Armatronic soccer-playing, beer-delivering, gun-toting robotic fridge

Robotics
Armatronic soccer-playing, beer-delivering, gun-toting robotic fridge
armatronBeerFridge_1.jpg

As everyone knows, the holy grail of robotic technology is a bot that can deliver beer to your La-Z-Boy. Our splendiferous Maker Media designer, Katie Wilson, sent us this email about the guy who runs the doggie daycare she uses.

Shawn is a MAKE subscriber and spends most of his free time building stuff in one of his many sheds, often with his adult son. Last week, I rolled up to pick up my pup, and there was no sign of Shawn. Then, lo and behold, I see this little gem rolling toward my car, cold beer at the ready, blasting something indiscernible, change for my $20 clamped in its Armatron grip.

The linked-to video is rough, but if you can make it/fast forward to minute three, you can see robot’s obstacle avoidance. At 5:45, there’s a nice clean display of maneuvering/soccer playing.

It’s really awesome to see people building stuff like this for fun. Perhaps you guys see more of it than I do, but apart from Maker Faire and the occasional introduction, I don’t meet many average folks hacking together stuff in their spare time. But I guess if the 600 people signed up for the Make: Robot Build contest are any indicator, Shawn is not alone!

[Thanks, Katie!]

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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn

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