Trossen Robotics Blog » Misc

SMALdog, Sorta Maybe Almost Littledog

Andrew — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:17:16 +0000

If this robot looks vaguely familiar, it’s because it is inspired by Boston Dynamic’s LittleDog.

SMALdog, or Sorta Maybe Almost LittleDog, is Mike Ferguson’s (creator of the Arbotix Robocontroller) latest addition to his AX-12+ based quadrapod robot lineup.

Rather than utilizing the more common ‘lizard-style’ leg configuration, SMALdog has a more ‘mammal-style’ leg configuration that provides some interesting walking gait variations. The biggest difference is even with very little gait programming done so far, it’s already faster than the award winning Issydunnyet quadrapod. There is still a lot of work to be done on refining the walking gait, and the turning gait is barely functional, but this platform certainly shows promise. Check out Mike’s thread for more information and updates!

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Black Friday through Cyber Monday at Trossen Robotics

Alex — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:00:28 +0000

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Tutorial Contest Winners Announced!

Andrew — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:42:07 +0000

In March we announced that our contest would go in a different direction this time and with even bigger prizes:

This round is going to be a Tutorial Contest , and is quite a bit different from our previous contests. Think of it as an ‘Instructables meets How Stuff Works’ style contest: We want you to submit entries in the form of a detailed step by step ‘How-To’ or Informative Tutorials.

We had a good amount of solid entries in our first Tutorial Contest so picking our winners was a not an easy ordeal. Our entries covered many different topics, from electrical and soldering basics to more advanced robotics navigation tutorials. We highly suggest that you take a look at our Tutorials Section, there is a lot to be learned and if you have knowledge to share we highly encourage it.

Without further ado, here are our winners!

3rd Place goes to Jes1510!

Jes1510 submitted some ‘back to the basics’ tutorials which were well documented, easy to read through, and really helpful for the beginning robot hobbyist! He’ll be walking away with an Ollo Bug Kit!

Tutorials:

2nd Place goes to Pi Robot!

Pi Robot amazed us with two extremely detailed, professional tutorials that cover some very advanced robotics applications by breaking it down into more digestible bite sized pieces. Both are excellent pieces of literature, definitely worth a read through! Pi Robot will be walking away with a Bioloid Beginner Kit for his contributions!

Tutorials:

1st Place goes to lnxfergy!

lnxfergy was determined to win 1st prize! He submitted awesome tutorial after awesome tutorial covering some pretty major aspects of robotics. All of these tutorials are very helpful for beginners and even more advanced builders can take something from them. From practical navigation systems to controlling AX-12 servos, lnxfergy demonstrated an amazing grasp of current hobby robotics technology, and was kind enough to share that knowledge with us. For his massive effort, he will be awarded with a Bioloid Comprehensive Kit!

Tutorials:

So You Want To Build A Robot?
An Introduction to Interrupts
Choosing Sensors for Your Robot
Materials for your Robot
Introduction to Encoders
Power Supply Basics
XBEE Basics
AVR Basics
An Introduction to Mapping and Localization
Controlling AX-12 Servos
Following a Wall

We want to thank everyone involved with our first Tutorial Contest! Determining the winners was not easy, as there were many great tutorials to browse through. Again, we highly recommend you check out our Tutorials section, as there is a lot to be learned! Stay tuned for an announcement on our next round of contests!

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Ultimate collection: 101 Awesome Robot T-Shirts

Andrew — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:32:50 +0000

Do you ever find yourself in need of exactly 101 awesome Robot T-Shirts? Your long search is over thanks to the T-Shirt Blog, HIDEYOURARMS. This is quite possibly the single most comprehensive list of robot related torso wear the internets has ever seen, so I won’t bore you with the many reasons on why it is awesome. Instead, click the picture below and enjoy!

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iPhone controlled Mech?

Andrew — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:05:42 +0000

After 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!

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Lynxmotion Robot Project Contest!

Andrew — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:39:35 +0000

Our friends over at Lynxmotion are hosting their first ever Project Contest! Do you have an awesomely customized Johnny 5 kit you want to show off? How about a suped-up Phoenix? Head over to the Lynxmotion forums and submit a detailed write-up of your project, complete with pictures and videos for a chance to win some very generous gift cards. Here is the official posting:

We are happy to announce our first Robot Project Contest. People have been building awesome robots from our kits and parts for 15 years. We want to do a better job of recognizing and rewarding these efforts. The contest will have two categories.

The first category can be any project that is based on a Lynxmotion robot kit. This can be anything from a Robotic Arm or Rover to a Johnny 5 or 3DOF Hexapod. We’re looking for anything that has been added or modified to improve the aesthetics or the functionality of the robot. Your take on your favorite movie robot, or your version of a Mars Rover would be cool. Submitting a stock build is not likely to draw much attention.

The second category can be anything created with our Servo Erector Set series of brackets and components. For this category we are looking for something unique, interesting and different. It must use the SES components as the primary construction material.

The entries must be posted here in this section of the forum. Even if the robot has been posted in other sections of the website. The first post is the submission, so you should edit it to keep it up to date. The entry must have quality higher resolution images and clear video as a minimum. We will also require a full write up of the parts used, the problems solved, or the inspiration for the project, etc. We need details. At the time of this writing we do not have the ability to host the images or video. You will need to find a place to host them for now. You are encouraged to post what you have as soon as possible. You will have time to edit your post to fulfill the contest requirements as you require.

The contest time frame is three months, ending on May 31st. The awards are as follows:

Kit Robot Contest
1st Place = $350.00 gift certificate
2nd Place = $200.00 gift certificate
3rd Place = $100.00 gift certificate

SES Robot Contest
1st Place = $350.00 gift certificate
2nd Place = $200.00 gift certificate
3rd Place = $100.00 gift certificate

Our own custom Pico-ITX based Johnny 5 will be cheering from the sidelines! Go get em guys!

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