Homemade coffee-balloon gripper easily picks up small objects
In this video, Steve Norris of Norris Labs presents his low-cost implementation of Cornell’s jamming-skin-enabled balloon gripper using a Handi-Vac as a vacuum source. [via BotJunkie]
Robotics
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!
Crabfu in Gakken magazine
Congrats to MAKE contributor I-Wei Huang, aka Crabfu, for his inclusion in the latest Gakken kit magazine. He’s especially thrilled because the kit is a model of Theo Jansen’s wind-powered Strandbeest kinetic sculpture and I-Wei is a big fan of Theo’s. In fact, he’s the one who turned us on to this amazing Dutch artist. […]
Shocking jockey robots
Here’s another “news from the future”… …Dubai police have confirmed they uncovered a gang of dealers who were selling electric stun gun kits, for up to £5,000, across the region. These were then being fitted inside the robot jockeys… The electric shocks could be administered by remote control to encourage the camel to run faster. […]
Robotic knifefish uses one fin to travel in all directions
Northwestern University professor Malcolm MacIver’s GhostBot is a robotic fish that can swim forward, backward, and vertically using its incredible ribbon-like fin. Ghostbot’s locomotion is inspired by a knifefish in MacIver’s aquarium, which a colleague observed making an unexpected, vertical movement. Further observations revealed that while the fish only uses one traveling wave along the […]
Create Teeny Tiny Solar Insect Robots
One of the great things about these little bots is that you can make them from scavenged materials. Use parts from broken electronics and bring them back to life as little robots!
Twitchie Scorpion
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. 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. You can buy the Twitchie Robot Kit in the Maker Shed:
http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKTET2
Music is “At the Crack of Noon” by Shuutobi, http://shuutobi.com
A get well gift for robots
A few weeks ago I made this get well gift for a good friend of mine, Gareth Branwyn. I took a few pictures, and a quick video, just to document it prior to shipping it off to him. I wasn’t sure if I should post about it, but then I talked with him today and he asked me to post it up on MAKE. So here it is! I hope you all like it as much as I liked making it.
