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
Archive for the ‘Hack / DIY Stuff’ Category
Just in time for Halloween!
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009arbotiX Robocontroller Now Available for Pre-Order!
Monday, October 5th, 2009We’re officially launching this much anticipated new Robocontroller tomorrow, but we figured we would give our faithful blog readers a chance at one before we do a main page announcement.
The arbotiX Robocontroller, an advanced 3rd party Bioloid controller, is now in stock and ready to be sold! We still have some additional information to add to the page, as well as a new ISP programmer we picked up… but for those of you wanting to get the ball rolling, check it out and pick one up while supplies last! Our initial stock of these is limited, so get em while they’re hot!
Matt Trossen, Hagetaka, and Roboard Featured in Make Magazine
Monday, September 21st, 2009This month’s Make Magazine (Issue 19) is the yearly Robotics Hobbyist special, and features my boss Matt Trossen once again stealing all of my glory and talking about his take on the current state of hobby robotics. That is okay however, and I’m prepared to take it with stride because anyone reading this blog knows I’m the true brains behind this operation. Not only that, but I’m also better looking (it’s the beard) and I embrace an air of dignity and modesty.
Speaking of my dashing good looks and superior mental prowess; Make also featured my currently shelved and ego-crippling project Hagetaka. Rest assured; my wife and 2 year old have picked up 2nd jobs to fund this project further and it will return with even stronger servos and bigger guns, ready to assist me in my plan for world domin- err, winning Mech Warfare.
Last but not least, Make Magazine readers got a quick and to the point review of the Roboard, the first full featured Robotics Computer on the market.
But seriously, be sure to pick up a copy as the entire issue is full of fun projects and robotic tidbits sure to appeal to your average robot-geek. And like Christmas, it only comes once a year!
Loki – Homemade Robot Looks Amazing
Friday, September 18th, 2009I’m not at all exaggerating; Loki, a 4 foot tall 40lb ‘Domestic Style’ robot looks far better than anything I have seen produced for commercial sales.
Beautiful aesthetics aside, functionally it is one of the most impressive and polished PC based robots I’ve ever seen as well; custom software that handles object recognition, mapping and navigation, as well as voice commands, just to name a few. If all of that wasn’t impressive enough, creator Dave Shinsel has the schematics, documentation and even source code available on his site! Definitely check out Dave’s entire site, he has an impressive body of work, and his Youtube Page has some very cool videos demonstrating Loki in action.
Can You Smell What Lynxmotion Is Cooking?
Friday, September 11th, 2009Our 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!
arbotiX – Advanced Robocontroller for the Bioloid System
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009We’re good friends with the folks over at Vanadium Labs; some very talented people who have been in the robotics game for quite awhile but have just now established their official company. This is great news for the robotics community however, as they have some pretty amazing products on the horizon. One product in particular is the new arbotiX Robocontroller, an advanced Open Source microcontroller tailored for the Bioloid system and AX-12+ servos.
The arbotiX robocontroller is an advanced control solution for small-to-medium size robots. It incorporates a powerful AVR microcontroller, XBEE wireless radio, dual motor drivers, and 3-pin servo-style headers for IO.
The arbotiX robocontroller is specifically designed to control robots built using Bioloid servos, although it is also a very high-end solution for powerful rovers. It is not intended to be a drop-in replacement for a CM-5, rather it is intended as a high level development tool for building more sophisticated robots.
So what we have here is an Arduino IDE compatible microcontroller with a plethora of I/O, plug and play capable with AX-12 servos, and an Xbee Wireless Link to your PC. It’s also worth mentioning that this was the controller used in the robot that won Year 1 of Mech Warfare, Issydunyet. For more information on the controller check out the Vanadium Labs website.
Trossen Robotics will be exclusively distributing this exciting and powerful new Robocontroller with an estimated release date of Mid-October 2009. We’ll have more details in the near future, stay tuned!
Want to see the arbotiX in action? Here is a quick video showing a basic Inverse Kinematics demonstration on Issydunyet!
Tour of Sparkfun’s Offices
Thursday, August 27th, 2009As 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.
This Thing Twinges My Geek-DAR Something Fierce
Monday, August 24th, 2009
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.
Some TRC Projects to keep an eye on!
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009We’re rather lucky that we have such a large group of talented individuals in our community who are willing to share their progress and projects! A few recent projects have caught my eye so I wanted to share the wealth; some pure robotic goodness to be had here.
First up we have the infamous Zenta’s quadrapod robot project: Felix! Zenta has recently picked this project back up and teased us with a quick video of the bot walking. You can certainly see its Big Dog inspired walking gait and design.
WGhost9 is impressing us all with the professional machining skills displayed in his latest project, Beetlejuice. This is a hybrid hexapod with wheels on each end actuator, coupled with some fantastic craftsmanship on the shell that gives it a great aesthetic. It’s still a work in progress, but he is detailing each step he is taking in the project, definitely something to keep an eye on.
And last but not least, newcomer Upgrayd is detailing his quadrapod Mech build, “Second Amendment“. He is also posting as the project progresses, so the readers get a chance to see the thought process and inevitable mistakes that come along with any big robotics project. Can’t wait to see this bot at next year’s Mech Warfare!
iPhone controlled Mech?
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009After Year 1 of Mech Warfare, the competitors are busy working away to improve their bots, control scheme, weapons, etc… so it was only a matter of time before we would see someone adapting an iPhone to control their mech. Seeing as though the iPhone can be used for anything (Defibbing people, saving kittens from trees, backup generator for your house, etc), remotely controlling walking combat robots was the next logical step.
Builder Mannyr7 and his mech project CLYDE suffered some last minute setbacks that prevented him from competing at Year 1 (though he did show up to cheer us on and impress us with his professional airsoft gun setup), however he has taken the time to write up a tutorial and shoot a video on his latest iPhone control scheme. Definitely check it out, as its applicable to a variety of robots!
