Crowdfunding Watch: Robot Projects March Ahead

A few weeks ago I mentioned uArm, a robotic arm seeking crowdfunding on Kickstarter. Its success–$160,000 funding on a $5,000 goal with 3 days to go–illustrates what a great resource various crowdfunding are for small robotics business.

The following active campaigns spotlight some very cool robotics projects. Also be sure to check out our Kickstarter curated page.

Ai.Frame Humanoid Robot

The Ai.Frame on Pozible caught my eye because of all the cool moves the robots do–although turning around becomes a surprisingly difficult option for a walking robot. In addition to the 16-servo humanoid, they also have a cool bird that sort of resembles an AT-ST Imperial Walker that uses 9 servos.

The Pocket Drone

The Pocket Drone campaign on Kickstarter has an intriguing premise: a tricopter capable of carrying a GoPro, but folds up as small as a small tablet computer. The drone is ready-to-fly out of the box and boasts the longest flight time of any multipcopter under $500. We covered the Pocket Drone in January.

Pi-Bot Arduino-Controlled Robot

The Pi-Bot is positioned as an entry-level robotics platform complete with an Arduino clone, motors & gearbox, an ultrasonic sensor, and basically everything you need to make a simple rolling robot. Called the Pi-Bot because its chassis resembles the Greek letter, the robot has one cool feature that a lot of beginner robot builders overlook: a slide-out battery pack.

Leo Tankbot Sports a Chassis/Arduino

I liked this robot chassis on Kickstarter that packs an Arduino-compatible ATMega 32U4 microcontroller, front and rear touch sensors, and options for two or four powered HUB-ee wheels as well as tank tracks. In addition, the chassis has mounting add-on boards like a RasPi or proto-board.

Mark II Hexabot

A very cool-looking hexabot on Indiegogo packing 18 servos and an anodized aluminum chassis, it’s controlled by an Arduino Nao and a PS2 joystick. The Mark II Hexabot, the work of Jack Miao of Tapai, Taiwan, has some fun details built in like 12 pre-programmed gaits and is completely open-source.