tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74990098500661112322011-12-25T22:47:28.625-08:00Robotics news and the coolest robotic gadgets reviewed by a robot fan..NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.comBlogger371100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-2573847407505943642008-04-13T05:03:00.001-07:002008-04-13T05:03:47.346-07:00

Houdini, one of RedZone's field robots, is designed to fold in half so that it can move through tight spaces on its way to the job (which usually involves bulldozing toxic waste). Any mobile robot that does work would fit into this category. Utility robots are often called "field robots" . This area of robotics is coming on strong right now, & within a decade, utility robots will likely be

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-6786834425595844902008-03-30T07:44:00.000-07:002008-03-28T11:14:17.070-07:00

Dogs have lived among humans for millennia. In the ruins of northern Israel, the remains of a man estimated to be 12,000 years old were discovered with the left hand resting on the skull of a 4-to 5-month old puppy. All over the world among ancient human ruins, we find the remains of dogs.Among the 4,000 species of mammals & 10,000 species of birds, humans have only been successful in taming

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-19096677247829849442008-03-30T07:30:00.000-07:002008-03-30T01:37:19.621-07:00

Well right about now we have seen just about all variants that a USB Drive could come in, but none before scream prolificness such as these Japanese USB flash drives. Want to store some confidential files? This new line is actually compatible with standard Lego bricks, which means build a mock Lego set, add your trusty lego USB Drive too the mix, and consider it concealed forever. Now the only

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-236041542156120502008-03-21T04:18:00.000-07:002008-03-21T05:09:55.592-07:00

A mechanical computer mouse has an ingenious way of translating the movement of a mouse's rubber ball into X- & Y-coordinate movement on your screen. Inside the mouse are two encoder wheels .As you move the mouse around on the desk, it rotates these wheels inside (one wheel being perpendicular to the other, with their drive shafts in contact with the ball). The encoder wheels have slits in them,

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-33278544000635425382008-03-21T04:08:00.000-07:002008-03-21T04:14:39.130-07:00

For our mousebot, we used an old Kensington Mouse-in-a-Box Scroll model. It's big enough to fit all of our robot components inside of it.Making sure there's enough room in the case is something you're going to have to be certain of before you unholster your Dremel tool & start unhooking your mouse. Unscrew the mouse case & eyeball the placement of all of the robot parts. The main thing you need

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-84805115139453994632008-03-21T03:30:00.000-07:002008-03-21T03:43:14.885-07:00

Mousey the Junkbot requires the following parts (2) light sensors (taken from mouse)(1) SP/ST toggle switch (Solarbotics Part #SWT2)(1) junked computer mouse (or new el cheapo one)(2) small DC motors (highly recommended: Solarbotics Part #RM1)(1) double-pole/double-throw (DP/DT) 5V relay (Solarbotics Part #RE1)(1) LM386 audio operational amplifier (Solarbotics Part #LM386)(1) SP/ST touch switch (

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-27307870185306079552008-03-21T03:04:00.000-07:002008-03-21T03:30:27.176-07:00

Before Building Robots you'll also need to lay in a few supplies... Solder— Solder can be called the "glue" which holds our digital robotic world together. It's a conductive metal alloy (mostly a combination of tin and lead or tin and silver) combined with a compound called flux. Solder melts under quite low temperatures (120–400 deg) and quickly cools to form a strong, durable bond between

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-33695362903888427062008-03-19T05:45:00.000-07:002008-03-19T07:00:00.398-07:00

Specialty tools that will make building robots a little bit smootherParts picker-upper— This gizmo is sometimes called a three-claw parts holder, but I've always called it a parts picker-upper ('cause that's what it does). Electronic and robot parts are often small, and inevitably, they fall into crevices and other hard-to-reach places. The parts picker-upper is a pen-sized device that has a

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-74001481316956748072008-03-19T05:30:00.000-07:002008-03-19T05:45:23.720-07:00

You can build most of the commercial robot kits with nothing more than the tools just discussed. The following tools, however, will make your robot building easier & more enjoyable Digital multimeter (DMM)— A digital multimeter is an indispensable piece of electronic test equipment. As the name implies, it is designed to test ("meter") a number of different electronic components & events.

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-90455755021272826742008-03-19T05:07:00.000-07:002008-03-19T05:33:08.949-07:00

Must-Have Tools When Building a First robotYou shouldn't even think about building the robots without having the following tools in your work area.Making your First Robot Can be a daunting task & these tools will make ur life easier.Small screwdriver set— Most small robots use both flat-head & Phillips-head machine screws in their construction. The screwdrivers you likely have in your home

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-24289210568633150282008-03-15T07:35:00.000-07:002008-03-28T11:14:27.253-07:00

AkihabaraNews, reports of a Bandia’s metal “Ghost In The Shell” Tachikoma desktop USB robot which is able to read your e-mail, create/process applications and even allows for mini games. Tachikoma robot can be plugged into any USB port and will react in numerous ways (eyes, lights, and speaker) due to included companion software with this cool robot. Its available right now from GeekStuff4U for

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-76810821968630433112008-03-15T07:11:00.000-07:002008-03-15T07:19:15.107-07:00

These cool new video players are roughly the size of a credit card, and offer full video play back on their on their itty bitty screens.Both video players go for $99.99, theres a black (Neon M3) version with heat-sensitive back-lit buttons and a 2.4-inch screen, and a stainless (ICE) model with a relatively larger “2.8-inches” screen. Additional features of these video players include an FM tuner

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-11244384141129209572008-03-15T07:05:00.000-07:002008-03-15T07:10:52.828-07:00

The nostalgia from this USB drive is undeniable. Let’s be real, I think everyone born before 85 had at least one. Even I experimented with the tapes, as a matter of fact the very first Hip-Hop album I purchased was on tape, Too Short’s ‘Gettin It’, but enough of the reminisce and back to the drive. It has a puny capacity of 64 MB, which might fit an entire album and it is packaged neatly in a

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-85381506336356496172008-03-15T01:36:00.000-07:002008-03-15T02:04:08.729-07:00

Vstone’s recently unveiled “Black Ox” Robot, he stands a at 1.5 feet and has 20 movable parts, but wait till you see what this mean Robot is made of.In the video after the break watch him ice grill, chunk em’, and stomp his invisible foes out. Stay tuned for official release date and price. Tagline for this RobotAre you an asshole, tyrant, and a bully? Have you been searching for the perfect

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-88068470720252965582008-03-15T01:19:00.000-07:002008-03-15T01:25:55.435-07:00

Real transformers (Large robots) are now currently under construction. British scientists have just announced that today they will be taking the first steps in this astonishing cool robotics(but completely irrelevent) project. The £4.6million (roughly $9 million USD) experiment will attempt to build swarms of tiny robots, each the size of a sugar cube, that navigate around on their own and

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-65455448867812701872008-03-14T06:12:00.000-07:002008-03-14T06:14:35.993-07:00

FrictionCalculating friction is often a black art. There are many situations which are hard to factor in such as surface tension, humidity, etc. But there are several sure ways to find a reasonable value to help you build your robot. The first thing you should look at is what is called the coefficient of friction. This is a dimensionless property which can be looked up for any two materials.

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-76522131490847122692008-03-14T06:10:00.000-07:002008-03-14T06:12:07.454-07:00

Safety Factor If you are unsure of various perhaps uncalculatable factors, always add what is called a factor of safety. For example, suppose you guess a beer can weighs between 1 to 2 pounds. A factor of safety would say, 'design the system to handle 2.5 pounds, just in case.' So what should your factor be? Guess. I would recommend 1.2, but its really up to you. What does this number mean?

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-38159187785688987872008-03-14T06:08:00.000-07:002008-03-14T06:10:02.133-07:00

PulleysCalculating pulley forces is very simple. A pulley is a simple moment arm. The force being applied on the rope multiplied by the pulley radius is the torque being applied. But now notice that there are two forces countering each other. This is like two opposite moments, so you would subtract them. Remember, don't be confused by the device itself. Even if the pulley were square, the

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-84292689553146251482008-03-14T06:04:00.000-07:002008-03-14T06:07:36.864-07:00

ROBOTIC concepts on Moment Arms Moment arms will probably be the most useful for you. The basic equation is moment equals force times the distance of the beam the force is being applied perpendicularly at. Moment = Force * distance Here is the first example. What you see is an object of some length. It is fixed rigidly at one end. And the other has some force being applied to it. This force

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-69843417602496214312008-03-14T05:42:00.000-07:002008-03-14T06:15:45.869-07:00

Introduction to ROBOTIC Mechanical Engineering Theory, StaticsWant to optimize your Robot parameters mathematically? Want to verify that an expensive motor you are about to purchase has enough torque? This is a math tutorial for robot chassis construction. This tutorial is useful if you would like to mathematically either prove your robot will work, or optimize it so that it would work better.

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-47457835242519505392008-03-14T05:03:00.000-07:002008-03-14T05:15:08.351-07:00

GRID solving Robot is useful for various robotics competitions. Here we have built a basic Grid solving robot using the iBOT by using 5 line sensors as shown in the image. The basic principle used for grid following is detecting the intersection and taking a turn accordingly. Here we have programmed the Robot for moving in a diagonal way from one end of the grid to another. As shown in the figure

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-72656702898392936092008-03-14T04:39:00.000-07:002008-03-14T04:50:25.073-07:00

To increase the precision we can employ a sequence as shown which is known as half stepping. In this before we de-energize the first coil we energize the second coil. So the rotor finds itself being pulled by two forces and it settles in between the two positionsA B A` B`1 0 0 01 0 0 10 0 0 10 0 1 10 0 1 00 1 1 00 1 0 01 1 0 0For bipolar motors we need to reverse the direction of the current

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-76881555515031302012008-03-14T04:28:00.000-07:002008-03-14T04:39:19.945-07:00

The most common problem we face when we use normal DC motors is that we don’t have precise control over how much it rotates. To rotate DC motors through a particular number of degrees what we can do is either calibrate it for a delay based operation i.e. if I switch it on for n seconds it moves 360 degrees; or what we can do is attach n encoder to the shaft which gives us a feedback on how much

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-90934800557081098282008-03-14T03:52:00.000-07:002008-03-14T04:04:22.740-07:00

Through the eye of the storm…The Atlantic Hurricane Season began early in 2007, & by mid-December it was still going. The season officially begins June 1 & ends Nov. 30. That means that for the most part, storms have formed & fizzled between those dates, or they used to.NASA satellites were watching & providing data from the beginning when Andrea kicked off the season on May 9 when she formed 150

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-92088715790326443072008-03-14T03:45:00.000-07:002008-03-14T03:52:45.742-07:00

Robotic Scientific researchers from around the world made a robotic fish swim, a synthetic flower bloom, & a giant metallic blimp fly using artificial muscles at the annual Electroactive Polymer Actuators & Devices Conference. Yoseph Bar-Cohen, with JPL's Advanced robotics Technologies Group, chaired the conference, held this week in San Diego.Artificial muscles -- or electroactive polymers --

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-72208823422353803002008-03-14T03:30:00.000-07:002008-03-14T03:35:01.446-07:00

Popular culture has long pondered the question, "If it looks like a human, walks like a human & talks like a human, is it human?" So far the answer has been no. Robots can't cry, bleed or feel like humans, & that's part of what makes them different.Lets look at some conceptions..What if Robots could think like humans?Biologically inspired robots aren't just an ongoing fascination in movies &

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-66132744190353059642008-03-14T01:28:00.000-07:002008-03-15T01:36:22.287-07:00

This is probably the most expensive gadget u`ll see all year apart from some robot(think transformer robot).We present to you the latest in unnecessary gadget frivolousness, the adamant (16GB  flash drive). This limited edition drive will be exclusive to just 50 units worldwide & will feature 16GB of capacity, a diamond trinity on the front (0.15 carats each), a pinch of yellow gold & an elegant

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-2377257518767723482008-03-10T16:27:00.000-07:002008-03-10T16:35:06.007-07:00

This type of robot is a little different than the rest. In research labs, school classrooms, & garages & basements all over the world, piles of mechanical, electronic, & computer parts can be seen motoring around, trying to make sense of their world. Bots of this type are often the least "style" conscious, & often have no shell. The form is usually the lowest priority & often takes the shape of a

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-24894245748607703652008-03-10T16:20:00.000-07:002008-03-10T16:27:49.166-07:00

Hello C-3PO! This fidgety fella from a galaxy far, far away has become the poster bot for our dreams of the humanoid robot (personally, I always get the image of a rampaging Terminator, but then, I'm a perverse sort). Humanoid robots are bipedal, have heads, usually arms, & are often human height (or at least human proportions). These robots tend to be the most complex, have the biggest "brains"

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-39127524930360116162008-03-10T16:17:00.000-07:002008-03-10T16:20:19.834-07:00

Looking to nature for inspiration in robot design has led to a fantastic menagerie of mechanical creatures. All sorts of bugs, reptiles, fish, crustaceans, & mammals have provided design ideas . Even how these critters behave—the communalism of ants, the swarming of bees, & the flocking of birds—has inspired designs for clusters of robots that function in a similar manner. Robo-critters often

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-20163746004349678042008-03-10T15:52:00.000-07:002008-03-10T16:04:00.192-07:00

Automated Industrial Manipulator RobotsThese are obviously the most prevalent type of robots to date. Not only your car, but also many of the consumer items in your home were probably bot-handled at some point. We tend to think of only the fixed robotic arm in this category, but industrial manipulators come in all sorts of configurations these days. If you ever see a news item about the auto

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-19278494124533980062008-03-10T15:37:00.000-07:002008-03-10T15:52:04.767-07:00

Robot sports deals with the idea of using human competition as a way of accelerating robot evolution. Other robot researchers, such as Fred Martin & Randy Savage at MIT, were also using games as a way of inspiring students to "go for the gold" in robot design. MIT's infamous 6.270 electrical & computer engineering design course turned into a robot design competition in 1992.For the MIT

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-85220801050169824162008-03-10T15:18:00.000-07:002008-03-10T15:37:24.762-07:00

The idea behind the humanoid robot project is to create those robots that are not necessarily universal, but can at least handle multiple tasks. One application commonly talked about is care for the elderly. One can only imagine how many different & changing circumstances that might entail.We humans love a robot fashioned in our own image. Science fiction has pushed this idea of what a robot

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-45424577009550401602008-03-10T14:45:00.000-07:002008-03-10T14:56:36.577-07:00

Here are some of the most memorable moments in the robotics field which changed the robot universe as we know:The events in the evolution of robo-kind that we've discussed so far only scratch the surface. There are more, so many more.But in the meantime, let's fast forward at 4x speed through some other significant milestones along the road to our robotic future.Third Century B.C.— Aristotle gets

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-40067541096802048282008-03-10T14:32:00.000-07:002008-03-10T14:45:28.722-07:00

So how does one define robot? Think you know? It's obvious, you say? you probably got thoughts something like:A machine that can do the work of humans.A humanoid machine that can think and act on its own.A machine that's self-aware.A mechanical man that serves drinks at parties.I can't really define robot, I just know one when I see it!!!. These definitions aren't exactly right, are they? They

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-48941746781222122482008-02-27T03:35:00.000-08:002008-03-14T03:45:03.831-07:00

Two Southern California schools -- Glendale's Roosevelt Middle School & Reseda's Shirley Avenue Elementary School -- captured top honors at a Lego robotics competition sponsored by JPL on Tuesday, Feb. 26.The winning schools were two of 12 schools that participated in the second annual Southern California NASA Explorer Schools Robotics Competition, held at JPL's von Karman auditorium. JPL is the

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499009850066111232.post-88069201428105548302008-02-26T06:54:00.000-08:002008-03-26T08:14:45.430-07:00

M01 Mech Robot Target Environment of robotLocomotion MethodIndoors2 LegsSensors / Input DevicesActuators / Output Devicesjoystickwindshield wiper motors (2)Control Method Power SourceOperated by passengerBatteryCPU TypeOperating SystemN/AN/AProgramming LanuageWeight  N/AN/ATime to build the robotCost to build the robot  3 months$1000Robot`s URL for more information  http://basicrobotics.net/

NSensationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07274151717669475303noreply@blogger.com0