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!
“Nazca City” is a land art project, the drawing of a true scale map of an imaginary city onto the surface of the Peruvian desert. To do this we built a robot which moves autonomously, plowing the ground to uncover its underlying color. Because of its scale, the map can only be appreciated as a […]
Multicopters is an exciting new area of hobby robotics. They are also sometimes known as UAV’s, and essentially they are “flying hobby robots.” They are made with a center that holds micro controllers, sensors, receivers, transmitters, power and payload. Pointing out from the center are a number of pins holding motors and propellers. This is […]
Gordon McComb, who’s been dubbed “the father of hobby robotics,” has been building robots since the 1970s, and wrote the best-selling Robot Builders Bonanza (the new 4th edition is available). For MAKE Volume 27 Gordon wrote a how-to article called Teleclaw: Remote Robot Gripper, which is controlled with an ordinary TV remote.
Founded in 1990 by a trio of MIT alums, iRobot’s first big break came in 1998 with a DARPA grant that lead to the development of their now-famous PackBot. The automatic vacuuming robot Roomba, the company’s flagship civilian product, was launched in 2002 and has become a resounding commercial success, with more than six million units sold to date.
A roundup of crazy bots, ready to do our bidding.
Biology doesn’t use metal, and it doesn’t use servos. Nature points to some very interesting alternatives.
Most of the technology in our lives we use for play, and that play personalizes the technology, whether it’s cars or computers.
