Trossen Robotics Blog » Fun Stuff

Just in time for Halloween!

Andrew — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:42:15 +0000

Forum member WGhost9 has the right idea; build a robotic spider to pass out candy at Halloween. Creeper2 looks like a cousin of the Phoenix Hexapod, but a bit bigger and with more powerful HS-5645MG servos! Definitely a cool way to scare some kids for Halloween. /devilishgrin

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Fun Robot Gear!

Andrew — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:25:35 +0000

We’ve been asked for awhile to make the ‘I Build Robots!’ T-Shirts (we sport them at Robogames and various tradeshows) available for purchase. Well, we finally got off our lazy butts and made it happen. Our Fun Robot Stuff section is a bit barren right now, but we’ll be filling it with cool robot gear and merchandise in the near future.

Did I mention we have Robot Floor Mats too? Very bright, very retro! Oh and ‘I Build Robots!’ stickers for good measure.

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Okay, This Is Just Rude

Andrew — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:43:15 +0000

I mean, he didn’t even wash his hands. Robots are so insensitive to human mysophobia.

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Can You Smell What Lynxmotion Is Cooking?

Andrew — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:59:56 +0000

Our good friends over at Lynxmotion have been a force to be reckoned with for well over a decade in the robotics industry; producing some truly inspiring and amazing robots over the years. My first ‘real’ robot was a Lynxmotion Hexapod 1 (the 3 servo variety) that I picked up back in 1997, and their product lines were one of the driving forces that got me addicted to robotics.

Well, they’ve impressed me yet again; Lynxmotion owner Jim and his son James, being robot enthusiasts and likewise fans of the Mechwarrior franchise, were intrigued with the Mech Warfare competition. Specifically they loved the biped aspect of it and so they set out to create a low cost competitive platform for Mech Warfare, and succeeded. Nicknamed ‘Hunchback’ and based around their BRAT biped platform, this is turning out to be one of the lowest cost and straight forward platforms for the competition. Currently there is a work-in-progress tutorial showing the build and code, and it looks like we have a very high chance of being treated to a complete kit allowing you to build your very own. If you’re interested in seeing how it progressed from prototype to near final revision, check out the project thread over on the Lynxmotion forums. Check out the following video of the Hunchback in action!

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Tour of Sparkfun’s Offices

Andrew — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:12:45 +0000

As I’m not currently allowed within 300 feet of their premises due to a misunderstanding (My costume and intentions were good, I swear.), this photo tour found over at Keith’s Electronic Blog gives us a nice sneak peak into the Sparkfun offices. I’ve openly expressed my (unwanted) love for Sparkfun in the past; these guys are my heroes and have become what Radioshack used to be and could have been. Definitely worth taking a look, after checking out this neat little write-up I immediately emailed my boss asking why Sparkfun had a limo while we were left lame and limo-less. Sadly, he said it wasn’t going to happen.

I can only assume the silver tentacles shown in this picture are some sort of electronic mind control device for the Sparkfun army.

And if you don’t know who Sparkfun is, throw your Geek Card in the trash right this instant.

Via Keith’s Electronic Blog

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This Thing Twinges My Geek-DAR Something Fierce

Andrew — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:29:33 +0000

The creator doesn’t have a name for it past “Little Walking Robot”, but I could think of a few words to describe it: Awesome, sexy, and umm, Awesome.

No but really, thing thing is a marvel of aesthetic design and function. Has a Steampunk meets “Dragoon from Starcraft” look to it. The inventor of this beauty has a well written blog detailing his progress and some of the problems he ran into along the way, as well as a Flickr photo set. This bot is all custom built from a mix of hand-built parts, as well as some waterjet steel frame components from our friends at Big Blue Saw.

Check the video below for the bot in action, big thanks to Big Blue Saw for the scoop.

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