RSS
Archive: Robotics
December 1, 2008
Only a few hours left to enter our CYBER MONDAY contest (and also get 10% off our robot kits)
There are only a few hours left to enter our CYBER MONDAY contest (and to also get 10% off our robot kits)... we were able to do up a quick code/sale for all our robot kits for today so have at it. It starts at 12:01 am PST 12/1/2008 and ends today at 11:59 pm PST. Use code CYBERM at checkout at the Maker Shed.
Out contest is simple, just post up your version of the "Three laws of robotics" in the comments HERE, make it clever, funny, outrageous. At 11:59pm PST I'll post up a winner. You can post up multiple entries, contest is world-wide. The prize? The new Co-Robot kit we just got in from Japan! Here's a video!
Pictured above, an old photo of when I was running 30 miles a week and spending a lot of time looking through robot dog eyes - it was CYBER MONDAY every.single.day (long story)....
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Dec 1, 2008 07:09 PM
Announcements, Robotics |
Permalink
| Email Entry
YETI walker robot
This robot kit has a terrific lumbering gait. The YETI Walking Robot Kit is from Arexx Engineering. He uses two servos for locomotion and runs on a programmable ATmega8 microcontroller. It seems like most of the distributors are European. Has anyone out there gotten a chance to play with one?
via Technabob
Posted by John Park |
Dec 1, 2008 05:00 PM
Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Email Entry
Mousey the BeetleBot?
More robot fun from Mario Caicedo Langer. Here's an interesting take on my Mousey the Junkbot AND Jérôme Demer's BeetleBot. Mario built Jérôme's bot and then used a Mac mouse as a shell on top, turning it into a Mousebot, or a different kind of BeetleBot, anyway. It's a robot mash-up!
More:
Weekend Projects: Mousey The Junkbot
As the end of the weekend approaches, don't forget to learn how to make Mousey the Junkbot!
Watch the podcast - Link
Read the PDF Article - Link
Subscribe in itunes and have it downloaded automatically - Link
Jérôme Demers, who did the BeetleBot project in Volume 12 of MAKE, has posted an updated version of the project, which is says is simpler to build, on Instructables.
How to Build a Robot - The BeetleBot v2 ( Revisited)
From the Maker Shed:
Maker Bundle #1: Parts for four bots
It's CYBER MONDAY MAKERS! So in that spirit we were able to do up a quick code/sale for all our robot kits for today. It starts at 12:01 am PST 12/1/2008 and ends today at 11:59 pm PST. Use code CYBERM at checkout at the Maker Shed.
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Dec 1, 2008 03:00 PM
Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Email Entry
Welcome to CYBER MONDAY on MAKE
It's CYBER MONDAY MAKERS! So in that spirit we were able to do up a quick code/sale for all our robot kits for today. It starts at 12:01 am PST 12/1/2008 and ends today at 11:59 pm PST. Use code CYBERM at checkout at the Maker Shed.
I'm also going to do a contest. It's really simple, just post up your version of the "Three laws of robotics" in the comments, make it clever, funny, outrageous. At 11:59pm PST I'll post up a winner. Winner will be posted Tues am -- You can post up multiple entries, contest is world-wide. The prize? The new Co-Robot kit we just got in from Japan! Here's a video!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Dec 1, 2008 12:01 PM
Maker Shed Store, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (29)
| Email Entry
Nifty junkbots from Colombia
By way of the Make: Flickr pool comes these awesome junkbot sculptures made by Mario Caicedo Langer from Bogotá, Colombia.
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM
Arts, Crafts, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (3)
| Email Entry
Troody the walking dinosaur
Peter Dilworth of MIT's Leg Lab made this bipedal walking robot based on a Troodon dinosaur.
His objective was straightforward: "It was for the robot to stand up from a sitting position, to walk and possibly run, go back to walking and stop and then sit down and be stable, and not fall over in any phase," Dilworth explains. But as he found out, making a robot walk is a lot more challenging than it seems. "It has proven extremely difficult to make bipedal robots," says Gregory Paul, an independent dinosaur paleontologist who collaborated with Dilworth on the project. "People assume that flight is hard to do while walking is easy; actually it's the reverse."
Build your own robots with robotics from the Maker Shed! Use the code CYBERM to get 10% off, today only (12:01am pst 12/1 to 11:59pm pst 12/1).
Posted by Patti Schiendelman |
Dec 1, 2008 07:00 AM
Kids, Maker Shed Store, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email Entry
Simple AVR robot
Here is another DIY robot project. It's a lot slower than the Cockroach bot I posted earlier, but it can potentially do a lot more. I really like the drink cap wheels. They will not provide a lot of traction, but at these speeds it isn't an issue.
Now that the AVRonics board is in full swing it's time to start stretching it's legs. This is not the robot to do that but it's a start. I threw this together in about an hour (after many months of thinking) and spent about 10 minutes writing the code to control it. No, no, I'm not just that good - it's just that simple.
More about the Simple AVR Robot
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Dec 1, 2008 03:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
Make an Arduino based tin can robot
This is a really cool robot made from an Arduino and a tin can. The best part about the project is a Father and his 3 & 6 year olds built it together. What a great way to spend the Thanksgiving weekend!
This blog post will show you how to build an autonomous robot that seeks out light based on a toy with a low power DC motor, an Arduino board, and a host of electronic components. Look at the pictures or go and check out a movie of the end product-- the robot on a flashlight "leash." I built it with my 6 and 3 year olds over Thanksgiving weekend in stages, and we had a blast doing it.
More about making an Arduino based tin can robot
In the Maker Shed:
Co-Robot Kit
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Dec 1, 2008 02:00 AM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Electronics, Kids, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
How-to make a cockroach robot
This is a video I found while surfing around on YouTube. I think a lot of our readers would have most of the parts needed to make it. If not, you can pick them up for a few bucks. It's a cool little bot.
Spotted on YouTube How-to make a cockroach robot
In the Maker Shed:
We've had several neat projects over the years, and we're proud that Solarbotics has created a cool bundle kit to provide parts for completing them. In this great bundle you'll find what you need to build the Mousey (Make Issue #02), Trimit (Issue #06), SolarRoller (Issue #06), and Beetlebot (#12). Get this bundle and save over $20 compared to buying these kits separately.Please note: This kit includes the electronic components only, the build instructions and other parts needed for each project can be found in the corresponding Make issue (which are not included).
More about the Maker Bundle #1
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Dec 1, 2008 01:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
November 30, 2008
Flaming legs
Evidently the people of New Mexico have seen it all. Even robolegs gone wild!
Carlos is a robotic everyman. He's not one of those fancy deep sea dwelling, swimming pool competing, publicity hogging, multiple kill, or planet exploring robots, just a regular robot doing his thing like us humans.
Carlos was a college kinetic sculpture project. I was interested in the concept of automating aspects of society that were considered not so "glamorous". Robotics are often used in environments which are considered dangerous to humans. Deep sea exploration, nuclear cleanup and volcanism are some of the "higher profile" adverse environments which robots are used. My question was, "What about other dangerous or hazardous areas?". For example, homeless people live in extremely dangerous environments. Shouldn't there be automated equipment used by this strata of society? So, for this project I chose to implement an automated walking, homeless shopping cart.
Check out some of the other projects at GizmoGarden!
Via Zoomdoggle
What do robots mean to you? Have you built a robot to solve a problem? Have you made plans for automating mechanisms? What have you done to create devices that move in response to sensor data? Add your photos and video to the Make Flickr pool, and bring on your comments!
Posted by Chris Connors |
Nov 30, 2008 02:00 AM
Culture jamming, DIY Projects, hacks, How it's made, Robotics, Something I want to learn to do..., Transportation |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
November 27, 2008
LEGO powered Bluetooth printer
This is a plotter-type printer that is powered by a LEGO NXT. The website has a bunch of pictures and some videos. There are even screen shots of the code, but that's about it. I hope there is more information posted soon.
A little More about the LEGO powered Bluetooth printer [Let's Make Robots]
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Nov 27, 2008 03:00 AM
Electronics, Robotics, Wireless |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
November 26, 2008
Smashing a remote control Smart Car
Seriously, what is not to love about this video? Proper accents, a remote control car crashing into a concrete barrier at highway speed, lots of camera angles, slow mo replays, picking through the wreckage in the post-crash analysis. And then they do it again to a second car!
From 70 miles an hour to naught in one second, energy to move tons of concrete...The steel cage has certainly done its' job really well, you can still see the original shape...Its only when you come round the front that you see that Massive Impact.
The Smart Car sure is tiny, but it has a surprising ability to handle the impact of crashes.
Cars have significantly different safety design aspects to alter the way they protect passengers in an acident. Th older cars of the 80's and before, were largely made of steel, and had rigid frames. Modern automotive design has many softer features intended to shift the energy of impact away from the passengers. It is much easier to find out how a car will perform in an accident than in the past.
How well would your car stand up in an accident? Has your vehicle been designed with shock absorbing crumple zones? Do you know how to drive for maximum safety? How about that remote control action? Have you ever rigged up a car to be controllable through radio or other systems? Add your photos to the Make Flickr pool, and comment in with your tales of success/failure and adventure!
Posted by Chris Connors |
Nov 26, 2008 06:50 PM
How it's made, Robotics, Science, Transportation |
Permalink
| Comments (7)
| Email Entry
HexPummer Lantern kits from Solarbotics
One of the new kit releases I got a big kick out of at Maker Faire Austin was the HexPummer Lantern from our compadres at Solarbotics. This is an add-on to their popular HexPummer, a kit version of a cool BEAM circuit that creates throbbing LED light that "PUMMs" when darkness falls and the circuit slowly dumps the power from the solar cell and rechargeable batteries that have been soaking up and storing the day's sun. Put this inside of a handsome little laser-cut Japanese lantern with geeky silhouettes (or seasonal ones) and you have the HexPummer Lantern. This is a great entry-level kit, something that the builder will have fun showing off when s/he's done making it.
Solarbotics even made special MAKE and Maker Faire Austin Lantern kits. These kits, and the HexPummers, are available in the Maker Shed.
HexPummer Kit (Pummer only)
Our Price: $27.50
Lantern Kit (Lantern only)
Our Price: $7.50
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Nov 26, 2008 11:46 AM
Electronics, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Email Entry
HOW TO - iRobot dead cell battery fix
Mikey's HOW TO - iRobot dead cell battery fix...
I have three iRobots which help clean our house. I bought them about two years ago. As the one year warranty was coming up I called iRobot and asked them to help with various issues. They basically replaced all three of them. Now that I am at the one year point with the replacements I'm running out of options as things break. I can either fix it myself, or buy more shit. Obviously, I don't want to pay for anything. This morning I took apart the battery pack in the Dirt Dog vacuum cleaner. After about 30 minutes of cutting, sawing, and taping I had a battery pack that was performing like a new one. Now instead of getting 10 minutes of lousy vacuuming I get over a hour of powerful cleaning. This saved about $60 which is the cost of buying a new replacement pack from iRobot.
More:
Photos & Instructable on fixing the batteries...
MAKE - 06 Roomba Tronic
Take a tour into the underground robotic relentlessness of Roomba hacks, robots in the streets of Austin, and robot fighting.
Roomba Hacks - MAKE 10
Don't let your Roomba just collect dust when you can hack, mod, and take over the world with your own (cleaning) robot army.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 26, 2008 08:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (4)
| Email Entry
November 25, 2008
Low-cost telepresence robot
On this episode of Gomi Style, they build a low-cost telepresence robot. There are some "problems" with this video. It's not an "autonomous" robot if *you* control it and the show is called Gomi Style, and they say the robot is made of junk they have lying around, but then, it's made with the Vex robotics system, our MAKE Controller, a Mac Mini, an iSight camera, and an LCD monitor. Still, they manage to make a pretty decent telepresence bot for probably under $1000.
Sparky - Autonomous Telepresence Robot
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Nov 25, 2008 12:00 PM
Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Email Entry
Twitchie scorpion - HOW TO - Make a robotic scorpion
Download the MP4 Video or HD Version | Subscribe to CRAFT in iTunes | mov | 3g2
I made this scorpion toy with a Twitchie Robot Kit. I'm really afraid of scorpions where I live in Arizona, so I thought a friendly toy would help me get used to them. I made his plush body from some fabric I had around, aiming to make him look like an Arizona bark scorpion, which are tan/yellowish/translucent. Watch the video for build details, and here's a list of materials I used:
- Twitchie Robot Kit
- 3 pieces of scrap wood
- 1 drywall screw for non-driven front leg
- hot glue
- fabric for plush body
- plush stuffing
- thread & embroidery floss
Twitchie is Arduino powered and comes pre-programmed, so it's an excellent kit for beginners in robotics, because no programming is required! You can download and modify the code if you want, and it's pretty light on the soldering, too. I'd recommend Twitchie for young makers (boys & girls, too!) interested in robotics or moving plush toys. If you have an idea for what I should name my new friend, let me know in the comments! All I've come up with so far is "Scott."
Music in the video is "At the Crack of Noon" by Shuutobi.
More build photos:
Posted by Becky Stern |
Nov 25, 2008 09:15 AM
Crafts, DIY Projects, Kits, MAKE Podcast, MAKE Video, Open source hardware, Robotics, Toys and Games |
Permalink
| Comments (5)
| Email Entry
Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts that will inspire your kids!
Here is our 2008 Make Holiday Gift Guide for kids. Hopefully these gifts will inspire you to go out and make new things, teach others what you know, or even learn something new. The best gift you can give any kid is quality time together. I tried to cover a lot of different ages, skill levels, and interests. If I missed something you think should be added to the list, please leave it in the comments below. Thanks!
If you are looking for cool projects to make with your kids over the Holidays, don't forget to check out the Make blog "Kids" category for hundreds, if not thousands, of great projects.
Howtoons
As seen in Make Magazine. Part comic strip and part science experiment, Howtoons shows children how to find imaginative new uses for common household items like soda bottles, duct tape, mop buckets, and moreñto teach kids the "Tools of Mass Construction"! Howtoons are cartoons that teach 8ñ to 15ñyearñold readers "how to" build, create, and explore things. Combining a fun, fullñcolor cartoon format and real life science and engineering principles, Howtoons are designed to encourage kids to become active participants in the world around them.
Price: $15.99
Drawdio Kit
You may have to put this kit together if you have younger kids, since it requires soldering. It's easy to assemble, and fun to hack! Drawdio has been kid tested at my house for many hours, and is a hit with everyone who tries it!
Drawdio is an electronic pencil that lets you make music while you draw! It's great project for beginners: An easy kit with instant gratification! Essentially, its a very simple musical synthesizer that uses the conductive properties of pencil graphite to create different sounds. The result is a fun toy that lets you draw musical instruments on any piece of paper.
Price: $19.50
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Nov 25, 2008 07:50 AM
Kids, Kits, LEGO, Maker Shed Store, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
Popsicle stick robot arm
Eric and Bre teamed up to create a joystick-controlled robot arm using popsicle sticks and a twitchie kit - nicely done! -
We hacked an old Atari joystick to control the arm, and each servo is manipulated in turn as you press the red button. It really was a ton of fun to bring this project together, and I’m amazed at what we did in a few hours. Huge thanks to Bre for having the hardware all set to go and to Raph for his awesome Twitchie kit and all his advice along the way.Source code and more info available here - DIY Robot Arm
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Nov 25, 2008 05:00 AM
Maker Shed Store, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
Make your own IR obstacle detection sensor
This is a great, cost effective, way of tracking objects via IR LEDs. It may not be the most accurate form of object tracking, but it has to be one of the cheapest. Check out the link for a lot more information on how to make your own.
This sensor is a short range obstacle detector with no dead zone. It has a reasonably narrow detection area which can be increased using the dual version. Range can also be increased by increasing the power to the IR LEDs or adding more IR LEDs.
More about how to Make your own IR obstacle detection sensor
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Nov 25, 2008 02:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
November 20, 2008
Robotic eagle plays baseball
"Monsieur Houdin, n'oebliez pas votre oiseau!" is a mechatronic sculpture of a bird with an eagle skull perched on an oversize leather glove. Pretty interesting idea for a bot and pretty creepy as well, too bad it's past Halloween.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Nov 20, 2008 04:00 AM
Arts, Robotics |
Permalink
| Comments (4)
| Email Entry
The MAKE gift guides for 2008!
Stop by the Maker Shed store and check out THE place for open source hardware, Arduino & Arduino accessories, electronic kits, science kits, smart stuff for kids, back issues of MAKE & CRAFT, box sets, books, robots, kits from Japan and more.
MAKE's RSS feed is here.
Add MAKE to iGoogle - GoogleGoogle.
How to add MAKE to your RSS reader - Real simple.
Add MAKE on Twitter.
MAKE's fan page on Facebook.
Add MAKE on FriendFeed
Why advertise on MAKE?
Read what folks are saying about us!
Click here to advertise on MAKE!
Makezine authors!
Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
Tel: 707-827-7311
Twitter / AIM
Gareth Branwyn
Jonah Brucker-Cohen
Collin Cunningham
Marc de Vinck
Kip Kay
Luke Iseman
Patti Schiendelman
Becky Stern
Mike Dixon
Jason Striegel
John Park
Chris Connors
David Neff
Peter Horvath(intern)
Current Podcast
Maker Faire Austin - Green Tech
Makers from around the world gathered to share their "green" inventions and technology at Maker Faire in Austin. Make plans now to attend the next Maker Faire. To download Maker Faire Austin 2008 - Green Tech MP4 click here...
More...
