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I posted to hackaday.com

Low Cost Killer Robot

http://hackaday.com/2010/03/11/low-cost-killer-robot/

One of our most prolific commenters, [mrgoogfan], shared with us his working BattleBots style robot. Built for under $500, it is capable of zipping around at 25 miles an hour under load. Chances are, this robot would be just as much fun as a Bar Stool Racer as it is with all the weapons attached. The bill of materials also includes a good number of links as well as prices to get the blossoming roboteers in the audience started. We cant wait for the microcontroller automated version, because the idea of a big angry killer Roomba is just the kind of thing that makes us happy. Oh, and we might have a couple suggestions for weapon packages…

Check out the video after the break to see [mrgoogfan] zipping around on the top of his robot and showing off the weapons systems.

Have any of you built your own BattleBot or similar platform? We would love to hear from anyone willing to show off a cheaper, faster, smarter, or stronger build, or any tips for people looking to get started in building their own.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- battlebots
- platform
- battlebot
- fight
18 Hours, 26 Minutes ago | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Cardboard Androids

http://hackaday.com/2010/03/08/cardboard-androids/

Who needs expensive acrylic based, microcontrolled robots with only a few sensors available when cardboard and an Android cellphone will work much better for much less in cost! The team over at Cellbots have done just that. While they did cheat a little by using a laser cut cardboard for exact measurements and including an Arduino to control the servos, they certainly attained their goal of “cheap” (assuming the already had the cellphone). We’re just wondering why it took them 4 weeks for a little CAD and code.

Regardless, one idea that immediately comes to mind is thousands hundreds a few little cardboard swarm bots ravaging homes everywhere, just don’t step on them.

[Thanks Mashable]
- Tags:
- android
- arduino
- robot
- servo
- cardboard
- arduino hacks
- android hacks
March 8 2010, 5:50pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Veteran robot features eight legs and BeagleBoard

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/11/veteran-robot-features-eight-legs-and-beagleboard/

This spider-bot was built by [Zhanx] during his deployment in Iraq. He didn’t have prior hardware building experience and started out on this project when he received an Arduino to play with in September. Must be a fast learner! The parts are laser-cut from ABS plastic and connected to 24 servos. He sourced an SSC-32 serial servo control board to take care of the motor connections.

[Zhanx] has since migrated from the Arduino to a BeagleBoard which you can see perched atop the body in the video after the break. This should give him plenty of speed and power to improve the movement routines. There’s some nice work here but adding rubber feet, like on yesterday’s hexapod, wouldn’t hurt.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- arduino
- robot
- abs
- spider
- beagleboard
- iraq
February 11 2010, 11:31am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Robot band gives us so much to make fun of

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/30/robot-band-gives-us-so-much-to-make-fun-of/

[Pat Metheny] has a robot armada backing him up when he performs on stage. They’re going on tour and he’s done an interview explaining his mechanical band. Like the auto-drummer, this setup uses multitudes of solenoids to play the percussion instruments, each getting commands from a computer. It’s pretty wicked to see him use his guitar as a marimba controller; it’s so responsive that he can tremolo and the solenoid follows in kind.

But there’s a lot more going on here. We love to see crazy facial hair from time-to-time, but this guy’s just got crazy hair! This easy listening isn’t exactly hair-band material but more like live-action Animusic. It’s also reminiscent of the automated orchestras at House on the Rock, an attraction you may remember reading about in American Gods. It’s fun to kid, but whether you like the music or not, he’s certainly talented when it comes to this genre.

[Thanks Grey]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- digital audio hacks
- robot
- drums
- solenoid
- easy listening
- percussion
January 30 2010, 3:40pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

SpiderBot prompts laser envy

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/21/spiderbot-prompts-laser-envy/

[Daniel's] horrifying hexapod makes us wish we were sitting next to a laser cutter. The parts are cut from 4.9mm plywood and include laser-sculpted sections to allow the twenty servos to properly seat in their mounting spaces. We would suggest that you build it in secret so as not to ruin the surprise when your house mates come home to find this romping around their room.

Sadly, we couldn’t find video of this in action but go look at this other hexapod if the still shots aren’t good enough. Adding two legs to the party, you behold the video after the break of the 8-legged spider milled from ABS.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- hexapod
- laser
- spiderbot
- plywood
January 21 2010, 3:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

NXT hacks: tanks and heaters

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/20/nxt-hacks-tanks-and-heaters/

Here’s a double-dose of Lego NXT goodness; a robotic tank and an automatic aquarium heater.

The image to the left is a robotic tank powered by the popular Lego Mindstorms NXT kit. The brains rest inside of a tube, including the controller brick, ultrasonic range finder, a gyroscope, and a compass. Two sets of treads surround each edge of the tube making us wonder which end is up? We’ve embedded a video of this beast after the break. You’ll see that the tank is incredibly agile in this configuration.

To the right is an aquarium heater. [Dave's] kid were growing some tiny water dwellers which we’ve always know as Sea-Monkeys. The problem is that the tank needs to be between 72-80 degrees Fahrenheit for the little shrimp to thrive. He dug out his NXT controller and paired it up with the Lego temperature sensor and a dSwitch relay. This setup monitors the Aquarium for temperatures between 72-78 degrees and switches a lamp on an off to regulate the temperature. This keeps his kids and the stagnant pool happy.

Now that we’ve whet your appetite for NXT check out the wiimote operated NXT Segway and the NXT Sudoku solver.

[TubeIt via Make]
- Tags:
- Toy Hacks
- robot
- LEGO
- tank
- nxt
- heater
- mindstorms
- aquarium
- sea-monkeys
January 20 2010, 12:48pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Robot waits for no man when recharging

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/18/robot-waits-for-no-man-when-recharging/

Yikes, that power connector certainly wasn’t designed by Apple. Ugly as it may be, it’s the charging cable for a robot and acts as a sensor that allows the robot to properly align and plug into a power receptacle.

We’re going to go off on a tangent for just a second. We often think of the Rat Things from Snowcrash when considering robot power. They were nuclear powered (or something) and instead of recharging required constant cooling. Those day’s aren’t exactly around the corner but we think they’ve been realized in the lawn mowing robots that have a little nests to recharge in. Base stations work but they require the machine to return to the same place, or to have multiple charging stations.

The point is, this specialized cable makes base stations for robots obsolete. Now a robot can plug into any outlet it can get near, a great thing for robots roving large facilities. After the break you can see a video of this process. The robot arm zeros in by scanning horizontally and vertically and measuring the magnetic field put out by the AC in the wires of the outlet. Take a look, it’s a pretty neat piece of engineering.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- ac
- current
- inductance
- recharge
- plug
- rat thing
- snowcrash
January 18 2010, 10:05am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

LEGO robot lays dominoes not eggs

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/11/lego-robot-lays-dominoes-not-eggs/

[Mattias] brings the awesome once more with his LEGO robot that sets up dominoes. You’ll remember his work from the wooden keyboard case and the mechanical binary adder. This time around he’s still exercising those woodworking skills by making his own domino tiles, but it’s the robot that makes this interesting. In the must-see video after the break the device lays perfectly straight, perfectly spaced dominoes just begging to be upset by a spoiled toddler. The robot is nothing more than handful of LEGO parts powered by a tape deck motor. The parts may be meager, but there’s an abundance of ingenuity tied up in the design.

[Thanks Sion via The Awesomer]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- Toy Hacks
- robot
- LEGO
- domino
- tape deck
January 11 2010, 12:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

TOBI the tool bot

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/04/tobi-the-tool-bot/

[TheGrue] has put together this great writeup on how he built TOBI, the tool carrying robot. Inspired by a story he read about a robot that could follow people around, using heat sensors, he decided he wanted to do something similar. His robot would carry his tools, in this case, the tools of an IT professional. Not only would it carry his tools, but surely it would give him credit as a techno-guru to have a scratch built robot following him around.

His build process is documented quite well. He approached this in a fashion where he set several iterations. Each step would add a feature and carry the old features forward. It looks as if he’s currently working on step 3, which means that the chassis has already been built, the drive train is working, it can be remote controlled, and now has some level of autonomy thanks to a propeller controller. Up next are some range finders and an assortment of other sensors so that TOBI won’t drive off any steps, or into any walls.

[via hackedgadgets]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- platform
- classic hacks
January 4 2010, 10:30am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

New pet, Project 413

http://hackaday.com/2009/12/14/new-pet-project-413/

[Jacob] sent in his teams final project, Project 413. While sounding like something straight out of an action movie, don’t worry, it’s not the next terminator. Rather a combination of an eBox (in place of an EEE pc), omni wheels, motors, batteries, and the finishing touch – a hamster ferret ball. If this is sounding familiar to a certain web comic, then right you are, as XKCD was their main inspiration. Sadly, the web cam and ‘having a soul’ functions didn’t make it into their version, but being controlled via Wii remote is always a plus. Check out a video after the break.
- Tags:
- home entertainment hacks
- misc hacks
- wifi
- robot
- ball
- wii remote
- ebox
- hamster
- project 413
December 14 2009, 8:50am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Saturday afternoon robot cooking

http://hackaday.com/2009/12/05/saturday-afternoon-robot-cooking/

What happens when you combine an IR tracking PS3 Eyetoy, and a high-resolution projector? If you answered multi-touch display, you’re on the right track. Add a Wii Nunchuck controlled robot, a pinch of Community Core Vision tracking software combined with Processing, and the piece de resistance, a modified Memo TUIO particle system and you get the mesmerizing video above.

Check out this combination of crazy robotics and more with SparkFun’s free robot hobby builders meet-up on Saturday.

[Thanks Anon]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- wii
- multi touch
- input
December 5 2009, 4:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

(Remote controlled robot) car vs (solar charged) tank

http://hackaday.com/2009/12/05/remote-controlled-robot-car-vs-solar-charged-tank/

[Matthias] sent in his team’s iPhone Robot (CAR) project in response to yesterday’s iPhone controlled solar charged tank. Unlike the tank, the iPhone car is controlled via Bluetooth BTnode and BTstack, and also isn’t solar-powered. However, both projects utilize iPhones and readily available components. We particularly liked how it not only used a multi-touch input, but also the accelerometer within the iPhone. It seems some competition is stirring, lets see who wins out.
- Tags:
- misc hacks
- iPhone
- robot
- bluetooth
- car
- multitouch hacks
- btnode
- btstack
December 5 2009, 8:55am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Robo-one dance competition

http://hackaday.com/2009/11/30/robo-one-dance-competition/

This year at the creepy robot dace-a-thon, also known as the Robo-one dance competition, we get to see the creepy brought to new levels. We thought the Lou Vega decapitated head bot was creepy, but somehow these people managed to make a biped out creep a hexapod. Watch above as this uncanny valley resident tries to shimmy into your heart. We really are impressed by these bots though. The world of robot dancing has come a long way, those little servo bags are doing a better job than us on the dance floor.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- dance
- biped
November 30 2009, 9:34am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Automatic pneumatic drum kit

http://hackaday.com/2009/11/23/automatic-pneumatic-drum-kit/

Move over Steve and PEART… there’s yet another robotic drummer in town. [Fauzii] tipped us off to his own MIDI-controlled creation – WizardFingers. According to him, WizardFingers is already capable of 64th note rolls at over 250 beats per minute. That’s on every drum simultaneously. Each drum is hit with a lever attached to a linear pneumatic actuator. A laptop running MAX/MSP generates MIDI sequences, which are sent to Doepfer MTC64 board. All of these actuators are hooked up to the board, which sets them off in sequence.

[Fauzii] ultimately hopes to develop AI software that will allow WizardFingers to compose its own tunes on not only a drum kit, but bar chimes and an organ as well. His site documents the whole concept quite well (just watch out for wild cats).
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- digital audio hacks
- robot
- midi
- pneumatic
- drum
- automatic
- max
November 23 2009, 7:59am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Outerspace: reactive robotics

http://hackaday.com/2009/11/18/outerspace-reactive-robotics/

While Outerspace may not have an extremely useful function, being an art installation, we really enjoyed reading through the build information. Basically, Outerspace is supposed to appear to be curious, exploring it’s surroundings and reacting to your contact. We do enjoy a little bit of personality in robots, so this seems like it could be fun. The head has 5 photo sensors and each piece of the “arm” has capacitive sensors. This allows Outerspace to sense what is going on. The motion itself is controlled by 4 servos in the base pulling cables that run through the body.

The programming seems like it could use a little work to achieve the effect of being “curious”, but we see potential here. You can see a video of it in action here.

[via today and tomorrow]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- personification
- crabfu
November 18 2009, 2:59pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

BEAM robot tumbles aimlessly

http://hackaday.com/2009/11/17/beam-robot-tumbles-aimlessly/

[Harm's] tumbling robot from a few years back is an excellent study in simple motion. Foregoing wheels or legs, he uses four flippers to roll the robot around the room. Two motors are used, each in charge of two flippers. Identical but separate circuits drive the motors with a 74HC240 gate IC monitoring the continuously rotation. When a flipper becomes stuck, the circuit reverses the rotation of the motor so the simple bot can tumble its way out of a jam.

The circuitry is less advanced than some of the BEAM builds we’ve seen before. That doesn’t diminish the cleverness of his design and we think BEAM robotics are great way to get your head out of the computer code and go hardware only. After the break you can take in some video of the tumbling motion. We’ve also included a video of another bot from his website that uses concentric rings for another type of unique locomotion.

[Harm's] ‘W’ bot uses concentric rings for locomotion.

[Thanks Thomas]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- beam
- 74HD240
- tumble
November 17 2009, 2:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Robot interface lets fingers do the walking

http://hackaday.com/2009/11/12/robot-interface-lets-fingers-do-the-walking/

We’re filing this one under “best interface implementation”. This robot is controlled by finger gestures on the surface of an iPod Touch. It can walk forward, turn, sidestep, jump, and kick a ball based on the input it receives from your sweaty digits. Unlike vehicles controlled by an iPhone (or by Power Wheels), this has some potential. Especially considering the inevitable proliferation of multi-touch devices in our everyday lives.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- iPhone
- robot
- gesture
- iphone hacks
- fingers
- best interface
November 12 2009, 12:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

AWE: a robotic wall

http://hackaday.com/2009/11/09/awe-a-robotic-wall/

AWE is an interesting project, where your office wall is a helpful robot. That’s the goal anyway. The wall is articulated and can reconfigure its shape to fit your needs. You can see in their video that they have come up with several specific uses for AWE at different positions. We want to like AWE, we see that there is potential there. The video hasn’t won us over, there just wasn’t enough added benefit over a simple setup like a projector mount. We think the real benefit just isn’t as obvious. When we saw the girl stand up, and the wall back away intuitively, our attention was regained. What potential uses do you guys see?

[via BotJunkie]
- Tags:
- home hacks
- robots hacks
- robot
- awe
- wall
November 9 2009, 10:21am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Another mini KeepOn?

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/31/another-mini-keepon/

[Eustice Scrubb] has posted some videos and pictures of a robotic “eye stalk” that he’s building. It looks like the final version is using 3 servos in an arrangement like tendons through a slinky jr. The ping-pong ball on the top has a BlinkM inside it. You can see a video after the break that shows the three servo tendons in motion. The whole thing is controlled by an Arduino and one of his pictures states that it plays mp3s and has an internal pendulum. None of his pictures seem to implicitly state what it is meant to do though.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- arduino hacks
- keepon
October 31 2009, 12:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Remote controlled claw of doom

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/27/remote-controlled-claw-of-doom/

Robotic claws are awesome, period. [Jeremy's] Remotely controlled robotic claw, thats just a whole new level of cool – even if the intention is to just pick up blocks. The setup is simple enough, a Parallax Propeller controls the whole system by first polling a web server for changes in variables that the user has invoked. Those changes are then passed to relays that control the claw. To keep from fumbling in the dark, he’s even included a webcam. We hate to see that he’s used such expensive equipment to just control a toy, but maybe one day he’ll move to bigger and better things.
- Tags:
- Toy Hacks
- robot
- remote control
- internet
- claw
- Parallax Propeller
October 27 2009, 8:43am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Ski bot

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/21/skii-bot/

[Bojan Nemec] has come up with a robot that can ski better than us. Not that skiing better than us is a hugely lofty goal. The bot is capable of skiing using standard, off the shelf skis. It has a dual computing system. One system only does steering and balance while the other does all the vision and control. He’s using the carving technique of skiing, stating that normal skiing is just too hard for a robot. That sounds like a challenge to us. You can check out the blooper reel, which is still better than us, after the break.

[via Neatorama]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- skii
- carve
October 21 2009, 12:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Awesome robots love Fanta

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/19/awesome-robots-love-fanta/

What you are seeing above is not a commercial for Fanta, though we think it would have been a good one. It also isn’t being played at an accelerated speed. That is a real time demonstration of the accuracy and speed the ABB robots achieve. We were surprised, even shocked, when we clicked play. We don’t know who came up with this idea, but we want those robots, and we want some Fanta. We’re a bit curious what industry needs beverage tracing robots though.

The last time we saw such amazing feats of robot awesomeness, they were bouncing balls and catching stuff in mid air.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- dexterity
- fanta
October 19 2009, 12:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Skittles, The Robotic Blimp

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/16/skittles-the-robotic-blimp/

Funky Shiitake Mushrooms, a high school design team from Fremont, CA, have created a low cost airship they call Skittles the Second. Skittles is a remote control robotic blimp, complete with 4 reversible propellers, wireless video, and 2.4 a GHz remote control. Somewhere between a regular RC blimp and a Predator Drone, Skittles and FSM have managed to gain a large number of awards including winning the Digital Open grand prize. The ship performs amazingly, and can perform a full 360 in just over one second. There is a video after the break.

For the future, the group plans to give the ship autonomous capabilities, in order to avoid losing another drone in strong wind. Fortunately, after that happened to Skittles the first, they were able to hunt it down after it had floated 3 miles down the road. Since they are all high school students under 17, we would say they have a lot of potential. I, for one, welcome our new robotic blimp overlords.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- airship
- blimp
- high school
- skittle
October 16 2009, 10:00am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Morphing robot demonstrated at IROS

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/15/morphing-robot-demonstrated-at-iros/

A morphing robot was demonstrated at the IROS conference this week. This orb has no rigid structure but uses some type of “inflation” system for locomotion. This robot concept is offered up by the iRobot company as part of a DARPA initiative they’re working on. The “inflation” is really a substance in the skin that can be converted from a liquid-like state to a solid-like one. They call this “The Jamming Concept” and give a layman’s explanation in the video we’ve embedded after the break.

When moving, this white ball is a churning, turning, bulging mass of terror. The just-about-to-hatch pods from Alien, or perhaps something from Doom 3 come to mind. The hexapod from IROS that we covered yesterday was amazing, but this really creeps us out. What’s more, this is footage from the iRobot prototypes of a year ago. The newer stuff can do much more, like having several of these things glob together into one unit.

We’re glad that [DarwinSurvior] sent us the tip on this one, but now we’re not going to be able to sleep at night.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- blob
- irobot
- darpa
- jamming
- inflate
- IROS
- skin
October 15 2009, 12:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

DASH: clever construction and resilience in robotics

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/14/dash-clever-construction-and-resilience-in-robotics/

Behold the Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod (DASH). The video above was presented at the 2009 International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. In it we see the toils of a team from UC Berkeley’s Biomimetic Millisystems Lab. They’ve developed a robot propulsion system that mimics some of the best aspects of cockroaches and other insect bodies: speed, economy of motion, ability to survive large falls without damage, and the capability to traverse obstacles. Let’s take a look at how they put this together after the break.

We see a hexapod (six-legged) robot manufactured using cardboard and a polymer sheet. First, the general features for each part are laser cut from a sheet of cardboard (non-corrugated) in a mirrored pattern. A polymer sheet is then glued to one side of the pattern, the other side is folded over and glued to the top of the polymer. The whole thing takes a trip through a laminator and then heads back to the laser cutter to finish cutting out the pieces. If you’ve got these tools, this makes for a very fast build process. They claim the robot can be assembled in one hour.

With this particular design, the entire body of the bot provides propulsion. There are two different frames which rotate in relation to each other, each moving three of the legs in a rowing pattern. Directional propulsion is provided by flexing the entire frame diagonally using muscle wire. Because of the resilience of this building material, the ability of the frame to flex and return to shape also provides protection from falls. We see the device thrown off of a building and continue on without any apparent damage.

Make sure you take a look at the folded robot prototyping information the Berkeley team has previously posted on their website. They dip a bit more into the details of producing the laminated cardboard composite for the bodies. The work in the video is a big leap forward from their prototypes and leaves us wondering what will come next?

[via IEEE Spectrum]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- hexapod
- uc berkeley
- ieee iros
- muscle wire
- polymer laminate
October 14 2009, 10:03am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Robot Einstein could save humans from killbot destruction

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/13/robot-einstein-could-save-humans-from-killbot-destruction/

Earlier this year we saw the Einstein robot that is being developed to facilitate human facial emotions in robots. [David Hanson], the man in charge of this project, has given a TED talk on his work that includes a show-and-tell of his most recent progress. We’ve embedded the video after the break for your enjoyment.

The Einstein robot (head only in this video) shows off the ability to recognize and mimic the facial emotions of the person in front of it. There is also video of a Bladerunner-esque robot looking around a room, recognizing and remembering the faces of the people it sees. [David] makes a very interesting proclamation: he’s trying to teach robots empathy. He feels that there is a mountain of R&D money going into robots that can kill and not much for those that can sense human emotions. His hope is that if we can teach empathy, we might not be annihilated when robots become smarter than us.

That’s not such a bad idea. Any way you look at it, this talk is interesting and we wish the five-minute offering was five-times as long. But [Mr. Hanson's] facial hair alone is worth clicking through to see.

[photo: Bot Curiosity]
- Tags:
- android
- robots hacks
- robot
- einstein
- emotions
- empathy
- facial recognition
October 13 2009, 1:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Haptic Halluc 2

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/13/haptic-halluc-2/

We can not express the childlike glee that we experienced watching this video. We want so badly to have one of these setups. What you are seeing is a half dome projected cockpit with two haptic controllers in the style of a delta robot. This is controlling the Halluc robot which is a hybrid wheeled octopod. The dome can and has been done at home fairly simply, and we suspect that you guys could come up with some similar delta controllers. So who wants to build one and donate it to hackaday?

[via BotJunkie]
- Tags:
- home entertainment hacks
- peripherals hacks
- robots hacks
- robot
- projector
- haptic
- dome
- halluc
- hull
- octopod
October 13 2009, 11:00am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Scare ‘em silly with a moving pumpkin

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/07/scare-em-silly-with-a-moving-pumpkin/

Halloween is a scary time for the little ones. It’s dark, they can barely see through their injection molded Spiderman masks, but it’s all worth it for the candy.

Our friends over at Evil Mad Scientist Labs have produced a pumpkin that moves on its own. The little pumpkin was disemboweled from the bottom and its guts were replaced by a simple robot. Three Lego wheels provide this base with one attached to a continuous rotation servo that provides the motion. The device is powered by 3 AAA batteries and powered by an Atmel ATtiny2313 microcontroller. For added terror there are two green LEDs that act as ghoulish eyes.

We’ve embedded the video of the Rovin Pumpkin in action after the break. This is a wonderfully simple way to spice up your front porch decorations on All Hallows’ Eve.
- Tags:
- pumpkin
- robots hacks
- Halloween
- robot
- servo
- LEGO
- attiny2313
- evilmadscientist
October 7 2009, 12:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Robot security patrol brings Skynet closer

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/06/atv-brings-skynet-closer/

The students at the University of Oklahoma have put together a robot that will surely join the other drones in our future robot overlord regime. This autonomous vehicle was produced to replace human security patrols which can be both boring and dangerous. Intent on delivering surveillance to most locations, an all terrain vehicle was used as the base. It can navigate by itself through an obstacle avoidance system and communicate video and audio wirelessly. After the break we’ll take a look at the systems that make this work.

The team implemented steering controls by mounting a geared motor to the front of the ATV. This steering motor interfaces with a gear they added to the steering column via a chain. Obstacle avoidance is facilitated by sonar sensors on the front and sides of the chassis. These sensors can detect ground level obstacles such as curbs.

The vehicle uses both pre-programmed as well as sensor-based behavior. To start, the patrol route is fed into the program. Once unleashed, the bot uses a combination of this data, as well as input from a GPS module, digital compass, and the range finders to complete its mission. All of these components are tied together by the onboard Toughbook in conjunction with a 16-bit microcontroller. A wireless router provides connectivity for transferring data as well as remote joystick based control if needed.

Project developers [Fares Beainy] and [Sesh Commuri] sent us their paper detailing the project (PDF). The readily available, inexpensive hardware used to complete this bot says a lot about how far we have come with technology. It shouldn’t be too much longer before this type of hardware shows up in your town sweeping the streets for criminal scum (or humans recently escaped from the processing facility).
- Tags:
- security hacks
- robots hacks
- autonomous
- robot
- atv
- drone
- abomination
- overlord
- surveillance
- terminator
October 6 2009, 11:00am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Quoth the Raven: hack some more

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/03/quoth-the-raven-hack-some-more/

There are people who buy a cheap sack of candy and dutifully answer the door on Halloween. Then there are people like [Peter] who spend the whole year planning for the next year’s Hollywood-style front yard theatrics.

He added an animatronic raven to his show a few years back. It has been wildly popular and it’s not hard to see why. The bird is well engineered, well built, and the performance is very realistic. [Peter], who is an FX supervisor in the film industry, has posted a build log that takes us through step by step. This creepy performer can move its head up and down, side-to-side, and even rotate at the neck. This all happens while the beak synchronizes with talking. We marvel at the precision machining that was done to make the frame facilitate movement.

The body itself is made of fiberglass covered with feathers. [Peter] covered the completed mechanics with clay in order to sculpt the final body shape. This was used as the mold by covering it with fiberglass release and then fiberglass fabric. This process produced a very light weight and accurate shell with a minimum of effort; something we’ll keep in mind for future projects.

Take a look at a bit of video after the break. You can see the whole show from past years over at [Peter's] site. We’ll be doing a couple of follow-ups covering his animatronic skeleton (the raven’s partner in crime) as well as the interface he uses to control and sync the voices to stay tuned!
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- Halloween
- robot
- servo
- animatronics
- fiberglass
- raven
October 3 2009, 5:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Pick-and-place Lego prototyping

http://hackaday.com/2009/09/30/pick-and-place-lego-prototyping/

[Ned] tipped us off about his project for a class at Carnegie Mellon. Utilizing a Denso 6-AOF robotic arm they have built a rapid prototyping machine that uses Lego as the building material. LDraw, the open standard Lego CAD program, is used to build a model which is then translated into MATLAB files that the robotic arm can use for placement commands. Right now pieces need to be placed on a template for the robot to find and pick up.

It’s great that Lego pieces are used because they are readily available and inexpensive, but this type of precision robot makes the project unattainable for most tinkerers. Still, the concept is interesting and we could see an end goal being a more widely available machine. It’s not too much of a leap to image a RepRap type machine that takes internal measurements of a circuit board and the components, calculates inside case dimensions, then builds a prototype enclosure from common Lego pieces.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- rapid prototyping
- robot
- cnc
- LEGO
- arm
September 30 2009, 9:00am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

OmniZero.9 multi format biped

http://hackaday.com/2009/09/28/omnizero-9-multi-format-biped/

There are so many biped bots circulating the web that we tend to overlook them. This one caught our eye this morning due to its interesting ability to change its layout. Named OmniZero.9, this biped can drive on 4 wheels like a car, walk like a biped, and even carry a person. While it certainly doesn’t look like the most comfortable mode of transportation, it looks less awkward than some of the latest “innovations” coming from big names.

[via GetRobo]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- biped
- robo one
September 28 2009, 9:18am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Radio controlled beetle flight footage

http://hackaday.com/2009/09/25/radio-controlled-beetle-flight-footage/

Earlier this year we were amazed when University of California researchers controlled a beetle via electrical implants. The video available at the time of the original report showed beetles tethered in place while electrical stimuli was applied via the chip. New video of free flight is has now been posted. Although the motion is rather sporadic, it is obvious that simple commands to start flight, stop flight, and turn left or right are having their intended effect. Check out this cyborg action after the break. Is DARPA one step closer to unleashing legions of insect warriors on unsuspecting masses?

[via Popular Science]
- Tags:
- news
- robots hacks
- robot
- rc
- beetle
- insect
- cyborg
- darpa
- implant
September 25 2009, 3:30pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Vintage Hack – Game Boy Camera

http://hackaday.com/2009/09/23/vintage-hack-game-boy-camera/

Back in 2005, a member of a French robotics team named [Laurent] wrote a wonderful how-to that we somehow missed on using the Game Boy Camera as a vision device for a robot. The images above are actual shots from his project. The Game Boy Camera features a stunning 128×123 pixel resolution in a gorgeous 4 color gray-scale palette. Possibly the most attractive feature of this hack is that it is still possible to get a hold of these cameras for under ten dollars on ebay.

He connected the camera sensor to an Atmel AT90S4433 using a combination of digital and analog signals, and then used the microcontroller to echo the data back to his PC. His write up includes schematics for wiring up the sensor/microcontroller, the datasheet for the sensor, his C code for the whole project, and an easy to read pin out of the GBC connector. Although his project simply offloaded the image to a computer, it would be entirely possible to have the microcontroller respond to the image or simply just log and store it. It would also be just as easy to replace his Atmel chip with your own favorite microcontroller, as long as it has a couple Digital I/O ports and at least one Analog port (or an external analog to digital converter).

UPDATE: Good catch r4v5, it would require an ADC, not a DAC.
- Tags:
- camera
- handhelds hacks
- robot
- gameboy hacks
- game boy
- Atmel
- digital cameras hacks
- serial
- vision
September 23 2009, 8:06pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Pool-playing robot + ARpool

http://hackaday.com/2009/09/20/pool-playing-robot-arpool/

Enjoy losing at pool? Well the folks at Queen’s University just made it a whole lot easier. The Deep Green robot was created with the purpose of playing a flawless game, allowing it to beat even the most skilled human players. More than a couple of research papers have been written on the project. A ceiling-mounted Canon 350D tracks the position of all of the balls, in addition to another cue-mounted cam (for higher shot accuracy). Using a bunch of calculations, and a computer (probably more advanced than an Arduino), the Deep Green is able to strategize and play. Very well.

On a positive note, another team from Queens is working on a seperate but related project: ARpool (as in augmented reality). It was created to make playing pool easier. The website does not provide much info, but it seems to project different moves onto the pool table, allowing an inexperienced player to tell whether a shot is at all possible.
- Tags:
- misc hacks
- robots hacks
- robot
- ar
- augmented reality
- pool
- arpool
- deep green
- queens
September 20 2009, 11:00am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

AVR controlled Rubik’s cube solver

http://hackaday.com/2009/09/11/avr-controlled-rubiks-cube-solver/

[Andrius] just sent in his robot Rubik’s cube solver. It isn’t as fast as the solver we saw last year but it also doesn’t require as many parts either. This project utilizes two claws, each actuated by just two servo motors. The thinking is done by a PC which calculates the necessary moves to solve the cube. Each instruction is then passed via USB to the AVR ATmega16 microcontroller that is responsible for the servo operation.

Right now it looks like the colors for each starting face have to be entered manually before a solution is calculated. We think [Andrius] is probably planning to upgrade this with the next generation of his software as he already has a webcam setup for this type of analysis.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- rubiks cube
- solver
- classic hacks
- atmega16
September 11 2009, 4:44pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Programmable spring actuator legs

http://hackaday.com/2009/09/05/programmable-spring-actuator-legs/

This proof of concept shows an interesting way of making robotic legs. They are using programmable spring actuators to make these legs function as though they had a “reflex”. The builder pulls the robot along on a leash. As the leg reaches its limit of backward motion, a signal is sent from the shoulder down to the knee that lifts it, causing it to return to the forward position. A signal is also sent to the opposing shoulder to suppress the lift reflex, keeping them from both stepping at the same time. The resulting motion is very organic feeling. We’re curious how this could be implemented in a robot which moves under its own power.

[via makezine]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- leash
- relex
September 5 2009, 10:02am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Lego iPod hacking robot

http://hackaday.com/2009/08/30/lego-ipod-hacking-robot/

The Linux4nano project has been working to port the Linux kernel onto the iPod Nano along with other iPods in general. Although the iPodLinux project has had luck with some older iPods, newer models protect firmware updates with encryption. One of the ways they plan on running code on the device is through a vulnerability in the notes program; it causes the processor to jump to a specific instruction and execute arbitrary code. To take advantage of this, they first need to figure out where their injected code ends up in the memory. Currently, they are testing every memory location by painstakingly loading in a bogus note and recording its effect. Each note takes about a minute to test and they have tens of thousands of addresses to check over several devices.

Although they’ve cracked the 2G Nano, they still have a lot of work ahead of them. To make it easier, they’re working on automating it with button-pressing Lego Mindstorms-based robots. Dubbed Nanotron 3000, this line of robots can press the 3 buttons needed to test the iPod. Ideally, these robots should be able to go through over 23,000 addresses a day, which is much more efficient than doing it by hand. With luck, they’ll crack it soon.

Related: iPhone Linux

[via NYC Resistor]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- Linux
- apple
- robot
- LEGO
- iPod
- ipod hacks
- linux hacks
- brute force
- iPodLinux
- lego mindstorms
- Lego NXT
- linux4nano
- nanotron 3000
August 30 2009, 5:53pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Tiny light-seeking robots

http://hackaday.com/2009/08/28/tiny-light-seeking-robots/

[Alex] continues to delight us with his projects. His third-generation tiny Braitenberg vehicle, a light seeking robot, is a big improvement over its predecessor, the mini Braitenberg vehicle. He’s moved from an Arduino based design to using the AVR ATtiny25v, replaced the breadboard with a PCB, and reduced the parts count. We think it was a great idea to use shrink tubing to shield the back of the photo-resistors from ambient light. Don’t miss the video of these little guys chasing a flashlight beam after the break.
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- arduino
- AVR
- robot
- photoresistor
- arduino hacks
- light seeking
August 28 2009, 6:45pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

SpiderBot emulates spider-man

http://hackaday.com/2009/08/26/spiderbot-emulates-spider-man/

Spiderbot moves with four magnetic grapplers that it can launch, detach, and aim according to it’s path planning algorithm. While the robot is definitely not a final product and is quite a bit away from moving with the same grace and speed as our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, it is definitely one of the more interesting locomotion experiments out there. The video has some nice slow motion footage of the main mechanisms as well as screen captures of the path planning.

[Via BotJunkie]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- cable
- grappler
- launcher
- spider
- spider-man
- spiderbot
August 26 2009, 9:00am | More »

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