Video: Robot cyclist pulls its weight
Fancy sharing a tandem with a robot? Would be good for going up hills.
Maybe this was the thinking behind Joule the Robot, which caught my eye on Engadget today.
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Robot Archives
September 18, 2009
Fancy sharing a tandem with a robot? Would be good for going up hills.
Maybe this was the thinking behind Joule the Robot, which caught my eye on Engadget today.
October 19, 2009
Steampunk R2-D2 rusts its way into the future
We like the SteamPunk ethic here on Gadget Master - see the Steampunk Xbox 360, iPod charger and keyboard - but I'm not sure this one really works. R2-D2, the fictional droid from Star Wars*.But I don't really know why. A retro vision of a fictional futurism? Hmm. It's too far removed from any reality. Past, future, or future past... Besides, I don't believe this one is really home made.
What do you think? Leave a comment below. (Thanks to BoingBoing for this one, btw)
* Trivia question: R2-D2 is one of only four characters to appear in all six Star Wars films. Which were the other three?
Continue reading "Steampunk R2-D2 rusts its way into the future" »
November 9, 2009
Robot plays Rock Band on an iPhone
November 20, 2009
Robo lamps light up your workspace
You've got to love these - cute looking "robolamps". Made by Croatian artist Robert Matysiak from common or garden plumbing supplies, along with what is apparently his trademark, the green lightbulb.
Thanks to PocketLint for flagging these (check out the range of different roboto styles), but there is more on Robert's Facebook page.
Thanks to PocketLint for flagging these (check out the range of different roboto styles), but there is more on Robert's Facebook page.
January 21, 2010
Robot BigDog gets a BigBrother
What shall we use to fill the empty spaces?...Keep people as pets, race dogs, train rats, fill the attic with cash, bury treasure, store up leasure, but never relax, at all...Empty Spaces, Pink Floyd (The Wall)
We like robotics on Gadget Master, but what is it with these headless robotic beings they keep building at Boston Dynamics? The robot dog was rather disturbing, and the PETMAN prototype - a torso-less robot capable of walking - seems equally creepy.
Maybe BigBrotherish is the word I'm reaching for - the device is headlined 'BigDog gets a Big Brother' on the BostonDynamics website.
April 8, 2010
Top Ten Robots You Won't Believe Exist
As mentioned previously, we like robotics on Gadget Master, and here's an interesting 'Top Ten' of Real-Life Robots You Won't Believe Exist...1. Roxxxy
2. Mahru-Z
3. Toyota's Trumpet-Playing Robot (pictured)
May 17, 2010
String robot pulls on your heart
Following on from the recent Top Ten Robots You Won't Believe Exist, this one caught my eye over the weekend. One for the Robot Watch category (one day, they will take over the world...).
Number #3 in that list was Toyota's trumpet playing robot, and now, make way for his violin-playing sibling.
Check out the video below of the Toyota droid playing a tradional tune at the Japanese Pavilion, in the Shanghai World Expo 2010, which is currently underway.
September 16, 2010
Swinging robot climbs like an ape
ROCR from the University of Utah climbs carpeted walls with very little effort.
The trick is a swinging action, and two claws.
The brainchild of Mechanical Engineer William Provancher, the half kilo machine is 30cm wide and can climb at more than 8m/s.
Until now, says Provancher, the prime design objective of most robots was not falling off.
August 11, 2010
Dare you rise to the Robotics challenge?
Interested in Robotics? Like to rise to a challenge? Well, all Gadget Masters take note of the Roboteers programme at Embedded Live. Best-in-class prizes are up for grabs for robots that can pass the tests.
The programme includes two technical workshops - one on embedded Linux and one on embedded programming for robotics - to give people the basic development skills. There is also a live event, for any attendee, to come and have a go with their own robotics kits.
The programme includes two technical workshops - one on embedded Linux and one on embedded programming for robotics - to give people the basic development skills. There is also a live event, for any attendee, to come and have a go with their own robotics kits.
Continue reading "Dare you rise to the Robotics challenge?" »
August 24, 2010
Meet the Robotics Challenge (Basic) at Embedded Live
Sprint to the edge, Remember the journey, Dancing robots...We first flagged the Roboteers programme at Embedded Live at the beginning of the month, but here is the full low-down on the Basic Level entry requirements, for all budding Robotics Masters.
As mentioned, there are three levels in the robotics challenge, where prizes will be awarded for outstanding achievements and the best in class robots: Basic (Letry Arduino-based robots, for example, see www.robotiq.co.uk), Intermediate, and Advanced.
Continue reading "Meet the Robotics Challenge (Basic) at Embedded Live" »
September 23, 2010
Robots to "Hunt The Easter Egg" at Embedded Live
We've already flagged the Basic-level challenges of the Roboteers programme at Embedded Live, but maybe Gadget Masters should be aiming higher. At the Intermediate-level, perhaps?Check out the latest Embedded Live blog post, that gives full details of the tougher challenges. They centre around: "Hunt the 'Easter egg'", "Dancing Robot" and "Robot Tag"...
Continue reading "Robots to "Hunt The Easter Egg" at Embedded Live" »
March 14, 2011
Young Engineer of the Year, Gadget Master first rank!
All hail the new Young Engineer of the Year! Congratulations to one Andrew Cowan - a Gadget Master of the first order - who was named Young Engineer of the Year at the British Science Association's Big Bang Fair. This was held in London to mark the start of National Science and Engineering Week.Andrew won the award for his Search and Rescue Robot, which was built during his A level Systems and Control coursework at Sutton Grammar School. The project took two years.
Pictured is (l-r): Kate Bellingham (engineer and television presenter), Professor Brian Cox (particle physicist and television presenter), Hannah Eastwood (Young Scientist of the Year award-winner), and Professor John Beddington (Government Chief Scientific Adviser).
Continue reading "Young Engineer of the Year, Gadget Master first rank!" »
April 13, 2011
Skeletonics build running exoskeleton
A very impressive exoskeleton project from a team of Japanese students. They are called Skeletonics and their prototype is still evolving! (The action starts 2:30 in.)
April 14, 2011
LockCracker robot always finds the combination
What combination locks can resist the LockCracker robot? A group of Gadget Masters have ingeniously constructed this device as part of a student project - the four are studying Mechanical Engineering at Olin College of Engineering, and I can only take my hat off to them!
When you see the level of detail they have applied you can only applaud the application. And it is shared online via olin.edu.
How can the system tell when a lock has been opened? Basically, they attached a limit switch to the baseplate just in front of a latch connection to the pull-in solenoid. When the limit switch is pushed back far enough, it closes an open circuit and this signals that the solenoid has pulled far enough - the lock is open - and this can tell the stepper motor to stop...
First, a video of the device in lock pulling and cracking action:
When you see the level of detail they have applied you can only applaud the application. And it is shared online via olin.edu.
How can the system tell when a lock has been opened? Basically, they attached a limit switch to the baseplate just in front of a latch connection to the pull-in solenoid. When the limit switch is pushed back far enough, it closes an open circuit and this signals that the solenoid has pulled far enough - the lock is open - and this can tell the stepper motor to stop...
First, a video of the device in lock pulling and cracking action:
Continue reading "LockCracker robot always finds the combination" »
August 15, 2011
Video: Raid of the robot swarm
Thanks to our sister site, New Scientist, for highlighting this rather sinister one - a co-ordinated raid by "eye-bots", "foot-bots", and "hand-bots" to grab a book from a high shelf.
They are many, and they work together. And they are getting more clever...
(The award-winning film is by Mauro Birattari and Rehan O'Grady)
They are many, and they work together. And they are getting more clever...
(The award-winning film is by Mauro Birattari and Rehan O'Grady)
October 11, 2011
Stupid Robot Championship mocks our future rulers
Do you think that robots are going to take over the world, with remorselessly efficiency and cunning, unarguable logic? Well, reassurance, of sorts, comes in the form of the Stupid Robot Championship, the next instalment of which is taking place at the end of this month...
Relax from the imminent threat by watching poor, tired, confused and smoking apologies of robotic enterprise. It is a funny video, worth a watch.
Continue reading "Stupid Robot Championship mocks our future rulers" »
November 17, 2011
PETMAN press-ups - the robotic humanoid evolves!
We like robotics on Gadget Master, but what is it with these headless robotic beings they keep building at Boston Dynamics? The robot dog was rather disturbing, and the PETMAN prototype - a torso-less robot capable of walking - is equally creepy. [Robot BigDog gets a BigBrother]
We've written about PETMAN and Boston Dynamics before, but they have released an updated video of their robotic (headless) humanoid. And it's just as compelling as it's predecessor. Watch PETMAN crouch and twist and do press ups!
We've written about PETMAN and Boston Dynamics before, but they have released an updated video of their robotic (headless) humanoid. And it's just as compelling as it's predecessor. Watch PETMAN crouch and twist and do press ups!
Continue reading "PETMAN press-ups - the robotic humanoid evolves!" »
December 2, 2011
Robotville, livin' la vida robot
On the Culture Lab blog on our sister site, New Scientist, deputy news editor Celeste Biever decsribes the European robot exhibit currently running at the Science Museum in London.
Rob Knight tugs Eccerobot's arm to the side, and it springs back, swiping my right arm. "If that was an industrial robot, it would have broken your arm," says Knight, of The Robot Studio in Divonne-les-Bains, France. It doesn't hurt at all though - instead the robot reacts to contact with me and springs backwards.
From a distance, the life-size Eccerobot (pronounced ecky-robot) torso resembles the skinless human bodies biology textbooks use to illustrate our internal musculature and vasculature. But as you get closer you realise that this similarity has limits: what look like blood vessels are actually electric wires and ligaments, elastic bungee cords. The head, meanwhile, is a giant eyeball.
February 3, 2012
Robot explores, seeks and destroys!
We highlighted a neat sound-activated light system recently - How to build a whistle-activated light switch - and the Gadget Master behind it has plenty of other projects under his belt. His website is well worth exploring >>
Take for example this exploratory robot, which he developed as part of an independent-study project in Computer Engineering at the Universirty of Illinois. The basic idea for it is that the 'robot', or something similar, "could conceivably be used by SWAT teams or the military to enter buildings where bad people are and shoot/Taser them".
Check out the video, above, of the device in operation, including the robot's eye view of the test action.
February 7, 2012
Create your own Terminator Arm!
Are you up to the challenge of creating your own Terminator Arm, complete with LED lighting effect?!I ordered an Android IOIO board from SparkFun recently - for the current Gadget Master compo - and this tutorial on the same site caught my eye.
It's a tutorial by one "T Zero", taking us through the creation of afore mentioned robotic arm....
They begin:
Being a solder jockey, I'm not the best at programming and making things light up and blink. But, I am a wiz with a soldering iron. I enjoy making sculptures and little objects you can set at the edge of your desk to strike up a conversation. For this tutorial, I was trying to come up with the best sculpture or desk ornament - something every nerd or geek like myself would be proud to put on display. Something that didn't cost much and was a good rainy afternoon project. This project was done with trashed parts I found around the shop, and if your workstation looks anything like mine, you should be able to find these or similar parts.
February 29, 2012
Most read Gadget Master posts in February
So, February has come and (all-but) gone, but before we leap into March, let's look back and see what has been most interesting to Gadget Masters this month.Everybody loves a good tear-down, so it's good to see the third-generation Kindle getting the treatment; and the IOIO Android breakout board competition's popularity proves there's interest among Android enthusiasts ...
1 Tearing down the (3rd Gen) Kindle
2 The IOIO Android breakout board competition
3 Build your own LED cube
Continue reading "Most read Gadget Master posts in February" »
March 2, 2012
Robot helicopters perform James Bond tune
We've seen them build towers and pyramids and perform acrobatic feats. But yesterday at the TED2012 conference in Long Beach, California, the swarm of autonomous robots, developed by Vijay Kumar and colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, demonstrated their ability as flying musicians by performing the James Bond theme song.
Continue reading "Robot helicopters perform James Bond tune" »
March 5, 2012
Low-cost drone that's ready to fly
I see that Julian Horsey on his Geeky Gadgets blog has had the spotter cameras out and found an inexpensive flying drone to keep an eye on things.
The camera drone is called the Eye3 and it has been designed by Kellie Sigler as "a professional quality yet affordable" camera in the sky.
We are told the design kit is "easy to assemble".
April 3, 2012
Small Sand Flea robot jumps tall buildings
"What do you get when you give a rugged remote control car the ability to jump more than 9 metres in the air? Sand Flea."
Thanks to our sister site New Scientist for highlighting this vaguely unsettling device. Here on Gadget Master we are keeping a close eye on Boston Robotics - that may be the source of the first major robot breakout!
On the magazine's One Per Cent blog, Michael Reilly, writes:
Boston Dynamics - the company that built the sweating exercise freak PetMan, the famously well-balanced BigDog, and the speed demon Cheetah - has done it again, this time imbuing an automaton with the ability to leap onto the roof of a building, up a rocky outcrop, or into a second story window. A stabilisation system keeps the 5kg Sand Flea level during its jump, which the company says provides a steady view for the bot's onboard camera while in-flight.
Continue reading "Small Sand Flea robot jumps tall buildings" »
April 25, 2012
Lego Mindstorms robot learns to play Rock-Paper-Scissors
When Robots take over the world, will they play Rock-Paper-Scissors to pass the time? Well, one of their precursors does (featured at Robogames 2011 for the Lego Open challenge, where it won first place).A canny inventor has constructed a Lego Mindstorms NXT-based device to play the game. That is to say, it learns how to play the game from past experiences. And it won't just learn to take part (apparently simulating a simple neural network), it will "beat a person 100% of the time!" the creator boasts.
Continue reading "Lego Mindstorms robot learns to play Rock-Paper-Scissors" »
May 7, 2012
Whipping up a (programmable Lego) Mindstorm
Before we launch the imminent May/June 2012 compo, let's have another themed roundup of posts... on Mindstorms ("Lego sets combining programmable bricks with electric motors, sensors, Lego bricks, and Lego Technic pieces (such as gears, axles, and beams)", as Wikipedia once put it).Mindstorms has its historic roots, apparently, in a programmable brick created at the MIT Media Lab...
Anyway, the plastic brick-based platform has long proved fertile ground for Gadget Masters, so there are quite a few Lego-related posts to choose from...
Continue reading "Whipping up a (programmable Lego) Mindstorm" »
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