One of the benefits of open source microcontrollers and other hardware is that with a modest investment in a software package such as EagleCAD, it’s a simple matter to create custom boards to fit the size and weight requirements of your robot. For example, let’s say you’re working on a pint-sized quadcopter drone and every bit of extra circuit board not only cuts down on battery time, but requires a larger enclosure. If you’re working with, say, an Arduino Uno, then you can leave off the USB connector and create a round instead of rectangular board to better fit your quad design.
]]>Every Sci-Fi enthusiast knows that real robots of the future look, act, and experience the world like their human creators. Witness David in Prometheus and Ava in Ex Machina. Getting to this stage of evolution involves a lot more than internal sensors of joint position. It requires a humanoid physiology — realistic responses to running up a flight of stairs, for example — as reflected in breathing rate and depth, heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body temperature, and energy expenditure among many other physiologic parameters.
]]>The innovators who are responsible for propelling robotics to the next level fall into one of two camps: robotic engineers or robotic experimentalists. Robotic engineers leverage the scientific methods learned in academia to design, build, and use robots and robotic systems. That’s a tall order for a single innovator, given that robotic engineering requires fluency in all of the engineering domains — from software and electrical, to mechanical and often bio-medical engineering. On the other hand, robotic experimentalists leverage hands-on practical experience in designing and developing next-generation robotics.
]]>When I added a second automatic (or self-winding) watch to my collection, I also discovered a new application for robotics — simulating human movement. The great thing about automatic watches vs. traditional mechanical versions is that you don’t need to wind them. That’s fine, until you add a second watch to your collection. It’s a hassle to manually wind and change the date and time and other “complications” on a watch every time you want to wear it. Of course, you could just wear a watch with a quartz movement, or just use your phone to tell time, but let’s stick with the mechanical watches for now.
]]>Working with robotics — whether it be finishing the legs of a crawler with epoxy paint, soldering a chip to a printed circuit board, or cleaning the metal gears in a servo with Acetone — can be a potentially hazardous operation. Volatile organic compounds (or VOCs) expelled into the air can be dangerous to your health. To avoid permanent neurological damage, I do my best to open the windows and wear an appropriate breathing mask when I work with cleaners and other VOC producing substances. However, I often cheat on the small five minute projects. Not a good practice.
]]>The current poster child of the DIY community is the 3D printer. However, from both a technological and market share perspective, the modern inexpensive sewing machine is the creative DIY tool of the masses. For the price of three or four spools of ABS plastic filament, you can purchase a computerized, self-threading sewing machine that can semi-autonomously create everything from button holes and decorative stitching to piping and rolled edges. Not only can these machines create a variety of stitches, but they can automatically adjust to materials of different weight and thickness. All of this automation translates to greater ease of use, a shorter learning curve, and more creative possibilities.
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