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!
This project by Tim Redfern allows onlookers to send SMS messages to Robosapien robots who respond with some impressive dance moves. The system uses a custom built, downloadable Xtra for (Macromedia/Adobe) Director called “UIRT XTRA” that is free from the site below. Check out the video. Dancing Robosapiens – Link, UIRT Xtra Download
Back in the 1982, Heathkit released the HERO 1 educational robot. HERO 1 had a Motorola 6808 CPU and 4k of RAM on board. He came equipped with motion, light, sound and sonar ranging sensors. You could even add an optional arm attachment and max out his capabilities. Taking a cue from the success of […]
Here’s an excellent recreation of the K-9 (Mk II, I believe) from the BBC’s classic Doctor Who series. The maker did a very thorough job on the panelling and used an RC tank for locomotion – unfortunately no design measurements are supplied in the build documentation. – Link Of course that’s not the only K-9 […]
This is a nice tutorial on building your first PICAXE robot. These aren’t as easy to build as a BEAMbot, but they can do a whole lot more. The site contains links to suppliers and lots of photos of the build process. – Link
This robot is small, purpose-built, and can easily climb stairs. The website has a lot of photos and is a great source of technical information for stair climbing robots. If you are thinking of building something similar, this is a must-read. StairBOT is a small robot for indoor environments. On even floor it drives like […]
Ants are cool, but robots ants with mandibles are really cool. The site has several videos of the robot in action that you might want to check out. You are going to need a really big magnifying glass to burn this one! The Biologically-Inspired Legged Locomotion Ant (BILL-Ant) is an 18-DOF hexapod with six passive […]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a piece on a local bar owner who took fending off bums into his own hands: Rufus Terrill, who owns a bar in downtown Atlanta called O’Terrill’s, has grown weary of the drug dealers and vagrants he says frequent the neighborhood. Rather than put the police on speed dial or hire […]
