Technology

The World’s First Solar Powered Quadcopter

Building your first quadcopter is almost a rite of passage for anyone interested in DIY drones these days, mainly due to the availability of boards like the Ardupilot making it a lot easier to get started. However seven Masters students at Queen Mary University of London just raised the bar for the competition. They built a solar powered Quadcopter, which they dubbed Solar Copter.

MAKE at RoboGames: A Discussion with Lem Fugitt about Humanoids

MAKE at RoboGames: A Discussion with Lem Fugitt about Humanoids

Humanoid robot competition is one part of RoboGames that seems to be dominated by Japanese roboticists. Lem Fugitt, who runs Robots Dreams, has been involved with the humanoid robot scene in Japan for nine years, and tends to bring a few “professional” Robo-One players with him on his annual trip to RoboGames. We spoke with him about how he got involved in the Robo-One scene and how 3D Printing has started to benefit the builders.

MAKE at RoboGames: Robot Combat

MAKE at RoboGames: Robot Combat

Despite the large number of categories of robots here at RoboGames, the resounding sounds of metal on metal and cheers from the crowd keep drawing us back to the combat arena. We were immediately surprised by the variety of locations and backgrounds these teams come from, whether it’s a High School from across the country, a local engineer working in his garage, or a robotics team from Brazil.

MAKE at RoboGames

MAKE at RoboGames

Imagine the carnage that ensues when you pit two 200+ lb. robots against each other, often with weapons that spin at around 3500 rpm. The noise level and adrenaline both run high as they bang away at each other. Intern Coordinator Sam Freeman and I are at RoboGames to witness not only the combat, but all sorts of other robotics events as well. We only got here a little while ago, but have already been fascinated by the great stuff we’ve seen.