Archive for Oktober 2011

Bomb Patrol in Afghanistan Uses a Robot to Blow Up an IED


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You have probably seen or heard of bomb squad people before, but have you heard that they use robots to blow up the IED's. TALON is the name of the robot that the bomb squad in the video used. This robot is equipped with tank like treads, an arm with strong servos, and multiple cameras. The treads allow this bot to easily move over rough terrain. The arm sets off the bomb, and the cameras let the bomb squad men see the what kind of bomb they have found (of course, without going up close to it). TALON job to ensure that no bomb blows up and wounds or even kills a person. Thanks for reading and check out the video above to see TALON do his dangerous task!

Personal review of hexbug nano


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After a quick stop at Radioshack, I finally managed to get my hands on the hexbug nano. I was pretty impressed with the design, but not impressed on how innovation first ripped of the creator's design of the "bristlebot." Anyways, this bot is pretty cool, fast, small (hence the name "hexbug nano"), and maneuverable. For example, when it hits an object then it just bounces right off, and if it flips on its back then it will flip back upright. The cost of this bot was $8.99, and they come in all colors. Thanks for reading and check out my video of unboxing above!

NAO robot can now beg for money


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Ive seen NAO do some pretty amazing things, but now NAO can beg for money! The video below was made by "TheAmazel," and he programmed his NAO to beg on the streets. Don't take my word for it; see for yourself in the video on the right. Thanks for reading and please like us on facebook or plus one us on google plus! 



Info source: video above

Real Steel movie review


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A few days ago I went to the movies to see "Real Steel," and its the newest movie on robots. In the beginning its starts off and at great pace, and it has scenes showing the bots right away. Later on the fights get bigger and better, but in the end the main character's bot has to fight with the strongest bot in the league. Below are some of the reasons why I like it.

  • good actors
  • great CGI
  • action all around
  • not to slow, but well paced
  • has fighting robots
  • good non-predictable ending
  • great movie all around
Now the reason it was PG-13 is because...

  • language
  • violence
  • dialogue (a little bit)
Overall I rate the movie 4 stars, and not to mention that its the number one movie in the U.S. . Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the movie if you saw it!



Cool FANUC robot can label objects


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Back then products where labeled by hand, but now its FANUC's turn! This robot is a six axis robot and its designed to quickly and smoothly, label products. It is equipped with the most accurate and agile servos and mechanics. This robot is able to complete its task with a built in IR camera, six-axis wrist, and a great overall design. Obviously this robot does a faster job than any person that labels items, and not to mention it does it better too. Thanks for reading and check out the demo video above to see this bot's labeling skills!

Bioloid robotic kit reviewed by generalgeek314


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If you have been into building robots then most likely you know about the humanoid Bioloid robot kit. If you haven't then that's okay, because its basically just a semi-complex robotics kit that is programmable. Anyways, one of my subscribers and supporters, generalgeek314, has made a review video of this robot. In the video he goes over the tech specs about the servos, the parts, and most importantly, the micro controller. So if your thinking about buying this robot, then you this video is great for you, and its packed with seven minutes worth of tech talk! Thanks for reading and a new robot post will be coming to you tomorrow!

Cool montage of robotics


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Today while browsing on YouTube I found this cool montage of robots. Even though its short, it still shows some very interesting robots like a crab robot! Just check out the video above to see it. Thanks for watching and please like us on facebook or +1 us on google +!

Robo-Roundup #29


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This weeks roundup features some very interesting robot posts, and I hope you like them!

1. The IROS 2011 Expo: http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/diy/iros-2011-expo-gallery

2. This robot is a pro at jenga: http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/robot-masters-jenga-next-the-world

3. Video of IROS 2011 Expo: (to the right)

4. Coo new chinese robots can play ping-pong:
http://www.plasticpals.com/?p=30472

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

How to fix your hexbug larva if it doesn't work


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If you're like me and you have a larva that won't turn on then keep reading. Ok, so first off get a tiny screw driver, your hexbug, and then unscrew the battery pack. Now take out the batteries and flip them. Thats all you have to do and you hexbug should work! Thanks for reading and watch the video above to see a video tutorial on how to fix your hexbug larva! Having any other Hexbug issues? Click here!

Robotics in 30 years


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If we go back to the 1970's then one f the technologies that was spreading was  computers. For example 40 years ago, if you walked into a home then you would probably wouldn't see a PC. A few decades went by and now we have computers and technological devices that can fit in the palm of our hand's. Now picture today, and if you walked into a home chances are there's no robot to be found. However, just like computers, robotics will start out small and then get hugely popular and everyday consumers will line up to get the latest in robotics technologies. All we can do now is learn, create, and innovate to shape  the future of robotics!

What is BEAM Robotics


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Maybe some of you have already heard about BEAM Robotics. For those who don't know exactly what a BEAM robot is I'll explain it to you in this post.
 BEAM stands for:B-iologyE-lectronicsA-estheticsM-echanics
 Common robots use a programmable microcontroller, which means some kind of computer, to make decisions. The more complex the behaviour of the robot the more complex the program in the microcontroller. Anyone who has already had some experience programming a robot can acknowledge this. With every new task the robot has to perform the complexity of the robot rises exponentially. It gets harder and harder to find and fix errors and to make the robot respond properly to its environment. Most developers would simply put much more effort into the "brain" of a robot to accomplish their goal. But the principle of BEAM offers another solution: Make the robot simpler by removing the microcontroller and use minimalist electronics instead. The results are much cheaper robots that can perform the same task even more efficiently than the microcontroller based ones. Another advantage of BEAM robots are that anyone can build one without even spending (much) money. The parts are easily available by reusing old components out of technoscrap. If you want to build a robot with a very simple behaviour "the common way" you'd probably spend about 50$ to 100$. If build a BEAM bot you might simply be able to do it for free. So if you want to know more about BEAM Robotics the following sites offer excellent information:"http://www.solarbotics.net/"Solarbotics"http://www.beam-wiki.org/">BEAM Wiki. Special thanks to BEAM Robotik for writing the post and his website is http://beam-robotik.blogspot.com/ !


Lego NXT goes solar


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If you like lego and robotics then chances are you've heard of the Lego Mindstorms robotics kit. Well, not to long ago Lego unveiled its new Lego Solar kit. This kit includes an NXT programmable brick, servos, and a solar panel that is compatible with the programmable brick. This kit will allow kids to create automated machines that can harness the power of the sun. To me this sounds pretty cool, and if you like being green then this kit is perfect for you. Thanks for reading and check out the video above to see the introduction of the Lego Solar kit!