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!
It’s been a while since my last build entry, mostly because the finish takes a few days to apply, and yet another few days to fully cure. I’m just happy it’s done! I want to start building…and printing!
I planned on writing an entry about burning bootloaders & updating the firmware, but I just realized my kit comes all ready to go! Yea! If you are making you own boards from scratch, or purchased a non-assembled kit, check out these detailed instructions on burning bootloaders and updating firmware before going any further.
Have too many Roombas and don’t know what to do with them? Instead of letting your cats ride on them or taking pictures of how they work, why not make a real-life Pac-Man game? Thats what a group of enterprising engineers from Colorado State University did with Roomba Pac-Man. In the game, a human controls […]
Parallax has a new MCU module optimized for robotics that looks pretty cool. The Propeller Robot Control Board provides all the necessary base circuits needed to build a very powerful mid-size robotics platform. The control board has an on-board USB serial interface to facilitate programming and communication with the Propeller chip. A dual switching supply […]
It’s time to unbox the Cupcake CNC and see what’s inside.
A reader just sent me a link to servodatabase.com, which lists RC servo specifications and provides user reviews, a comparison engine, and various forms of sorting. Looks like a very good resource. [Thanks, Phil!]
Zach Hoeken wrote up a nice piece about the design of the MakerBot Frostruder MK2, currently in its second prototype. He talks about the challenges of designing a cheap, small device capable of computer-controlled cupcake frosting: My first experiment was with some thick, chocolate frosting that you can find in nearly any grocery store. I […]
