Chris Anderson to Leave Wired
Wired editor-in-chief Chris Anderson is stepping down to focus on his drone business, 3D Robotics.
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!
Watch DARPA’s Pet-Proto Robot Navigate Obstacles
DARPA, in collaboration with Boston Dynamics, has created a variety of fascinating robots in the past, including one that can outrun Usain Bolt and another that has a surprisingly human-like gait. Here’s a short clip of DARPA’s Pet-Proto robot accomplishing autonomous decision making and navigation through three obstacles.
XinCheJian’s $10 Swarm Robots
Shanghai hackerspace XinCheJian won 2nd place in a competition to build $10 robots.
Hummingbird: “Pre-Arduino” for Kids
Arduino was conceived as an open source microcontroller for artists, designers, and others who aren’t necessarily techie/programmer types. Of course, all sorts of makers have flocked to this technology because of its versatility. But in spite of its relative ease of use, there’s still a barrier to entry for new users. Like kids. For that reason, BirdBrain Technologies’ Hummingbird looks promising. They call it “pre-Arduino.”
Propeller-Driven Theo Jansen Biped
This Theo Jansen robot model consists of a propeller driven Strandbeest biped.
Maker Shed Exclusive: Arduino Shield Robot Kit – In MAKE Blue!
The Parallax Boe-Bot has long been used for teaching robotics to hobbyists and students. Earlier this year, Parallax took the idea behind the Boe-Bot and applied them to the Arduino to create the Robotics Shield for Arduino Kit. We in the Maker Shed like this kit so much that we worked with Parallax to have the chassis custom anodized in royal MAKE blue, just for you!
Making Drones in Tijuana
I was invited to speak at Tijuana Innovadora, a regional conference/expo. Mark Hatch of TechShop, Jason Short, an industrial designer by day and Drone programmer by night, as well as David Cuartielles of the Arduino team also came to speak on an open source hardware panel.
