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!

Twitter Monkey

Twitter Monkey

Some people aren’t content with your run-of-the-mill blinking lights. Take, for instance, this Arduino-powered Twitter Monkey from maker Pete Prodoehl. He could have had his script send out an audio alert like everyone else, instead he chose to create this animatronic monkey using an Arduino and a couple of servos. Every time it sees a keyword it goes bananas, flapping its arms about like any excited monkey would do. It may not be your cup of tea if your a nervous person, but it sure does beat your average blip.

Continue Reading Adam Flaherty4
xkcd’s submarine ROV

xkcd’s submarine ROV

Renowned webcomic artist Randall Munroe built a submersible ROV starting with a commercially-available parts kit: The kit comes with a good set of underwater motors and a sensitive camera, and this summer I started modifying it to use an Arduino and joystick control, running the whole thing over Cat-5 cable (which significantly lightened the tether). […]

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan

The Mechanical Glory of the IBM Selectric Typewriter

A “whiffletree” is a mechanical digital-to-analog converter. Brilliant science-and-technology documentarian Bill Hammack, professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at the University of Illinois, has produced this fascinating video anatomy of IBM’s classic Selectric typewriter, in which a 7-bit whiffletree is employed to convert keypresses (digital) to precisely coordinated tugs (analog) on the control cables that rotate and tilt the type ball. Doubly awesome is the fact that the video features an appendix (yes, a video appendix) which focuses exclusively on the whiffletree itself, closely illustrating its operation with a simple 2-bit case.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan12
Impressive laser-cut wooden Mars rover model

Impressive laser-cut wooden Mars rover model

Back in April I blogged about the plans and kits for this and other elaborate laser-cut wooden models available from WoodMarvels.com. At the time, I snarked a bit about how all the images on their website are actually CG renderings, implying that, with models that complicated, it’d be nice to have some reassurance that somebody, somewhere, had put together a real physical version in the real physical world before giving up the green. Well, MAKE pal and dynamite CNC contractor Angus Hines sprung for a set of plans, cut the parts on his own equipment, and took these cool photos of the assembled model on red clay to suggest the Martian surface. [Thanks, Angus!]

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan