After the incredible projects and hard time we had deciding on the winners, we needed a quick cool down from the last Trossen Robotics Community (TRC) contest!

However, we are now ready to announce the prizes and dates for this round in the TRC Contest. We’ve decided to do something a little different for this round; instead of offering cold hard cash, we’re going to be offering what else? Robots!! Yes, act soon and if you get your project in before July 31th 2008, you can win your very own Robot:)

Ok, all cheesiness aside, here are the prizes for this round’s TRC Contest:

1st place

Crustcrawler SG5 Robot Arm Includes: Parallax Servo Controller Crustcrawler SG5-UT Arm with: 1 - HS-805BB 3 - HSR-5995TG 1 - HSC-5998TG

2nd place (Open Link in IE to view site)

Silverlit R/C X-UFO Features: Gyro stabilized Indoor and outdoor All factory assembled Unique electronic control system Ultra lightweight carbon fiber frame include 2-way charger-AC adapter or automotive adapter

3rd place

Wowwee Alive™ - ELVIS® Modes: Alive (Taking care of business™) mode Song mode Monologue mode Sing through (Share the spotlight) mode

As always, for contest details and qualifications please visit our contest page.

Gepetto, one of the runners up in our last contest, got some airtime on G4 TV’s "Attack of the Show" this past Tuesday!  This bot has been generating quite a bit of buzz, which isn’t surprising.  It has style, good mechanical design, brains, and high-caliber weaponry.  Also, people just can’t resist videos of a robot attacking its creator (TR community member darkback2).  In the video, Gepetto is featured along with Plen and the CMU snake robot.

Congratulations!

Linkage:
AotS Blog post
Video

We don’t want to take too much credit here, but let’s not forget where we first saw Gepetto.  Right here, in the Trossen Robotics Community.  Booyah.

In case you’re new to the Trossen Robotics Community, here’s a quick refresher on how this contest works:  First, all kinds of fantastically talented and dedicated people come to our Project Showcase forum to tell us all about the projects they’ve been working on.  Periodically, we (the Trossen Robotics team) sort through these projects, and score them very scientifically in the following categories: "Wow" factor, Ingenuity, creativity, and presentation (this includes graphics, videos, documentation, explanation, etc.).  This is the fourth contest we’ve run here at Trossen Robotics, and the projects just keep getting cooler!  This time around, we extended the deadline and upped the stakes.  Since the last contest, the community has grown and expanded well beyond our expectations, and this has resulted in some of the best work we’ve seen yet.  If you showed off your project in our Project Showcase forum, give yourself a big ol’ pat on the back.  Now, let’s get to the meat and potatoes.  Here are the runners-up and winners, in suspense-building ascending order!

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Honorable Mention

Project: "Johnny 5.3"

Creator: Andrew Alter (Tyberius)

We’ve been working a little too closely with Andrew to let him enter the contest, but we can’t totally leave him hanging.  He’s been building a "Johnny 5"-inspired humanoid/trackbot hybrid, and it’s really coming together.  His brain (Johnny’s, not Andrew’s) is a Pico-ITX running Windows XP Pro.  It has a vocal synthesizer, great big grippers, a reinforced suspension system, a snarky personality, and I’ve heard that it drives around harassing Andrew’s baby.  It’s the embodiment of robotic awesomeness, in other words.  Check out his thread, picture gallery, and his blog.

Runners-Up

Project: "Leviskate"

Creator: Rodger Cleye
Average Score: 7.63 / 10
Prize: $20 Trossen Robotics Gift Certificate!

The Leviskate is a "self-balancing motorboard."  Kind of like a Segway for people who really like head injuries.  Seriously though, this contraption is truly awesome.  There are some cool videos in Rodger’s thread, too.  Our favorite thing about the videos is that Rodger sounds genuinely amazed that it actually works.

Project: "The Bratinator Project"

Creator: SN96
Average Score: 7.67 / 10
Prize: $20 Trossen Robotics Gift Certificate!

It walks, it talks, it scares the kids.  It’s… the Bratinator.  Built around the Lynxmotion Brat biped, this monstrosity features speech, binaural hearing, a custom-machined aluminum head.

Project: "Gepetto"

Creator: darkback2
Average Score: 8.25 / 10
Prize: $20 Trossen Robotics Gift Certificate!

It really pains us to see Gepetto in the runners up, instead of placing in a cash-winning position, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes.  This was a very close race.  This bot is beautifully made from wood and metal, has a really cool suspension system, carries its laptop brain around with it, and is programmed with some really interesting behavior/mood software.  That’s really just the tip of the iceberg, so you’ll have to read through the thread to see Gepetto’s full story.

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Third Place

Project: "eyeRobot"
Creator: Nathaniel Barshay
Average Score: 8.38 / 10
Prize: $100 Trossen Robotics Gift Certificate!

The eyeRobot is a robotic guide for people with vision impairments.  It has a whole slew of IR and ultrasonic range sensors for collision avoidance, and pathfinding software to keep it moving through the clearest area.  This was a proof-of-concept prototype meant to "marry the simplicity of the traditional white cane with the instincts of a seeing-eye dog."  This project is going places, and hopefully one day it will help other people go places.

 

Second Place

Project: "Frameless Laser Harp"
Creator: Stephen Hobley
Average Score: 8.88 / 10
Prize: $250 Trossen Robotics Gift Certificate!

Twenty-two years ago, he saw Jean-Michel Jarre play a laser harp at a concert, and from that day he’s been on a mission.  This mission finally came to fruition last month, when he completed his own laser harp, and let me tell you, it’s a pretty stunning piece of equipment.  Using a galvanometer to very rapidly and precisely aim a pulsing laser, light sensors to detect where a beam has been interrupted, and an Arduino brain; the harp sends MIDI control signals to a synthesizer.

 

First Place

Project: "Phoenix"
Creator: KÃ¥re Halvorsen
Average Score: 9.63 / 10
Prize: $500 Trossen Robotics Gift Certificate!

Phoenix is a six legged walking robot.  Wait, we know some of you out there may be thinking that hexapod robots are old hat.  Well, you’re wrong.  So very wrong.  Wait until you see it move.  Phoenix’s real beauty lies in her graceful motion, which is some of the most convincing and eerily lifelike that we’ve seen in a robot that uses standard hobby servos and a common off-the-shelf servo controller.  The kinematics are computed by an intricately programmed spreadsheet, which we highly recommend you check out if you’re a fan of trigonometry.

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We want to thank everyone for their great submissions.  If all goes as planned, the next contest (which is already underway) will conclude at the end of May 2008.  You can stay up to date on contest rules and regulations at the Trossen Robotics Project Contest page, and start posting your projects in our Project Showcase Forum.

I’m sure most of you have already heard of Grant Imahara from Mythbusters on the Discovery channel. If you haven’t, please crawl out of the rock you’ve been hiding under for the past several years ;).  Did you also know that Grant is heavily involved in robotics and robotic competitions like FIRST? Well… now you do!

Anyways, enough intro. We just got word that Robot Magazine is teaming up with Grant Imahara, Revell, Innovation First, Inc. and SolidWorks Corporation for a really exciting competition. So of course we wanted to share this info with everyone here!

So, without further ado:

 

 

Revell, Innovation First, Inc., Robot magazine and SolidWorks Corporation, with Grant Imahara, are pleased to announce the Grant Imahara VEXplorer Robot Challenge. Grant Imahara is one of the hosts of Discovery Channel’s hit television show Mythbusters. He is a special effects expert who has worked on some of the most famous robots in history, such as R2-D2 and The Energizer Bunny, and is the author of Kickin’ Bot, a book that explains how to build your own combat robot. This contest will give 25 robot enthusiasts a chance to compete for a $5,000 scholarship grand prize and various other prizes. Winners will receive: 1st Place: $ 5,000 college scholarship * 2nd Place: $ 2,000 college scholarship * 3rd prize (10): $200 gift certificates to vexlabs.com *Payable in the form of a 529 Qualified Tuition Plan.

 

For more information, check out BotMag’s Grant Imahara VEXplorer Robot Challenge page.

Interested in getting a VEXplorer or want more info on one? Check out the VEXplorer kit in the TR Catalog.

Just a friendly reminder, February 29th 2008 is the last day to submit your project to the Project Showcase forums and win up to $500!

Have a look at the incredible projects that won last round:
http://forums.trossenrobotics.com/showthread.php?t=1309

We Want To Know What You Are Building!!
Trossen Robotics hosts contests all year round to inspire ingenuity and innovation for people who are creating cool tech projects in robotics, home automation, interactive arts, RFID, or similar technical DIY projects. Projects are judged at the end of each contest round. So If you have a project that you’ve been working on or have already completed, now is the time to tell the Trossen Robotics Community all about it!

This contest is not limited to any technologies, so everyone can submit projects:-)

For all the contest qualifications and details, please check out the contest page.

Good luck to everyone, and we hope to hear from you soon!

- The Trossen Robotics Team

We’ve been running monthly contests here at Trossen Robotics for about three rounds now. There have been some amazingly innovative people that have come out to show off their stuff. The Project Showcase section in the TR Community really speaks for itself when I say just how talented these people are.

We’ve shelled out some nice TR credits to all of these incredible people for their showing off their talents in the past rounds. Just last round, kdwyer won a $200 credit to Trossen Robotics for First Place for his project, Otto.

This round however, we decided to up the ante just a tad and expand the contest to cover a few months…

Remember: This contest is not only for robotics! We want to see all walks of innovation here, well… just about.

So, what sort of projects can you submit?

Robotics, HCI, home automation, RFID, art projects, useful mods & hacks, fun/entertaining projects, etc. are the areas we like to focus on, but it’s difficult to draw any hard lines. Have you made wireless entry into your car? That works for us. Did you make an electric backyard catapult? That works too! Are you creating a robotic army to enslave humanity? Sure, why not! Homebrew/DIY projects are just as good as improving an off the shelf item.

Complete systems or components for systems are all welcome. If you created a vision tool for a robot, a keyless entry lock, a system for interpreting sensor inputs, part of a home automation system, or even an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine, that’s cool too! It could be some navigation or voice recognition software or even a new drive train or gripper design. With or without our products, we love projects that focus on solving particular problems because others can then use those ideas in their own projects.

So, get your projects in! Tell everyone you know about this contest: other geeky friends, relatives, house pets. Yes, even house pets are welcome to submit a project!

Be sure to check out our contest page for more details and qualifications.

Another contest, another batch of cool projects!  Once again, the TR Community came through with some great ideas.  As per usual, the Trossen Robotics staff scored projects from our "Project Showcase" forum on a scale of 0-5 for documentation, coolness, ingenuity, and creativity.  This is only a sampling of what’s been posted in the Project forum, and there are still some great projects that unfortunately didn’t make the cut.  I wish we could give awards and salutations to all of them, but we can’t, so when you’re finished reading this, go check out the rest of the projects in the Project Showcase forum.  And now, here are the finalists of the "Submit Your Project And Win" contest!

 

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Runners Up:

Project: Wiimote Firefighting Robot
Creator: tempalte
Prize: 10% off next TR order

This bot detects fire using the IR camera in the Wiimote and talks to a computer via Bluetooth.  Very cool.

 

Project: Skype Controlled Roboquad with Spy Capability
Creator: roschler
Prize: 10% off next TR order

Roboquad + wireless cam + Robodance + USB UIRT + Skype = Awesome.

 

Project: Distributed Autonomous Swarm of Maxelbots
Creator: uwdrl
Prize: 10% off next TR order

Ultrasonic swarm localization and heavy metal.

 

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Third Place
Project: Halloween Hologram / Spirited Tree R/C Holiday Double Whammy
Creator: Rodger Cleye
Prize: $50 TR Gift Cirtificate

If you don’t know what the hell’s going on in the above picture, you’re not alone.  Rodger submitted the "Holographic Halloween Robot" in October, then repurposed the hardware and resubmitted it in November as the "Spirited Tree."  Both were highly entertaining and totally ridiculous.  The base is a modified electric wheelchair drive system.  The hologram illusion was created with an LCD and an angled piece of plexiglass.  The LCD can display video broadcast live from an IR camera or a DVD player. With Halloween receding into the past and Christmas looming on the horizon, Rodger replaced the hologram rig with a music playing light-up Christmas tree.  Rodger is a newcomer to our forums, but if you’ve been reading Hack a Day and other DIY news outlets for a while, you’ve probably already seen his self-balancing electric unicycle and electric skateboard.

 

Second Place
Project: Front Door RFID Security
Creator: fish123456
Prize: $100 TR Gift Cirtificate

This guy hacked into his electronic deadbolt, adding a Phidget RFID reader so he could unlock his front door with an RFID key fob.  This has been done a few times before, but we decided we needed to reward "fish123456" for going the extra mile, because in addition to RFID, he also created a web interface that he can access from his cell phone.  This has a lot of potential.  For instance, if somebody needs to get into your house when you’re not home, you can unlock it remotely for them.  Or if your RFID chip is implanted in your hand, and that hand gets bitten off by a shark; you don’t need to hunt down the shark and wave it in front of the door to open it!

 

First Place
Project: Otto
Creator: kdwyer
Prize: $200 TR Gift Cirtificate

Otto is a humanoid/track hybrid droid with an incredible range of capabilities.  Kdwyer's mission was to make an autonomous robot that could avoid obstacles, track motion, and interact with people through speech and gestures.  Otto's brain follows a distributed architecture, employing 2 Oopic R's (the "upper" and "lower" brains).  He boasts a boatload of sensors, such as IR rangefinders, Ultrasonic rangefinders, a digital compass, and a color video camera.  We like this project a lot, mostly because it was built from the ground up using a pile of hardware from numerous different sources.

 

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Thanks to everyone for your submissions.  The next contest is rolling as we speak.  As always, we’re looking forward to seeing what else you can come up with!  You can stay up to date on contest rules and regulations at the Submit Your Project and Win contest page, and start posting your projects in our Project Showcase Forum.

The November Submit Your Project Contest for cool robots, flamethrowers, automatic cat herders, talking furniture, or what ever else you may have built is still on. If you’ve built something cool and techy we want to see it and so does everyone else in our community of tinkering inventors. One of the cooler projects posted recently came from none other than master robot tinkering man Robert Oschler of www.robotsrule.com.

Robert made a remote internet voice controlled Roboquad using Skype, robodance, and a UIRT. This is some creative stuff here folks. People who think that futuristic robots must cost a zillion dollars are proven wrong by Roberts ingenuity.

Robert has created this awesome video showing how he built his project letting you know how to do it too.

Do you have a cool project you want to show off? Post it in our contest forum and win. Contest runs every month. Right now the prizes are $200 for first place, $100 for second, and $50 for third.

Announcing September Winners !

We thought judging last month's entries was tough, but we had no idea what we were in for this month.  As usual, the Trossen Robotics staff scored projects from our "Project Showcase" forum on a scale of 0-5 for documentation, coolness, ingenuity, and creativity.  These were all very, very close.  Just remember: we loved all of your projects, and as far was I'm concerned, you're all winners.  Enough inane chatter; here are the results of September's "Submit Your Project And Win" contest!

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Runners-Up
This month, the runners-up are all family-related projects.  We weren’t intentionally going for a theme, but we’re happy with the way the chips fell.  Great job, guys!

Project: "Digital Slot Car Controller"

Creator:wrighthobbies
Average Score: 4.5
Prize: 10% Off discount on any order at Trossen Robotics!

Project: "Marble Maze"

Creator:mark625
Average Score: 4.2
Prize: 10% Off discount on any order at Trossen Robotics!

Project: "Anti-Boogieman Bug"

Creator:Droid Works
Average Score: 3.9
Prize: 10% Off discount on any order at Trossen Robotics!

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Third Place

Project: "Water Hobo"
Creator:tbh726
Average Score: 4.5
Prize: $50 Trossen Robotics Gift Certificate!

Tim doesn’t like the neighborhood hooligans cutting through his side yard.  Obviously the only practical solution was to make a night vision equipped, motion tracking, automated water cannon to soak them if they set foot on his property.  That’s right, show ‘em who’s boss!  Since we’re a bunch of crotchety old men who spend a lot of time on our front porches shaking our fists and yelling "Get the heck off my lawn," we couldn’t help but love this project.

 

Second Place

Project: "USB-Q"
Creator:elcray
Average Score: 4.51
Prize: $100 Trossen Robotics Gift Certificate!

If there’s one thing we like almost as much as playing with robots, it’s grillin up delicious meats.  "USB-Q" is a BBQ smoker automation system.  Anybody who’s ever spent a day operating one of these beasts will recognize how useful this project is, so practicality was a major factor here.  He wrote a cool VB.NET application for monitoring and controlling the temperature, and the system can be activated by a control box located by the grill.  A Phidget 8/8/8 board is used to read the inputs.  It also tracks the temperature over time, which is helpful for tweaking the PID algorithm for more accurate control.

 

First Place

Project: "White Lies"
Creator:iceclimb
Average Score: 4.65
Prize: $200 Trossen Robotics Gift Certificate!

"White Lies" is a piece of techno-art that responds to galvanic skin response (like a polygraph), so it behaves differently depending on who’s using it and can actually be affected by what’s going on in the user’s head at the time.  Kind of freaky huh?  It scored major points for creativity (I guess the judges were in an artsy mood this month).  We also liked the two videos, which did a great job of describing how the project came to be, what it’s purpose is, and how it works.  It involved some interesting construction and mechanical design, circuit design, microcontroller programming (Arduino), and it looks really cool!

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We want to thank everyone for their great submissions.  October’s contest is already rolling.  You can stay up to date on contest rules and regulations at theSubmit Your Project and Win contest page, and start posting your projects in our Project Showcase Forum.

"Droid Works" recently joined our forums, and he submitted this gem to our Project Showcase forum (which means he’s entered in this month’s Submit Your Project and WIN Contest!).

It’s a suped-up Parallax BOE-Bot designed to seek out dark places and illuminate them.  I’ll let him explain the project in his own words:

"This is a boe-bot I made for my daughter. It is a standard boe-bot and homework board with the crawler kit and the ping))) kit. I also added a red wide spectrum laser light. Basically what it does is wander around and shine its red beam in the darkest areas of the room. My daughter is 6 years old and is going through the scared of the dark phase. So I made this bot to look like a cute bug and shine light in the dark areas of her room while it wanders, and make my daughter feel like she is not in the room alone. Needless to say she loves it…"

You’ll find a few more pictures of this critter (and its human master) in the forum thread:

http://forums.trossenrobotics.com/showthread.php?t=1139

If you’re interested in getting the BOE-Bot starter kit, click anywhere within this sentence.

To see the other Parallax products we carry, check out this blog post from last week.