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!
Mark Edelman from NorCalFTC shows the competition area for a yearly teen program in robotics. At Maker Faire Bay Area 2011, student teams used their engineering and technology skills to pit their creations against one another in the final tech challenge.
A Seattle organization called Xbot Robotics held a workshop where students built robots using MicroRAX girders and NXT microcontroller bricks. I love the top photo above with the mecanum wheels; all three were built by the students. The introductory lesson for how to build a four-wheel chassis included the purpose and structure of a chassis, […]
Robert Beatty sent us these wonderful pictures of his daughters, “Lunamoth” and “Julajay,” building robots. His “maker girls,” as he calls them, have been “involved in the designing, soldering, electronics, metal fabrication, programming, and naming of the robots, and testing, with Dad guiding the way. We really enjoy it.”
Learn how to make a drifting robot car with a few cheap components and some simple code in this tutorial episode of The Latest in Hobby Robotics.
The car used in the video is a “Fast Lane RC Monster Drift 1:24″ by Maisto Tech. It’s sold in many webshops and on eBay.
The code shown in the video can be downloaded here: http://letsmakerobots.com/node/28787
Microcontroller used:
PICAXE 08M on AXE230 by Revolution Education (picaxe.com)
Ultra-Sonic Ranger used:
SRF05 by Devantech Ltd (robot-electronics.co.uk)
Tools used:
DSO nano – Pocket size oscilloscope by Seeed Studio (http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKSEEED11&Click=37845)
Simple Servo Tester by Gadget Gangster (gadgetgangster.com)
How to make your very first robot:
http://letsmakerobots.com/start
Letsmakerobots.com on twitter:
http://twitter.com/letsmakerobots
Learn how to make a drifting robot car with a few cheap components and some simple code in this tutorial episode of The Latest in Hobby Robotics.
I was psyched to finally get a chance to meet RobotGrrl at World Maker Faire. In this video from her table, she shows Chris Connor three of the bots she’s designed. I especially love that she’s already made use of the Redpark Cable for connecting Arduino with iOS via an iPad.
The latest episode of MakerBot TV is from this weekend’s Faire. As you might image, the focus in on the amazing 3D Village that we had set up there, and MakerBot’s presence at the event. They cover Spazzi, Keepon, and BreBot, and interview MakerBot/3D printing enthusiasts Tristan Juan, Forest Crossman, Luis Rodriguez, and Timmy Chao Li.
