tower. Possibly mouse movement, or maybe a joystick to control the "bend" in the tower. In doing more research, I came across the Arduino mircroprocessor, and it looks like this will work great. Again, I don't really know much about making circuits and setting up the system, but it seems like the arduino system is made specifically for hobbyist and designers with my skill set. http://www.arduino.cc/ If you have any suggestions about how to help on the project, I am still all ears.
Thanks,
Andy