Remember Keepon, the simple, yet super-engaging little yellow dancing bot? His designers, the folks at BeatBots, have created his cousin Spazzi, the solenoid-powered dancebot, and Spazzi is one of the stars of our newest issue of MAKE, Volume 27, the Robots issue. The creators decided to forgo the rotational motors common to many robots, and instead use solenoids and springs controlled by an Arduino connected to a computer. The three plastic body parts are based on the Reuleaux triangle, and were printed out on a 3D printer (files included in the project), but you can get creative and use any material, including cardboard. And the Maker Shed has made sourcing most of the major parts used in the project easy by putting together the Spazzi Electronics Bundle. Scope this video of Spazzi in action:
Spazzi is just one of the awesome robots you can build in MAKE Volume 27. Subscriber copies have shipped, and the issue hits newsstands on July 26. Check out our fresh video preview of the issue. We’ve also shared the entire project build with you on Make: Projects. Head on over and collaborate! And be sure to keep an eye out for Spazzi’s special guest appearance on Make: Live tonight.
From the Pages of MAKE
MAKE Volume 27, Robots!
The robots have returned! MAKE Volume 27 features a special package with robotics projects for every age and skill level. They play music; they outwit your pets; they learn from their mistakes! In addition, we’ll show you how to build a special aquarium to keep jellyfish, create pre-Edison incandescent lighting, spy via the internet, and make a go-anywhere digital message board! All this and much, much more, in MAKE Volume 27.
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