Category Archives: robots

Make an Tachometer (RPM sensor) for a cordless drill motor

Posted on June 21, 2013 by robertwilkie

Nice write-up on how to convert the motor from a cordless drill to have a way to measure rotations on it. This is useful for speed control and positioning of the motor. http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-and-Easy-Tachometer-RPM-Sensor-for-Brushed/?ALLSTEPS

Posted in robots, sensors | Comments Off

Building a quadcoptor in an hour

Posted on June 6, 2013 by robertwilkie

OK these guys must have some experience to build it that fast. And record it for a nice write-up. I like the simple design. No wonder these things are gaining ground fast. http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-Sturdy-1-Hour-Quadcopter/

Posted in Cheap, robots | Comments Off

Another simple coffee ground grabber

Posted on June 5, 2013 by robertwilkie

When I saw these things, gee I think a year ago, I was pretty impressed. Now they are getting simpler than before. http://hackaday.com/2013/06/04/dead-simple-jamming-gripper-design/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hackaday%2FLgoM+%28Hack+a+Day%29

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MOwayduino, mini robot for kids

Posted on June 5, 2013 by robertwilkie

Its a mini robot with an arduino like setup. Apparently its going to be opensource too. It sounds neat, but I have a feeling they are going to be pricey ($80 maybe). I can buy allot of legos for that … Continue reading →

Posted in robots, Teaching and Learning | Comments Off

DARPA is using Cell Phones for cheaper Drones

Posted on June 4, 2013 by robertwilkie

Well you knew it was going to happen since the DIY community was already on it. http://gizmodo.com/darpas-using-smartphone-guts-to-build-cheaper-smarter-510337668

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Stepper motor control with speed

Posted on June 4, 2013 by robertwilkie

Interesting build. The author uses an arduino and keypad shield with a stepper motor controller to controll speed, direction, etc of the motor. My 2 cents, good learning project, but bit expensive for hardware for a stepper controller setup.

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How to make a soup can robot

Posted on May 17, 2013 by robertwilkie

Remember that Campbell’s soup commercial a few years ago where the can follows the girl home. Guess that was a robot and someone reverse engineered it and built there own. http://www.instructables.com/id/RC-CanCylinder-Submitted-by-BayLab-for-the-Inst/?ALLSTEPS

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Article about Omni-wheels

Posted on May 9, 2013 by robertwilkie

Nice article about omni wheels, and the pluses/minuses of them. These wheels where quiet the rage a few years ago. But expensive. Now with 3D printers, you could make your own. http://www.open-electronics.org/how-to-build-an-omni-wheels-robot/

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Got an old electric wheelchair, need to move lots of stuff

Posted on May 5, 2013 by robertwilkie

So your grandma left you her old electric wheelchair and you are looking at moving. Well take the two and build a robot. The instructable does just this where the author modifies an old electric scooter/chair to move stuff around … Continue reading →

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Opensource stepper motor driver, EasyDriver

Posted on May 1, 2013 by robertwilkie

I like this project, you can buy them at sparkfun by the way for $15, or cheaper on ebay. I hate using either a shifter, or 4+ output lines to control a stepper. This looks like a nice alternative for … Continue reading →

Posted in Arduino, RaspberryPi, robots, TI | Comments Off