Looking for some fun microcontrolled bot builds to get started on this weekend? Here are five project ideas with full build instructions on Make: Projects, from the simple One-Hour CoasterBot to the more complex but super cool Yellow Drum Machine shown above.
In response to our Robotics theme on the site, several parents have written me to ask about entry-level robotics projects for little kids, and what’s the appropriate age of entry. Of course, the latter part of that is hard to answer. It depends very much on the child. The obvious entry point is Lego Mindstorms. But in thinking of other product lines or building sets that can scale well with age and growing technical sophistication, the Hexbug line came to mind.
Gordon McComb is helping us out on the site this month in support of the release of MAKE Volume 27, our latest robotics issue, and for our monthly Robotics theme here online. Gordon has also just release the fourth edition of his groundbreaking book, Robot Builder’s Bonanza. The first edition of this book was released in 1987 and pretty much launched the hobby robotics field. This was the book that got me into robotics, which lead me into electronics (and Forrest Mims’ book), hardware hacking, and most of my high-tech making interests.
Last year, we ran a project series and contest to design and build CoasterBots, simple autonomous, programmable robots built from dead CD media (aka “coasters”). It was a roaring success. We had a lot of participants and some truly inspired project entries. Jameco Electronics, the sponsor of the campaign, also put together an awesome parts bundle with us.
Remember Keepon, the simple, yet super-engaging little yellow dancing bot? His designers, the folks at BeatBots, have created his cousin Spazzi, the solenoid-powered dancebot, and Spazzi is one of the stars of our newest issue of MAKE, Volume 27, the Robots issue.
Somehow the screen on my digital camera got busted. Since the ill-fated, and mysterious demise of the back display, I’ve been limited to using the viewfinder. Last week, I finally got fed up with not being able to take a picture without my eye jammed into the cup. Since I use my left eye to compose, and just about every camera on the planet is designed for right-eyed people, it has never been convenient to look through a viewfinder anyway. Add eyeglasses to the mix and external screens definitely work better.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/07/circuit-skills-fiber-optics-sponsored-by-jameco-electronics.html
Not all electronic signals are communicated via electricity. By transmitting information in the form of light, we can avoid many limitations inherent to traditional wiring. And on top of all that – fiber optics are just straight-up cool!
