Big Dog is fantastic looking machine being created by Boston Dynamics. DARPA is funding development of Big Dog, they have also funded development of the Tree Climbing Robot. “BigDog has an on-board computer that controls locomotion, servos the legs and handles a wide variety of sensors. BigDog’s control system manages the dynamics of its behavior to keep it balanced, steer, navigate, and regulate energetics as conditions vary. Sensors for locomotion
How would you like to discover this robot swimming with you in a pool? Even though it is totally robotic there is something about the shape and movement that would raise my hairs. “Powered by a lithium-ion battery, the ACM-R5 is a radio-controlled amphibious robot designed to move like its real world counterpart. It can slither or swim underwater for 30 minutes on a full charge. Inside, you’ll find an
Yes tree climbing robots are a reality. It was developed by studying how animals are able to climb vertical surfaces. “The goal of the RiSE project is to create a bioinspired climbing robot with the unique ability to walk on land and climb on vertical surfaces. Active research studies novel robot kinematics, precision-manufactured compliant feet and appendages, and advanced robot behaviors. This project is funded by the DARPA Biodynotics Program.”
LED Cubes are interesting. A work of art at rest, and hypnotic experience once the microcontroller takes charge. This cube was created by Chris Lomont and Gene Foulk. Initially prototyped using a PIC microcontroller that was later swapped out in favor of a gumstick controller. “Gene and I started construction on a LED cube. We built a 4x4x4 bicolor prototype over the weekend to help us decide on LED colors,
David Forbes has built a very interesting CRT (cathode ray tube) clock. It uses a 3 inch oscilloscope tube. The clock draws images by bending the CRT beam; this produces a smooth well formed numbers. This is a much different procedure than a TV uses to produce images on a CRT. At the time of writing David does not have any clocks to sell but he does intend to have
John Beeckler was not content with playing the standard video game systems. The picture shown is of his version one Alien Slaughter System which used three separate PIC chips. John is now working on version two of Alien Slaughter, the new system is being designed around a LEON2 Processor, this is a 32-bit processor using the SPARC architecture. This is what he said about the version one “After completing the
After outgrowing the capability of his Homeseer home automation system this guy decided to build his own. The system consists of a wide variety of hardware, everything from off the shelf X10 to custom build modules. For example to monitor his electricity consumption he is counting the number of times his meter flashes in a minute. What does it monitor? The easier question is what doesn’t it monitor… Currently it
