Fire-breathing robot dragon
Saphira, the mechanical fire-breathing dragon, was a huge hit at the Faire. She is the creation of high school students Alex Jacobson and Sam DeRose of Marin, CA, whose combined ages are less than 30.
Robotics
Making a robot can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Itโs the perfect combination of creativity, engineering and problem solving. However, if youโre just getting started in robotics, it can also be overwhelming. To make things easier for those who are just starting out, weโve 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!
LittleDog robot learns how to traverse rough terrain
LittleDog, the cool, creepily agile robot that Gareth posted about in 2007, has received an upgrade. This is the more advanced version of this robot, created by the University of Southern California. The robot is completely autonomous and trained by machine learning algorithms. The video is real-time, i.e., not sped up. [via The NXTstep]
ArduIMU quadcopter drone
Packed with infrared and ultrasonic sensors, the ArduIMU Quadcopter from maker Jose Julio can hover in place and avoid objects.
An iris by any other name?
Right, so, here’s a question for the nomenclaturally aware mechanical engineers in the audience. Last weekend, I was exposed to two equally awesome objects that include radially-opening apertures that I call “irises.” The first, to left, is Alan Rorie’s Aperture Lamp, which includes an adjustable opening to control the amount of light it emits. The […]
CRT-equipped robot
David “daqq” Gustafik from Bratislava, Slovakia wrote in with this excellent robot. It uses mostly harvested parts, including old motors pulled from an East German printer. But the centerpiece of the design is a tiny monochrome CRT. The CRT tube itself is a Tungsram DG7-123. It’s an old CRT, meant primarily for scopes. It’s got […]
Maker Faire Arduino project: MintyBot prototype
This is the prototype of MintyBot, an Arduino robotics platform I’ve been working on. I’ll be doing show-and-tell in the Maker Shed Arduino area at this Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23.
“Armored Stealth” Robotagami model from Dustin Wallace
Dustin Wallace, whose bottle-opener ring for bartenders I blogged recently, has released the third figure in his series of fold-up water-jet-cut sci-fi “Robotagami” models. You can fold it yourself, or he’ll fold it for you. [Thanks, Dustin!]
