RoboCommunity - Roving RoboReporter

iSOBOTS!

milw — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:51:49 GMT

I finally acquired a pair of iSOBOTs, the little humanoid robot from Tomy. iSOBOT is driven by 17 servos and is able to do a number of fairly sophisticated moves including a number of kicks and punches, hand stands, and more. These guys are fun to play with, and don't require a whole lot of floor space (they can walk, but kind of slowly, so moving more than about 2 feet is an excercise in patience). There are a few resources for iSOBOTs on the web; the official site is www.isobotrobot.com but seems to be a work in progress. More info and links can also be found at RobotsDreams.com . I'll be sure to document the innards when I get to the point of dissecting one; so far I have only taken apart one of the hands (which is posable but not powered, and kind of weirdly designed so as not to be able to hold anything.) I'm thinking of taking them to Robogames 2009 next year, although now that the new Mech War competition is looking like a go, we may shift focus to that instead. Our own GWJax and Robosapien-4mem8 are also working on a Mech War entry...

Robogames just around the corner....

milw — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:42:40 GMT

Just a bit over two weeks until the Robogames commence in San Francisco (California)- did you know that there is a 'Robosapien Hacker' category under the BEAM section? I'm curious if any community members will be attending, or even if any have entered! Here's an excerpt of the rules for this category: Take an COTS (common off the shelf) Robosapien robot and hack it to do something cool. The Robot You have to use a commercially available Robosapien, the kind you would buy from a common retailer (see our recommended list below). No factory one-off specials. No "bondout" versions. No special frames laced with adamantium. The RS needs to remain the core part of the final hacked machine. There is no metric that can be stated relating to how much is required; if in doubt, you've gone too far. For example, using a single RS arm or leg in the final hack is insufficient. The Hack The hack should be meaningful. Bolting a RS to the hood of your car so that its left eye flashes with the left turn signal is not meaningful. Sending an IR pulse to the RS so that both its arms point left in synchronization...

Not for the sqeamish...

milw — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:19:20 GMT

Poor Pleo wandered into the ComBot arena at the recent Maker Faire , and had an unfortunate encounter with Vicious Verdict who appears to be armed with a lawn mower blade. Many attendees with children were shocked and appalled. Next year, maybe Mio should take on Vicious Verdict! Or perhaps equipping Pleo with flame-thrower breath would even the match. What's your suggestion for Pleo?

More from Robo-One 13

milw — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:05:53 GMT

This video shows some of the competitions that Leghorn, an unusual 'bot, took part in this year. He came in 3rd in the Lightweight division. This is one tough rooster!

Robo-One 13 qualifying video

milw — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:54:05 GMT

As part of this years qualifications to compete in the Robo-One contest, robot entrants were required to walk across a small 'speed bump' succesfully. Some entrants had no problem crossing the bump, while others took it a bit too seriously! Unfortunately, Metallic Fighter (one of the top perfomers in past Robo-Ones) walked off the edge of the test platform just before reaching the finish line.

Robo-One 13 wraps up in Tokyo

milw — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:28:00 GMT

A lot of photos and some nice videos have come out of this year's Robo-One 13 competition in Tokyo. The Robo-One competition is based on humanoid robots that typically are built with servos attached to metal, plastic or wood frames. The movement capabilities of the Robo-One class 'bots are amazing, just watch this video of OmniZero performing in the Demonstration section: This year, for the first time, Tomy Takara (makers of i-Sobot ) have become official sponsors of Robo-One. Also announced were plans for the addition of i-Sobot competitions for next year. For more details, visit Robot Dreams . Here are a couple of tidbits for fan bot builders: Thanks and a tip o' the hat to Nocturnal, who turned up this 'Build your own Cylon contest ' courtesy of Make and dvice.com . All you have to do is submit photos or videos of your very own Cylon creation- and Battlestar Galactica fans will know that Cylons come in all shapes and sizes! From toasters to svelte blonds to swept-wing fighters, the Cylons were quite creative. An up-and-coming site for aspiring WallE, R2-D2 and other homage bot builders, Sandcrawler promises to connect builders and parts suppliers, and offers personal...