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!
If I were forced to pick only one personal favorite of all the cool stuff I’ve blogged about while working for Make: Online, it would probably be Mark Ho’s original Zoho Artform figure. This is his latest version, made mostly from aluminum and available in ten anodized colors. I have no idea what they cost, and I’m sure I don’t really want to know, but I’d love to see more machinists following in Mark’s footsteps and making pure “machined art.”
Matthew Reyes sent word that the RocketMavericks launch event on Saturday in Nevada’s Black Rock desert was a resounding success. Traveling 28K feet aboard James Dougherty’s Intimidator-5 rocket was a payload consisting of a Nexus One/Arduino SmallSat. Matthew and his cohorts Chris Boshuizen & Will Marshall are championing the use of smartphone components to lower the cost of deploying a satellite and expect it to become even more affordable with every revision.
The ARM powered Motorola Droid controlled LEGO Mindstorms NXT robot called MultiCuber 777 solves a 7x7x7 V-CUBE 7 in 38 minutes 54 seconds.
Agnewgraph I is a device that traces Spirograph curves (technically, hypotrochoids). Unlike other systems that compute and plot hypotrochoids mathematically, Agnewgraph I operates a physical Spirograph much as a human being does. In order to do so, Agnewgraph I contains two electromechanical subsystems–a force-sensing pen and a pen transport mechanism–plus a Parallax Propeller chip as […]
I love how the platform at the top of this robot always stays level. Nicely done, guys! Delta Robot using Wii and Arduino
Dr Petar Kormushev and Dr Sylvain Calinon from the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) have developed a robot learning to flip pancakes. The skill is first demonstrated through kinesthetic teaching, where the user grasps and moves the robot to provide an initial example of flipping the pancake. During demonstration, the robot is gravity-compensated to move […]
Personally, I find the mark of a really gifted Lego artist is that his or her work makes you look twice and say, “Wait, that’s made out of Lego?” Renowned English builder Peter Reid (aka Flickr user legoloverman) consistently achieves that effect, for me, by obsessively permutating all those little Lego odds and ends that aren’t shaped like conventional bricks or plates at all–minifig arms, hands, and tools; Technic elements; pneumatic hose connectors; etc. These arms are part of a recent “assembly line” diorama of a future factory assembling his iconic “Turtle” robots. [via The Brothers Brick]
