News – Page 29 – Marginally Clever Robots

News

Big Mess of Wires, the DIY 8-bit CPU

2015-02-02 Dan

If you ever get sick of modern computers, you can always restart from scratch and build your own CPU. There’s even a group of enthusiasts online who do that just for fun. They’re so fond of old tech they still have a web ring. Hello, 1995! You make me feel young again.

I think my favorite part of Steve’s incredible work is this quote from his project goals: “Keep the hardware complexity to a minimum. I’m not an electrical engineer.” Which is funny, because the voices in my head say “I couldn’t do that even if I was an electrical engineer.” and then “Not with that attitude.” Steve is a great example of willpower put into action, my friends. On a long enough timeline that’s all it takes, like Andy Dufrane digging that tunnel in <i>The Shawshank Redemption</i> or going to the moon.

For all the schematics, design plans, and encouragement check out The Big Mess Of Wires.

News

Miniature hydraulic quad walker

2015-01-30 Dan

Ingo with Modell Technik Hausl in Germany built this drool-worthy quad walker. I wonder if it’s made with parts from 1:14 scale RC construction vehicles?

All I know is I want to take apart six of those construction backhoes and use the digging arms to make a hydraulic crab walker.

News

January 2015 class: Arduino + RFID

2015-01-19 Dan

10 early birds and 5 late comers will get to explore our Arduino RFID starter kit. It included all kinds of goodies to put together and play with. There’s enough parts in here to automate your home aquaponics system or build a really tiny game of Tetris. sensors, joysticks, noise makers, motors, lights, and more.

Some programming knowledge and your own laptop are required. Please have Arduino software installed before arrival to save everyone time.

Find all the details on Eventbright.

News

SpaceX CRS-5 Launch

2015-01-12 Dan

Let’s start Monday morning with a blast.

I’m working hard right now on my robot arms. As you know from my about page, when they’re up and running I want to ship them to the moon and build a moon base by remote control.

SpaceX is my favorite choice right now because they seem to be the only company that’s really trying anything new. In most rocket launches the rocket falls apart as it goes up, throwing off parts it doesn’t need when they have been used up. These parts are really really expensive and are never used again. SpaceX is trying to land the expensive throwaways on a drone boat so they can be reused, saving money and lowering the cost of shipping to space.

Excellent.

Also there are some Makelangelo upgrades in the works. Expect a software update later today.

News

How to fix 9 common Polargraph drawing problems

2014-10-14 Dan

Here is a picture I’ve correctly drawn on a polargraph machine. Here are nine examples of common mistakes that can happen on any polargraph drawing robot – including the Makelangelo – and how to fix them. They are all a result of miscalibration. These should only need fixing once, so take the time to do it right: Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

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