Early animatronics
Short, but really interesting article from Popular Science in 1933 discussing what have got to be some of the earliest examples of animatronics – mechanical dinosaurs from the Chicago World’s Fair. – [via] Link.
Robotics
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!
Universal robots
Here’s a robot play in NYC featuring Roombas as actors… 31 DOWN RADIO THEATER PRESENTS: UNIVERSAL ROBOTS June 28–July 7 Loud music, cool air conditioning, humans struggling with the impending doom of ROBOTS taking over the world… what more could you want? 31 Down returns this summer with a hypnotic sound and image collage inspired […]
Make a beetle robot
Here’s how to make a very simple ladybug bot using PlayStation motors and rubber wheels from an old walkman – Link.
Robothon – September 21 – 23 – Seattle
Branden writes – Robothon is an annual event sponsored by the Seattle Robotics Society that is designed by and for hobby roboticists and Makers of all types. It is held every year at the Seattle Center, just north of Downtown. Robothon is completely free to everyone. Vendors will be on hand with Microcontrollers, BEAM robot […]
SickSack robot
Lars writes – his article is about the robot: SickSack that Aske Olsson and I created for DTU RoboCup 2007, which is an annual competition for autonomous mobile robots held by Automation at the Technical University of Denmark. SickSack snake robot The robot consists of nine cars connected with eight Futaba servos controlled by a […]
Pleo pre-ordering
You can now pre-order the Pleo for $384 which might end up being a more affordable / hackable AIBO but in dinosaur flavor… UGOBE / Pleo – Link. Press release (PDF) – Link. Pleoworld – Link. From the pages of MAKE: I, Pleo. Can a machine have a soul? Can it think? Can it laugh […]
CLARAty – Reusable robotic software framework
NASA released the first installment of their CLARAty reusable robotic software framework to the public, the modules have: math infrastructure, device drivers for motors, cameras, computer vision, image, and 3D processing… You can check out CLARAty here – Link.
