Robotics

Making your own Segway, the Arduino way

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After obtaining motors from a broken wheelchair, this father-son duo went to work turning them into a new “Segway.”

The DIY transporter is controlled by an Arduino Uno, along with a pair of motor drivers that handle the device’s high current needs. An MPU-6050 allows it to react as the rider leans forward and backwards, moving with the help of a PID loop. Steering is accomplished via a potentiometer, linked to a bent-pipe control stick using a bottle cap and glue.

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Robots Made of Ice Could Build and Repair Themselves on Other Planets

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No matter how much brilliant work the folks at NASA and JPL put into their planetary exploration robots (and it’s a lot of brilliant work), eventually, inevitably, they break down. It’s rare that these breakdowns are especially complicated, but since the robots aren’t designed for repair, there isn’t much that can be done. And even if (say) the Mars rovers did have the ability to swap their own wheels when they got worn out, where are you going to get new robot wheels on Mars, anyway?

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Scientists Create the First Living Robot, Made from Frog Stem Cells

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Scientists have invented the first ever living robots. The robotic devices are made from the embryonic skin and heart cells of frogs. They’re known as Xenobots, getting their name from the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, whose stem cells are used to make the robots. This species of frogs is found in the streams and ponds of sub-Saharan Africa, where they search for food. The frogs are renowned for their claws that they use to tear the food they find.

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The RoboTrombo is a MIDI-controlled robotic trombone

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Inspired by Wintergatan’s Martin Molin, iSax set out to create a MIDi-controlled robotic trombone of his own. Although the aptly named RoboTrombo may not replace professional trombone players any time soon, it’s nonetheless an impressive musical hack.

The instrument is controlled by an Arduino Nano running Firmata, along with a host computer, and employs a variety of pneumatic and electrical actuators to produce the tunes.

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Making a robot to carve photos into pumpkins

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I’ve been wondering if I could turn my haircut robot into a pumpkin carving robot. Cutting hair and carving pumpkins isn’t really that different if you think about it – both cut stuff off a roughly pumpkin sized spheroid. In this video I do just that and carve some pretty amazing pumpkins with it. This was a bit of a sprint to get done – I can’t wait until next year to make even more insane pumpkins with it!

Arduino-based machine makes cutting and stripping wires easy

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If you need to strip a wire or two, that’s easy enough. However, what if you need tens or hundreds of wires stripped to the exact same length? Such a task would quickly become tedious, but with Mr Innovative’s Arduino Nano-based machine all you have to do it pop in a few numbers and it takes care of the rest!

The automated device uses a 3D printer-like stepper mechanism to feed wire though a flexible length of tubing, which comes out on the other side positioned under a wire stripper. A servo is employed to aim the tubing and wire at either the cutting or stripping portion of the tool, which clamps down via a stepper and linkage setup. User interface consists of a 2.8″ touchscreen, allowing one to define the wire and stripped lengths, as well as how many individual wires are required.

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