There’s no rule that says that logic circuits must always use electrically conductive materials, which is why you can use water, air or even purely mechanical means to implement logic circuits. When it comes to [soiboi soft]’s squishy robots, it thus makes sense to turn the typical semiconductor control circuitry into an air-powered version as […]
The Zynq-7000 usage at the core of the robot controller. (Credit: Excessive Overkill, YouTube) Industrial robots like robotic arms are basically everywhere, albeit usually out of the public’s eye in factories. This also means that they get replaced and scrapped all the time, making for many opportunities to snap up an industrial robot that once […]
Unitree have a number of robotic offerings, and are one of the first manufacturers offering humanoid robotic platforms. It seems they are also the subject of UniPwn, one of the first public exploits of a vulnerability across an entire robotic product line. In this case, the vulnerability allows an attacker not only to utterly compromise […]
Do you remember the movie WALL-E? Apparently, [Leviathan engineering] did, and he wasn’t as struck by the title character, or Eva, or even the Captain. He was captivated by BURN-E. His working model shows up in the video below. We’ll be honest. BURN-E didn’t ring a bell for us, though we remember the movie. He […]
Imagine trying to balance a heavy metal ball bearing on a cafeteria tray. It’s not the easiest thing in the world! In fact, it’s perhaps a task better automated, as [skulkami3000] demonstrates with this robotic build. The heart of the build is a flat platform fitted with a resistive touchscreen panel on top. The panel […]
Have you ever wished your hand had an extra feature? Like, maybe, a second thumb? A scope probe pinky maybe? Well, if you are building a robot effector, you get to pick what extra features it has. [Gokux] has the aptly named Cam Claw, which is a 3D printed claw with a built-in camera so you […]
There are a variety of robot mower systems on the market employing different navigation methods, and [Eelco] has the story of how one of these was reverse engineered. Second hand Roomba lawnmowers kept appearing for very low prices without the electronics driving the buried-wire fence that keeps them from going astray. The story of their […]
When you think about highly-precise actuators, stepper motors probably aren’t the first device that comes to mind. However, as [Diffraction Limited]’s sub-micron capable micro-manipulator shows, they can reach extremely fine precision when paired with external feedback. The micro-manipulator is made of a mobile platform supported by three pairs of parallel linkages, each linkage actuated by […]
If your school in the 1980s was lucky enough to have a well-equipped computer lab, the chances are that alongside the 8-bit machines you might have found a little two-wheeled robot. These machines and the Logo programming language that allowed them to draw simple vector graphics were a popular teaching tool at the time. They’re […]