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!
I love Dane Kouttron’s monster 3D printer! This project documents the re-purposing of a ‘rescued’ 1980’s IBM 7575 SCARA Robot Arm, into a functional 3D ABS printer. The project features some motor upgrades [listed earlier], documentation of encoder positioned motor control feedback theory, the interminglings of EMC2 [Linux CNC], heated workspace construction and a step […]
Week 5, Tinkering Tuesday at Maker Camp. Meet RobotGrrl and her posse of robotic birds, and learn about robotics and Arduino.
Maker Camp, sponsored by MAKE magazine, was a virtual summer camp for teens, with a focus on creating, building, and discovering.From July 16th through August 24th, 2012, 30 awesome projects were made in 30 days, on Google+. Maker Camp is free and open to all.
Visit Makezine.com/maker-camp for more information.
Toy vehicles from plastic bottles are pretty cool. Add an Arduino, solar panel, batteries, ultrasonic range finding, a few servos, some beefier tires, and you’ll have something like Fijibot, an autonomous, self-charging robot.
This grave-maintaining robot was conceptualized by Itamar Shimshony and built by Zvika Markfeld: As per Jewish customs, it places stones and flowers on the headstone, and occasionally cleans the grave with water and a cloth while patrolling around it. Hardware is based on an Arduino Mega 1280 sitting on top of a Roomba, and connected […]
Lego builder Simon “Burf” Burfield built the world’s first Lego wheelchair: Currently still a prototype, the LEGO Wheelchair can move a 90kg person. It uses 6 NXT’s to drive 12 NXT motors (2 per NXT for maximum power output) which are connected to 12 Rotacaster multi-directional wheels. Using these wheels will later allow for side […]
A group of students from Northwestern University scratch built this WiFi extending robot, called CommBor, almost entirely from billet aluminum.
This clip demonstrates recent work to develop compliant controllers for our lab’s snake robots. These controllers allow the robot to automatically adapt its shape to changes in its environment. Until now most of our motions, including pole climbing, have been remote-controlled. In this video the robot autonomously climbs a 4″ pole, transitions to a 2″ […]
