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!
FIRST Robotics competition announced… via /. “FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) has officially announced the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition. This competition, started by inventor Dean Kamen, encourages high-school students to design and build robots to compete with and against other FRC teams. The competition overview video is available from NASA. This […]
After a long day on Tatooine fighting off Sandpeople and haggling over the price of power converters, Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker walk into a droid… BaR2D2 is a radio-controlled, mobile bar that features a motorized beer elevator, motorized ice/mixer drawer, six-bottle shot dispenser, and sound activated neon lighting. The robot is driveable so you can […]
Happy birthday Isaac Asimov! Biochemist and Sci-Fi author Isaac Asimov was born today in 1920, wrote tons of Sci-Fi books capturing the imaginations of millions, and perhaps best known by makers for his creation of the “Three Laws of Robotics”: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being […]
New open source hardware business start up coming out in 2009 – Robotics, from Chris Anderson, Wired’s editor in chief. I’m extremely excited about this. Update: Chris posted more about the biz model here.
Awesome slow-mo footage of a butterfly ornithopter from the Shimoyama-Matsumoto Laboratory, University of Tokyo, Japan. [via BotJunkie and Smart Machines] Artificial butterfly wing on a butterfly-type ornithopter
Wow, the situational awareness mast “Zippermast” from Geosystems is very clever! via Hizook. The situational awareness mast (or Zippermast) from Geosystems Inc. is a telescoping linear actuator that can vertically translate a robot’s sensor suite for better visibility. In this video, a Zippermast is affixed to an I-Robot Packbot…
A company called Robot Services Group is running i-SOBOT soccer matches over the Internet. Using free video conferencing software called ooVoo, you control one i-SOBOT against an opponent’s bot on a soccer field. Another cool service the company provides is a robot test drive, where you can try controlling various mini-humanoid type bots. This might […]
