Robot Workshop

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Guacamole Robot Madness

Guacamole Robot Madness

Join Estefannie and Ian on a wild ride with delicious results

Me and My Robot: Odd Jayy Interview

Me and My Robot: Odd Jayy Interview

Odd Jayy wanted a friend so he built a robot — and in doing so, he discovered his community.

A Monkey Companion Bot Named Dexter

A Monkey Companion Bot Named Dexter

Build a fun robot monkey you can customize, wear with you on adventures, or use as an avatar

Dr. Squiggles: An AI Rhythm Robot

Dr. Squiggles: An AI Rhythm Robot

Build a smart octopus drumbot that listens, learns, and plays along with you

Hello DrinkBot!

Hello DrinkBot!

Use a Raspberry Pi to build the “Hello World” of cocktail robotics

Glow-In-The-Dark Robot Plot Clock

Glow-In-The-Dark Robot Plot Clock

Build a cute robot arm to draw the current time in luminescent numerals

From The Archive: Download and Print The MEGA MAKEY ROBOT

From The Archive: Download and Print The MEGA MAKEY ROBOT

re-releasing the files, this time on thingiverse.

Are Robots the Future of the Tattoo Industry?

Are Robots the Future of the Tattoo Industry?

Will the future of tattoos be dominated by robots?

Build Modular Animal Robots with the Animech Project

Build Modular Animal Robots with the Animech Project

For someone without a background or education in engineering and electronics, robotics can be a daunting field. That’s why Jeffrey Moore of The Animech Project is developing robotics kits that help teach those skills in a fun and accessible way. The Animech Project, on display at this year’s Maker Faire Bay Area, is creating robotics kits […]

Simone Giertz Joins “Tested,” Builds Popcorn Feeding Helmet

Simone Giertz Joins “Tested,” Builds Popcorn Feeding Helmet

Crappy robot maker, techno-humorist, and all-around awesome human Simone Giertz builds a popcorn helmet with Adam Savage.

The Intensely Calming Vibrations of Gamelatron

The Intensely Calming Vibrations of Gamelatron

This robotic display mixes traditional gamelans with modern robotics. The result, the Gamelatron, it is entrancing and intense.

Wobblebots Walk Without Motors or Electronics

Wobblebots Walk Without Motors or Electronics

Wobblebots are simple robots that can walk down an incline using only potential energy.

Giant Fog-Breathing Robotic Crow Shoots Lasers

Giant Fog-Breathing Robotic Crow Shoots Lasers

Artist David Cranmer's "Stakcgrox" is a 3.5 meter tall robotic crow with a rotating head and glowing eyes that shoot lasers.

3D Printed Giant Miniature Walking Robot Tank

If you are a fan of incredibly detailed, operational, hand-built creations, you might want to check this out. Codename Colossus is a walking robot tank created by Michael Sng, an artist and graphic designer from Singapore. Sng entered the toy realm as a lead designer for Singapore-based Stikfas Ltd., creating articulating action figure kits that ultimately gained […]

Salvius: A Humanoid Robot Born from a Junkyard

Salvius: A Humanoid Robot Born from a Junkyard

These days you can find and buy your very own robot from any number of companies (ROBOTIS, KumoTek, Honda, etc.). However, they can cost in excess of $12,000 or more and typically rely on specialized software to function. Back when I was a kid, 20 years ago, my friends and I would try to build our own […]

Building a Robot Arm Part 4: Adding Control with an Arduino

Building a Robot Arm Part 4: Adding Control with an Arduino

This project is part 4 in the building a robot arm tutorial. In the first part I show how to design the arm, the second part shows how to design the base, and the third shows how to design the mount. After all of the Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) and 3D modeling in my past articles on […]

Building a Robot Arm Part 3: Designing the Mount Section

Building a Robot Arm Part 3: Designing the Mount Section

This project is part 3 in the building a robot arm tutorial. In the first part I show how to design the arm and the second part shows how to design the base. Part four will show how to add control with an Arduino. So far in designing our robot arm we have designed and printed the base and the […]

Over the Top: A Brief History of 21st Century BattleMechs

Over the Top: A Brief History of 21st Century BattleMechs

When historians of the future look back on the history of giant mechanized robot warriors, they'll say it all started with BattleBots.

InMoov Provides Everything from Prosthetics to Cocktails Around the World

InMoov Provides Everything from Prosthetics to Cocktails Around the World

A global community is contributing expertise to the InMoov Project

Building a Robot Arm Part 1: Designing the Arm with CAD Software

Building a Robot Arm Part 1: Designing the Arm with CAD Software

Exploring what is possible with robots and how to design a robot arm.

From the Magazine: InMoov, the Life-Size Humanoid Robot You Can Print at Home

From the Magazine: InMoov, the Life-Size Humanoid Robot You Can Print at Home

How InMoov, the open-source, 3D-printed humanoid robot was born.

Agile Hexapod Sees with Market’s Smallest, Lowest Cost LIDAR

Agile Hexapod Sees with Market’s Smallest, Lowest Cost LIDAR

At the Bay Area Maker Faire, we saw one of the coolest autonomous robots ever: Rhoeby, a navigation-capable hexapod. While the robot is built from a customized version of a standard ROBOTIS Bioloid “spider” kit, the real magic behind Rhoeby is the LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) system. LIDAR systems work in a similar fashion to radar. The system sends […]

Why It’s so Hard to Make Humanoid Robots

Why It’s so Hard to Make Humanoid Robots

Building humanoid robots is hard. It may be surprising, but humans have upwards of 21 senses to master, three of which — balance, proprioception (knowing where your body parts are in relation to each other), and kinesthetic sense (knowing how to move those body parts in relation to each other) — are integral for moving […]

Robot Battles Are Coming to Your Living Room

Robot Battles Are Coming to Your Living Room

Ever wanted your own personal BattleBot competition? Well, you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what the Bot Bash Party service delivers. When you book a party, one of their seasoned robot battle professionals will bring an arena and four remote-controlled battle robots straight to your door. You can duke it out with your friends while […]

Rockstar Robots: Dynamic Robotics Lab’s ATRIAS

Rockstar Robots: Dynamic Robotics Lab’s ATRIAS

Walking is something that the able-bodied take for granted on a daily basis, however for robots it’s one of the greatest challenges to overcome. Researchers from Oregon State University’s Dynamic Robotics Lab have taken up that challenge with their ATRIAS (Assume This Robot Is A Sphere) robot. The robot was designed with the end-goal of navigating […]

Build a Simple Robot with a Tensegrity Structure

Build a Simple Robot with a Tensegrity Structure

Build this surprisingly resilient structure, then make it move. From our new book, Making Simple Robots.

Rockstar Robots: Festo’s SmartBird

Rockstar Robots: Festo’s SmartBird

Rockstar Robots make up the cream of the crop in the world of robotics. These are the bots that will turn heads with just their name being uttered. Even those who don’t stay on top of who’s making what should recognize a famous robot or two when they see it. For the month of May, […]

Rockstar Robots: Festo’s Flying AirPenguin

Rockstar Robots: Festo’s Flying AirPenguin

Rockstar Robots make up the cream of the crop in the world of robotics. These are the bots that will turn heads with just their name being uttered. Even those who don’t stay on top of who’s making what should recognize a famous robot or two when they see it. For the month of May, […]

These Little Robots Will Carry Away Your Car

These Little Robots Will Carry Away Your Car

Sci-fi movies imagine worlds where robots rebel against their creators and try to take over, but in reality there have been several studies and inventions that use robotics to help out humans in areas such as hospitals and schools. One European team of scientists has a created a team of robots that can get you […]

Rockstar Robots: Festo’s Giant Floating Jellyfish Bots

Rockstar Robots: Festo’s Giant Floating Jellyfish Bots

Rockstar Robots make up the cream of the crop in the world of robotics. These are the bots that will turn heads with just their name being uttered. Even those who don’t stay on top of who’s making what should recognize a famous robot or two when they see it. For the month of May, […]

Rockstar Robots: Boston Dynamics’ Crazy-Legged RHex

Rockstar Robots: Boston Dynamics’ Crazy-Legged RHex

Rockstar Robots make up the cream of the crop in the world of robotics. These are the bots that will turn heads with just their name being uttered. Even those who don’t stay on top of who’s making what should recognize a famous robot or two when they see it. For the month of May, […]

Rockstar Robots: NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover

Rockstar Robots: NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover

Rockstar Robots make up the cream of the crop in the world of robotics. These are the bots that will turn heads with just their name being uttered. Even those who don’t stay on top of who’s making what should recognize a famous robot or two when they see it. For the month of May, […]

Review: Giant Hexbugs are Unique R/C Robots

Review: Giant Hexbugs are Unique R/C Robots

This collaboration between Hexbug and Vex robotics sits squarely at the intersection between toys and robots. These are surprisingly large radio controlled beasts that, at the flip of a switch, become autonomous. With a price tag ranging from $50 to $90 depending on which model you get, they are certainly cheaper than most other robotics you’d […]

Minecraft Activated Arduino Alarm

Minecraft Activated Arduino Alarm

You’ve amassed a small fortune in diamonds, wood, coal, iron, food, and the other resources you need. You’ve spent hours building the perfect Minecraft fortress to stockpile your goods. But who will watch your stash while you’re on another server? In this project guide, you’ll learn to use Arduino coding on a tiny Spark Core […]

Adorable Robot Built Around a Credit Card Body

Adorable Robot Built Around a Credit Card Body

If you’re worried about your credit card “walking off,” now there’s another explanation than simple theft. If you’re the creator of this credit card robot, it can literally walk off by itself. On the other hand, it looks like it would be very hard to use in a reader, so that might be a deterrent […]

Rockstar Robots: Honda’s Asimo

Rockstar Robots: Honda’s Asimo

Rockstar Robots make up the cream of the crop in the world of robotics. These are the bots that will turn heads with just their name being uttered. Even those who don’t stay on top of who’s making what should recognize a famous robot or two when they see it. For the month of May, […]

Hinged Laser-Cut Dash Robots

Hinged Laser-Cut Dash Robots

Once you get exposure to a laser cutter, you’re hooked. It’s an amazing tool for precise cuts, but creating hinges is not a strength. The hinges on the Dash Robot Kit are what caught my eye. The frame of the robot takes shape instantly along hinges from a flat piece of laser cut plastic. The magic which […]

The Next Generation of Mirobots

The Next Generation of Mirobots

We talk to Ben Pirt, the creator of Mirobot, about the new version of his robot and the way he's using Kickstarter as part of his development of the bot.

Electric ATVs Are Coming to Farms Near You

Electric ATVs Are Coming to Farms Near You

Crouching in the corner at MakerCon is this futuristic looking utility vehicle named Farmdogg. This electric all terrain vehicle aims to solve many problems that you find in current systems used by farms, specifically targeting the “4 wheeler” that we all know so well. The typical ATV or 4 wheeler right now has three big […]

Combat Concepting with Cardboard

Combat Concepting with Cardboard

My robotics team refers to our design method as “C.A.D.,” nerd code for Cardboard-Aided Design

To Build a Better Robot, Build a Better Team

To Build a Better Robot, Build a Better Team

In the month of April, robotics teams participate in competitions such as FIRST in St. Louis and Vex in Anaheim. I met Kate Azar last summer and heard her talk enthusiastically about FIRST robotics. While her experience was positive, she realized that young women struggle to gain respect as competitors and team members. I asked […]

Round 2 – Fight!

Round 2 – Fight!

BattleBots is coming back to TV — but fighting robots never really went away

Biorobotics: Hack a Venus Flytrap for Remote Control

Biorobotics: Hack a Venus Flytrap for Remote Control

Explore biorobotics — use an Arduino to create a carnivorous plant that bites on command!

Patent for Sphero

Sphero Patent Suggests Magnetic Head for BB-8 Droid

A 2014 patent submitted by employees of Sphero details a Sphero-like device working with a “magnetically coupled accessory.” The device works by using a magnetic tip on the existing upward-facing arm within the Sphero, allowing it to create a temporary attachment to a magnetic half-dome that slides along its Teflon-coated surface. The patent is of […]

Hollywood Is Courting Jimmy the Robot

Hollywood Is Courting Jimmy the Robot

According to a piece in Variety, Warner Brothers has optioned the film rights for the Make: Books title 21st Century Robot by Brian David Johnson. Johnson is Intel’s futurist and has created a unique development strategy for robotics built around Jimmy, the robot who’s the star of his book. It will be interesting to see […]

A Robot Sculpture, Made By A Robot

A Robot Sculpture, Made By A Robot

The first thing that greets you as you come to the Saint-Malo faire is a huge stone statue of Makey. What most people don't find out till later is that this statue of a robot was originally carved by a robot.

Robot Block Party Returns to Providence, RI

Robot Block Party Returns to Providence, RI

On April 11, 2015, members of the Make: books team will be participating in the Rhode Island Robot Block Party in Providence, RI. We’ll be showing off projects from some of our recent and soon-to-be-published books. We’ll have hands-on interactive projects you can play with, including some things from our upcoming Getting Started with littleBits […]

We Love This Guy: Chinese Farmer Builds Robot Horse From Scrap

We Love This Guy: Chinese Farmer Builds Robot Horse From Scrap

  Inventors come up with some unusual creations to help better their worlds and Su Daocheng of China’s Hubei Province is certainly one of them. The inventor designed the robotic horse to replace the real thing for plowing fields, which was inspired by military strategist Zhuge Liang’s ‘wooden ox and gliding horse’ transportation device. Su’s […]

Print This Adorable Two-Wheeled, Self-Balancing Robot

Print This Adorable Two-Wheeled, Self-Balancing Robot

We have seen a lot of great self-balancing robots over the past few years, but few of them have the same level of finish as the new EddiePlus. EddiePlus is an Intel Edison powered (get it Eddie/Edison) 3D printable robot. Eddie features rotary encoders on his wheels, a backpack to hold all of his electronics, […]

Orbotix’s Ollie Rolls into the Maker Shed

Orbotix’s Ollie Rolls into the Maker Shed

Orbotix’s popular Sphero rolling robot has a new friend. Ollie was launched last fall and we’re happy to now have it in the Shed. You may be wondering what the differences are between Sphero and Ollie. Let’s take a closer look. The first-of-it’s-kind Sphero trumped many of the Bluetooth-enabled robots out there, taking gaming and action to a new […]

World’s Smallest Line-Following Robot

World’s Smallest Line-Following Robot

Fabricate an incredibly small and capable vibrobot using a handful of components.

I’ll See Your Barbot and Raise You a Cruise Ship

I’ll See Your Barbot and Raise You a Cruise Ship

B1-0 and N1-C are the world's first robotic bartenders on a cruise ship. Watch them "makr shakr" your drink at sea!

21st Century Robot: The Manifesto

Note: This is an excerpt of Brian David Johnson’s new book, 21st Century Robot, an audacious experiment in storytelling that weaves sci-fi stories into a real-life nonfiction narrative featuring several worldwide adventures, a serious dose of 3D printing, plenty of open source technology, the efforts of a first grade class, and a socially precocious robot […]

Ready, Set, Joust! Win a Robotics Starter Kit from Make: and RadioShack

Ready, Set, Joust! Win a Robotics Starter Kit from Make: and RadioShack

Now is your chance to win a Make: it Robotics Starter Kit! Read more to learn how.

A Hidden Robot Scarf

A Hidden Robot Scarf

As an engineer I like robots. OK, sometimes I hate don’t like them when they’re misbehaving. Either way, I can say for sure that I love the idea of robots that we saw in, say, the Jetsons. They were envisioned as pleasant companions that were there to serve us. In fact, if that kind of […]

From The Gift Guide: The Cutest Intro To Robots Ever

From The Gift Guide: The Cutest Intro To Robots Ever

If you’ve always wanted to get into robotics but found the pricing to be prohibitive, this adorable little kit is exactly what you need. Heck, even if you’ve got no interest in robotics whatsoever, you’d find this thing enjoyable as it scurries around bumping into things and backing away to find another route. While the […]

Black Girls CODE Bringing Robots to Berkeley

Black Girls CODE Bringing Robots to Berkeley

Black Girls CODE is hosting their first Robot Expo at UC Berkeley this December.

  • Posted by | November 26th, 2014 8:09 AM
Kathy Ceceri - Making Simple Robots

Make a Robotic Balloon Muscle

Build a Robotic Balloon Muscle from the book "Making Simple Robots: Exploring Cutting-Edge Robotics with Everyday Stuff" by Kathy Ceceri, published by Maker Media.

Teaching kids to program with wooden blocks

Teaching kids to program with wooden blocks

How do you teach programming to children with no prior programming experience? How do you teach programming to children that can yet read or write?

Building a hackable robotic arm

Building a hackable robotic arm

The meArm is a small, hackable, robotic arm designed from the ground up to be low cost and easy to use.

Flashback: Make a Robot Halloween Costume

Flashback: Make a Robot Halloween Costume

I know a little girl who has wanted to be a robot for as long as she can remember- a dancing robot, to be precise. The best thing about being a kid is letting your imagination run wild. The best thing about being a grown-up is being able to make a child's dreams come to life. Introducing the BoogieBot 5000, the best robot Halloween costume ever.

Grant Imahara’s Ten Favorite Robot Building Blocks

Grant Imahara’s Ten Favorite Robot Building Blocks

When I think about all my builds over the years, I find there are a few components I use over and over again — kind of like my own personal Lego set.

Build a Lawnbot 400

Build a Lawnbot 400

I have always hated mowing the lawn. I was the guy who only mowed when the grass got to be 6″ taller than the neighbors’ lawns — not because I don’t like my neighbors, but because mowing was such a pain. After being hit by one too many rocks, I decided I no longer wanted […]

  • Posted by | December 18th, 2012 10:48 PM
Yellow Drum Machine

Yellow Drum Machine

Build a funky little free-range drumbot that roams, makes beats, and samples.

“Chopsticks” the Spider Robot

“Chopsticks” the Spider Robot

  Multi-limbed robots such as hexapods can be very complex and expensive. This is a relatively cheap and simple 8-legged robot made with chopsticks, Polymorph and an Arduino-compatible controller. Most of the servos cost under $8 if you shop around. I have seen the 12Kg/cm servos for as little as $13 at HobbyKing. The construction […]

  • Posted by | December 18th, 2012 10:42 PM
My Robot, Makey

My Robot, Makey

Makey is an autonomous robot programmed to follow objects around and avoid obstacles. It has a fully enclosed chassis and uses tank steering.

  • Posted by | December 18th, 2012 9:48 PM
Beetlebots

Beetlebots

Ultra-simple bugbot navigates with feelers and switches.

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