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!
Got a passion project and want to build a team around it? Start in your makerspace! Dr. David Crawley desperately wanted to hack robots and build a useful platform, not an inexpensive toy that couldn’t do anything or a useful robot that few could afford. He wanted his to be inexpensive and capable. To pull this off he knew he needed passionate contributors with the right technical backgrounds so he joined Hacker Dojo.
A host of hopeful startups will be in evidence today the Bay Area Maker Faire. The fair’s list of sponsors includes a startup category. Maker Faire is a chance for many of these companies to show their products to an appreciative audience. The relationship goes deep; the companies were started by people who identify themselves as makers. Being part of Maker Faire is sort of like a family graduation day party. There is even a dedicated startup area at Maker Faire. Here is a sampling of small innovative startups have timed the release of significant news with Maker Faire.
Erin “RobotGrrl” Kennedy has introduced the Buddy 4000 robot chassis. It’s an open source, 3D-printable robot: Buddy 4000 was created to look like a modern version of the old ‘tin toy’ robots. We put much effort into the design of the ‘bot, so hopefully it meets this goal. It took a while to finish this […]
I really enjoy Jack Conte‘s music, creative video editing, and now, his behind-the-scenes look at the making of his latest video, Pedals. Please check out the video itself, and then enjoy his enthusiastic making-of video. Jack has maker skills! The hexapod, Dmitiri, in the video was built and programmed by Matt Bunting and the […]
This is a story of two Michigan high school students putting their robotics expertise to great use. Wyatt Smrcka and Micah Stuhldreher of Pinckney Community High School, who took first place in the 2012 SkillsUSA robotics competition, were tapped with task of building a robotic locker door for fellow student Nick Torrance who suffers from muscular dystrophy.
To get the most efficient use of solar electric energy, you must keep your solar panel pointed at the sun. Manually moving the solar panel is impractical. An automated solution may be beyond the reach of many green energy enthusiasts or anyone who just wants to keep the lights on without developing robotics expertise. Hoping to fill that need is technology savvy Jay Doscher, with his prototype solar tracking robot. His tripod mounted, GPS steered solution is portable and could be used for emergencies, camping or any time off-grid power is needed.
The Maker Faire Bay Area brings in Makers from around the world, like 15 year-old Gabriel Diaz Yanten, who is coming all the way from Chile along with his animatronic dinosaur puppet, Anacleto. Anacelto is a 12.8 feet tall and 8.2 feet long T-Rex that Gabriel designed and built with the help of his uncle, a mechanic.
