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!
Rick writes “It’s difficult to approach Dizzy without him becoming aware of it. And he’ll let you know he saw you by `talking’ to you, in a way that seems to convey emotion. If you move about, he will join the action by exploring his `terrarium’. When he gets hungry, he goes to his feeding point to have a lunch brake of an hour or so. While eating, he continues to react verbally to motion around him.” Link.
This kit is made of computer designed precision modern materials, but is as close to the original design as possible. The driving force of the original tea-carrying doll came from a spring made of whale whiskers (actually whale teeth). All the other components, such as its gears, body and escapement for speed adjustments, were made of wood. How does it work? When a tea cup is placed on the tray, the stopper is released by the whale spring attached to the doll’s arms; the spring forces the stopper to engage again when the cup is lifted from the tray. [via] Link.
Make pal jason Striegel writes “I wish I could say I had a half-million dollar budget to put towards a Stanford style Grand Challenge vehicle, but I’m afraid I’ve already earmarked that money for thermoptic camouflage and bionic calf implants. Still, it seems like you just can’t be a self respecting hacker these days unless you have an autonomous Humvee or two. So, I decided it would be a worthwhile project to create a smaller scale robotic car. After a quick treasure-hunt under the sofa cusions and a trip to Radio Shack, I had everything I needed.” Link.
We’ve covered a lot of the R2-D2 droid building, in MAKE and Makezine.com – so, here’s a wonderful site with all you need to make your own Dalek. “We were the very first site devoted to the building of the Dalek, and it is still our intent to supply all the information you’ll need to produce an accurate full size working Dalek as seen in the long running BBC TV series Dr Who.” Thanks Rick! Link.
Rick writes “A British equivalent to the Basic Stamp PIC micro controllers but cheaper. Free programming software and a good range of products for anyone who wants to control their world. Product can be purchased in USA and Australia.” Anyone use these? I’ve been trying to find something like this for beginners for a few projects. Link.
Great HOW TO by powderly on Instructables “The following is Instructions for assembling the first generation robot arm that my wife and I are developing for the Eyebeam Atelier AiR program as part of an animatronic self-portrait. This arm includes 4 degrees-of-freedom (DOF) from the wrist to the shoulder, runs at less than 20 W and is about 12 ounces. I am currently working on V2 with limit and home switches for each DOF, a single DOF hand and adding another 2 DOF to the shoulder. Motor control units for the arm are also currently being developed…” Link.
Wow, here’s a really cool looking project – it’s a Mac mini robot. It seems to be using an iSight to see, external battery pack for the mini and USB to control the 3 wheels on the bot for getting around. [via] Link and project page. This could potentially be a great robotics kit, you could call it…er, iRobot, well only if you use a Roomba for the locomotion.
