… but, yes, the robots are coming!
Archive for the ‘Robotics’ Category
Not what I had in mind…
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
robot, video, viral
Posted in Robotics, Technology | Comments Off
Online manufacturing
Thursday, June 18th, 2009Rapid manufacturing is becoming more & more real.
Here are a few sites I like:
- http://www.bigbluesaw.com/: Waterjet & laser cutting,
- http://www.ponoko.com/: laser cutting for everyone,
- http://www.shapeways.com/: 3D-printing,
- http://www.emachineshop.com/: Plastic & metal everything.
Ponoko’s great, but they only do flat surfaces. Shapeways can do any shape, as long as it’s small enough and laser-printer plastic, but they’re expensive. E-machineshop can build everything you can imagine, but they only make sense money-wise if you need large quantities, and their software can’t import files if they’re complex enough to be interesting. I like them all a lot but I don’t know which ones I am going to use.
laser, manufacturing, metal, plastic, printing
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Rodney Brooks: Remaking Manufacturing With Robotics
Sunday, June 7th, 2009Brooks, Robotics, video
Posted in News, Robotics, Science, Technology | Comments Off
Tortoise
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
Drafts of the body for my robot (work in progress…)
body, rendering, robot, tortoise
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Nao’s going Beta
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
I received an e-mail today from Aldebaran Robotics:
Be part of the robotic adventure by being one of the first beta-tester individuals in the world.
Hello,Aldebaran Robotics is proud to announce you the launch of the beta-test of Nao. Our aim is to analyze how Nao-interested people like you would interact with it so we can keep on developing the best personal humanoid robot you have ever seen.
As a beta-tester, you will really be at core of Nao’s adventure. Your experience, your feedbacks, your suggestions and your requests will be the inputs enabling us to improve Nao. We will build a special and close relationship with every beta-tester : you will be invited to exclusive events ; you will be the firtst to know the latest developments on Nao ; you will have access to a dedicated forum to share with us and the other beta-testers ; you will be involved in challenges (not only for advanced programmers) and show us your creativity and skills. You will help us make Nao!
Now, here are the details of the beta-test:
- it is open for individual customers living in France or UK only
- it is priced at 4800€, all taxes included
- for the price, you’ll get 2 NAOs: a first one to be beta-tested and, as a gift for your participation and help, a second one as soon as we release the product to the general public
- the Nao’s version to be beta-tested is called “V3+” – this is the most advanced Nao we have ever designed
- the package also includes all necessary documentation and software, including ChoregrapheC.
- moreover, if we feel an upgrade of your beta-tested Nao is necessary, we will do it and won’t charge you for this.Applications for the beta-test are open until June, 9th and we intend to ship the first Naos to our beta-testers at mid-June. Note that only a restricted number of applicants will eventually be selected for the beta-test.
To apply for this beta-test program, please fill and send us back the application form available here to [..].
If you have any question, remark or enquiry, let us know !
Welcome in the world of Nao.
Bruno Maisonnier
Founder and CEO of Aldebaran Robotics
beta, french, nao, Robotics
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Robot OS
Saturday, May 30th, 2009Finally settled on Windows Server 2008 for my robot. Windows Server 2008. Standard. Core. x86.
Server Core Installation Option Getting Started Guide
LiPo’s are dangerous
Saturday, May 9th, 2009I want to use LiPo’s – and I do know they are dangerous. For those who don’t, here’s a long list of LiPo explosions.
Manifesto
Saturday, May 9th, 2009- Robots are the next big thing.
- Robots are fun.
- Robots are our friends.
- Everybody should have their own, personal, robot.
- We learn by doing.
- We build our own robots.
- We share what we know.
My own, personal, Robot
Saturday, May 9th, 2009Robots are going to be the next “Big Thing” and I want my own, personal, Robot. So I’m going to build it myself. I can do the math and the software, and I know a few things about electronics. What I don’t know, I’ll learn on the way. I hope.
Servo this or servo that?
Saturday, May 9th, 2009I quite like the Dynamixels by Robotis for my project.
CrustCrawler’s got theAX-12+, RX-28, RX-64, and EX-106 on stock. I’ve seen them on other online shops as well. However, CrustCrawler’s got lot’s of helpful information there, like manuals links to APIs, etc.
Robots Australia
Saturday, May 9th, 2009Great stuff from down under!
http://robotsaustralia.googlepages.com/
http://robotsaustralia.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/robotsaus
This guy’s got a big head start on me! Or gal. Doesn’t say. I’m going to go with guy. I really like that “PEDRO” quadruped robot he’s building. I’m definitely going to keep an eye on robotsaustralia. I’ve already learned a few things.
CAD, dynamixel, MSRS, quadruped, video, Wi-Fi
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Function
Saturday, May 9th, 2009I want my robot to be of use to me. Here’s what I want it to do:
I want it to carry my stuff around. Everywhere. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night may stay my robot from carrying my stuff around.
(I’m lazy that way.) When I go to work, I want it to carry my laptop bag. When I go shopping, I want it to carry the shopping bags. (bags bags bags!!!)Simple, right? Carrying stuff around is drudgery. It’s a problem worth solving.
drudgery, function, gloom, heat, laptop, rain
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Vision
Saturday, May 9th, 2009I want to build a robot that can come with me when I go to work. I write software for a living, so I always carry my laptop around wherever I go. My laptop is small and light, and so is its case. Still, being the lazy person that I am, after many years of carrying it around, it got me thinking. “Wouldn’t it be great”, I thought, “if I had a robot to carry my laptop for me?” And then I thought “Wait a minute! If I had a robot, why would I need a laptop? A robot is, after all, a computer!”
That’s what I want to build. I want to build a robot that can follow me around, carry my stuff, and be my computer whenever I need it.
Requirements
- It has to be as light as can be. Weight costs resources that can be used to prolong the robot’s uptime. Also, I want to be able to pick it up if I’m in a hurry.
- It has to be resilient. The real world can be rough so it has to be able to withstand a few bumps and bruises.
- It has to be strong enough to carry a couple of kilos of stuff placed in its compartment.
- It has to be water resistant. I live in the Netherlands. It rains a lot here.
- It has to be able to follow me around, and not confuse me with other people.
- It has to stay operational for at least 4 hours between a charge or a battery replacement.
- It has to be able to climb stairs. Because I do.
- It has to be able to communicate with me. It has to follow my lead, and to tell me when it cannot do so.
- It has to be able to connect to my wireless network.
- It has to be able to connect to a mobile network.
- It has to be able to find its own way when I’m not there. I may want it to do my errants.
Design
I haven’t decided yet, but I think it should look like a “Geochelone elegans”, also known as a Star Tortoise. The star tortoise is very close in shape to a Gömböc, the first known mono-monostatic object – that is an object which is always self-righting. That way, if it ever looses its balance, it should fold its feet under its shell and wait until it rights itself and it feels stable again.
So how do I go about building such a robot? Well, I don’t know – yet. But here are a few first thoughts.
It’ll need a lot of processing power, so I’m considering an Atom motherboard, perhaps the IM-945GSE by MSI. I like the Dynamixels a lot – but I wish they were smaller.
I like Li-Po’s for power, but I have no idea how I should go about connecting them to a motherboard.
Gömböc, lithium, motherboard
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Quadruped Robot
Saturday, May 9th, 2009inspiration, quadruped, tortoise, video
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