Robots are often designed with very specific tasks in mind. But what happens when you want a robot to be adaptable? Taking on the daunting task of coming up with a robot that can rise to whatever challenges it encounters, a team over at the Bio-Inspired Robotics Laboratory (ETH Zurich) have been making progress that could have serious implications in the world of digital manufacturing.
Utilizing Hot Melt Adhesive (the same HMA that we’ve all burnt our fingers with when using a handyman glue gun), their robot is able to create tools from scratch. It then makes use of these new devices to successfully complete tasks that it was otherwise unable to perform.
The following video gives an indication of where things are currently at. Although the process is similar to 3D printing, the team are quick to point out why they have chosen HMA rather than the usual thermoplastic materials. It all comes down to adaptability. A traditional 3D printed tool needs to be grasped/held/attached in some way. With HMA, the printed tool can be glued to the robot itself, and actually becomes a part of the machine. No need for graspers or fixing mechanisms. (more…)
So you can talk to the handBryan Cera describes himself as a designer, and artist and a maker, and his projects exemplify those directions with a mix of practical, conceptual and technical approaches. Digital fabrication is an integral part of Bryan’s creative process, and he’s not new to combining laser cutting, CNC milling and 3D printing in his projects.
Majority of Bryan’s projects involve re-purposed electronics and custom built circuits. The end result doesn’t have to have a practical application, as long as the experimentation process is fun. Metals and plastics are Bryan’s favourite materials to work with, as they are accessible, easy to machine and add a sense of permanence to the work. 3D printing in metal is certainly on that list.
One such project is Glove One:
a wearable mobile communication device. It presents a futile and fragile technology with which to augment ourselves. A cell phone which, in order to use, one must sacrifice their hand. It is both the literalization of Sherry Turkle’s notion of technology as a “phantom limb”, in how we augment ourselves through an ambivalent reliance on it, as well as a celebration of the freedom we seek in our devices. Emotional investment becomes physical, as the functionality of the device depends on the dysfunctionality of the wearer. While we enjoy the fantasies they offer, we rethink the technologies we construct and reflect on how they construct us.
Essentially, thisisa prototype for a mobile phone glove with a futuristic armor aesthetic that evokes a fusion of Inspector Gadget and Daft Punk robot gloves. The glove phone is designed around components from wrist-watch cell phone that wasn’t getting much use. The structure of the glove was 3D printed from Super Fine Plastic to give the parts the best form definition. Bryan wanted to give the glove a smooth, shiny finish, and that meant a lot of sanding and several coats of paint.More on Bryan’s process after the jump:
Meet the makers of the NTH Synth, following their successful Kickstarter campaign This mouth-wateringly good looking machine is the NTH Synth, a product that was recently crowd-funded on Kickstarter. I interviewed the guys behind NTH Synth about DIY electronics, designing for Ponoko, and how to get your crowd-funding campaign to stand out from the crowd. (more…)
Or, how to be an absolute boss Here’s a wonderful write-up on the trials, tribulations, and inspiring successes of Michal Zalewski’s 6-year journey into robotics. This well-written story is focussed on techniques for using CNC routing to create intricate molds for casting precision mechanical parts. Mouth-watering pictures after the break… (more…)
An Arduino-controlled puppet with moving eyes and mouth.
Jeff Kessler originally made TJ* to use in a short movie he was making before deciding to develop it for the public. TJ* is an animatronic puppet head with eyes the move up, down, left, and right as well as a moving mouth.
It is intended as both a toy for children that they can continue to improve as they grow up and as a development platform for makers and artists.
The complete system is still available for pre-order on Kickstarter for $120, but if already have an Arduino you can pre-order just the head and servo motors for $50.
One thing that is certain about the future (before we all start wearing matching jumpsuits) is that there are going to be more robots making their way into our daily lives. Where will these robots come from? The usual process would see long development times, high costs and teams of specialised professionals behind each new product.
Printable Programmable Machines is a research project out of CSAIL (that’s MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory) that is well on the way to achieving the goal of democratising robot manufacturing.
The idea is that we can all design robots – you don’t need to be an engineer or a programmer – all that is required is a modest level of computer skills and a little imagination. Automated software then prepares the concept for printing on a home 3D printer.
This is all heading towards something that resembles an API for robots, which should mean faster development from a broader selection of makers, thanks to a more streamlined process and compatibility with the latest innovations in digital manufacturing.
This research envisions a whole new way of thinking about the design and manufacturing of robots, and could have a profound impact on society.
Click through for a short video featuring the fish pictured above, along with a few other speedily manufactured robotic critters and devices.
The fifth-grader who made a fully-autonomous robot with Arduino.
The phrase “Are you smarter than a fifth-grader?” has an entirely new meaning when talking about Davis Fortenberry. Davis, age 10, designed and built a fully autonomous robot using an Arduino (in part) which won first place at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Southeastern competition, a university-level robotics competition. At first, some competitors objected because they thought he must be showing someone else’s work.
I don’t know what it is about the DIY electronics community that attracts these weirdos*, but I love it. Steffest hooked up an Arduino to a bunch of servos and odds and ends from around his house to create this adorable drummer bot. He then coded up a slick web interface so he can program the contraption from his smartphone.
More details and code are available on his website.
*NB: I use this term with the utmost respect, and include myself in their number.
The launch of the Raspberry Pi was a huge success.
The Raspberry Pi is a new $25 ($35 for model B) computer about the size of a credit card capable of running word processing, spreadsheets, games, and high definition video. We previously covered it last May while it was still in development (watch the interview in that post). It launched recently and was hugely successful, selling out within hours and crashing the sites of the distributors RS Components and Farnell. As of this writing, it is still sold out.
It should be noted that this is not a competitor to the Arduino. It is an entirely different thing. This is more like the PC on your desktop. It runs on Linux, and it uses a TV as the display and a keyboard for direct input. Model A at $25 has 256Mb of RAM, one USB port, and no Ethernet connection. Model B at $35 has 256Mb of RAM, two USB ports, and an Ethernet port.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a non-profit organization. Read all about the project on their site.
RSS Feed
follow
like
see
watch
Submit
