Making a robot can be an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s the perfect combination of creativity, engineering and problem solving. However, if you’re just getting started in robotics, it can also be overwhelming. To make things easier for those who are just starting out, we’ve put together some tips and tricks to help makers bring robots to life! From the basics of assembling your robot to software implementation, these pointers will give you everything you need to get started on your robotic adventure!
When we started thinking about fundamental disruptions in the realm of technology, especially maker-related technology, things like open source, and Linux, and Arduino, and heck, the maker movement itself, immediately came up. In thinking about disruptive individuals, one person leapt to mind for me, someone who’s had a huge, sea-changing impact on the science of robotics, Rodney Brooks.
Alex Weber of Hamburg created this cool drawbot (Der Kritzler means “the Scribbler”) that lays down ink directly on a window, allowing passers-by to groove on the robot’s work from outside.
At FOO Camp 2011, Dr. Ruth Schulz from University of Queensland discusses Lingodroids, robots that can generate their own language that allows them to communicate with each other.
Aaron Panone of Cambridge, MA, created a CNC art machine equipped with a cool Sharpie-holding jig that keeps the pen in contact with the paper. The process of creating a “drawing” using a numerically controlled Sharpie is documented in a short video. Vector graphics are converted into a tool path and then a machine language […]
Harvey Moon‘s Drawing Machine is, at its core, a pen attached to two belts that are both suspending it over a page and controlling its movements. Taking its cues from computer data, the Drawing Machine can reproduce any digitized picture or photograph, except the results are more akin to print-making in that every creation is unique with its own idiosyncrasies. Filmed at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011.
Last year when we did the Make: Robot Build, where readers were challenged to make a CoasterBot using dead DVD media (aka “coasters”) as the main bot building material, we were amazed at the ingenuity and resourcefulness of many of the entries.
I love the thought of controlling a robot through one-to-one gesture correspondence. Taylor Veltrop built this excellent Veltrobot based upon a Kondo KHR-1HV robot, and worked out how to control it using a Kinect and Willow Garage’s Robot Operating System. Taylor has posted docs and source code here, in case you want to build your […]
