Robot Living

This weekend is the Maker Faire in Providence Rhode Island.

Come learn how to solder or meet some folks who make robots.

Belvedere the butler robot will be there, as well as Makerbot and some interesting things from Neuron Robotics.

Come for the robots, stay for all the other fun stuff.

By the way, the event is free, but if you feel like donating you can do so on Kickstarter.

Maker Faire RI August 28, 2010, Bank of America Skating Center. 3pm-11pm

Tags: maker faire, providence, rhode island

Follow along as we attempt to build our first two wheeled robot using three main components.

We will be using an Arduino Duemilanove for the brain, an Adafruit Motor Shield and 2 Wheeled Mobile Platform from MakerShed.

We are not sure yet what we will have the robot do.  We do have a Maxbotix LV-EZ1 Ultrasonic Range Finder and may use that to help it avoid bumping into walls, or we may use some photocells to make a line following robot.

Ultimately, when it is done is three or four years it will deliver cold beer and do almost everything as Tom Waits says in Step Right Up.

That’s right, it filets, it chops
It dices, slices, never stops
Lasts a lifetime, mows your lawn
And it mows your lawn
And it picks up the kids from school
It gets rid of unwanted facial hair
It gets rid of embarrassing age spots
It delivers a pizza
And it lengthens, and it strengthens
And it finds that slipper that’s been at large
Under the chaise lounge for several weeks
And it plays a mean Rhythm Master
It makes excuses for unwanted lipstick on your collar

Kidding aside, what should we have our little two wheeled robot do when it is done?

Leave your suggestions in the comments and follow our progress on the build page.

Tags: 2 wheeled robot, building, mobile, robot

Next time we are in the Ann Arbor Michigan area we will definitely have to check this store out called Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair.  An actual robot repair shop?  How cool is that. Makes me wish I actually had a Rosie the robot from the Jetsons so I could take her in for repairs.

Liberty Street also house a writing center for young people in back.  The kids get a real kick out of having to go through a robot store to get to a writing workshop.  Sounds like a cool place.

Don’t forget that Maker Faire Detroit is happening this coming weekend.

For more info check out this Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair video.

Tags: make, maker faire, michigan, robot

Festo, the company behind the Aquajelly and Airjelly robots, now offers a mobile robotic learning platform called Robotino.

The complete Robotino packages includes the following:

1. Omnidirectional drive
2. Web camera
3. Nine infrared distance sensors
4. Analogue inductive sensor
5. Two optical sensors

Two 12 V lead-gel rechargeable non-spillable electric storage batteries are also included  along with a charging device.  A charging station is available on request, allowing Robotino to recharge automatically by itself.

No word on actual price, but they did recently offer participants in the German Open Robocup a special deal  for €2,900, or roughly $3,700.00.

Click through to check out the Festo 2009 hockey challenge using Robotino in Budapest.

Link

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Tags: festo, learning platform

SADbot (The Seasonally Affected Drawing Robot) is a solar powered drawing robot currently on display in New York city at the Eyebeam gallery.  SADbot was created by Dustyn Roberts and Ben Leduc-Mills, who were able to get funding by making a presentation on Kickstarter.

Basically, the robot has overtaken the window of the Eyebeam gallery, where it draws on a large piece of paper.  Powered by an Arduino and four solar cells, the robot draws when it is sunny and is sad and does not draw when it is dark.  Visitors to the gallery window can affect the robot by placing there hands over the four solar cells.

When no one is affecting the robot, it continues to doodle on it’s own and goes through one large paper per day.

See more about the project on Kickstarter or click through for a video.

Link via (IEEE Spectrum)

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Tags: arduino, NYC