Comments on: Spotlight on tinyminds http://hackaday.com/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/ Fresh hacks every day Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:02:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Solenoidclock http://hackaday.com/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/comment-page-1/#comment-38730 Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:33:21 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/#comment-38730 I did not see you there spike. Good call.

]]> By: Solenoidclock http://hackaday.com/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/comment-page-1/#comment-38729 Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:29:22 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/#comment-38729 Let me attempt to remedy the situation.

http://www.solarbotics.net/bestiary/default.htm

This is a starting point for BEAM bots. BEAM bots basically starts from 3 philosophical tenets:

* Use minimalist electronics
This keeps complexity from “snowballing”, and keeps costs down
* Recycle & reuse components out of technoscrap
This keeps things cheap, and avoids a lot of trips to parts stores; virtually all the parts required to make a BEAM robot can be found in broken electronics (ovens, walkman’s, CD players, VCRs, pagers…).
* Solar power your critter if possible
While less powerful than even a small battery (and, up-front, more expensive), solar cell s last for years; solar-powered BEAMbots don’t require constant battery replacements or down-time for battery recharging.

They have a circuit library, thorough explanations for even the most novice of hobbyists, and plenty of links to inspiration.

The site is geared well to accept traffic from HAD. It’s all text, and there are even competitions every year all over the world.

Backtrack to http://www.solarbotics.net/ for information on techniques, history, coming events, books, beginner how-to, articles, and generally everything that you can’t glean the linked bestiary.

]]> By: spike http://hackaday.com/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/comment-page-1/#comment-38728 Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:26:49 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/#comment-38728 nothing more then a rip of Mark tilden’s work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Tilden

]]> By: Chris http://hackaday.com/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/comment-page-1/#comment-38727 Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:58:02 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/#comment-38727 Whoa, do people really buy these for _$80_!? They are cool, but I’d think that the people most likely to want one are also the ones most likely to want to make them themselves. If these are really hot sellers, I need to get into a new line of work!

]]> By: jimmys http://hackaday.com/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/comment-page-1/#comment-38726 Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:17:33 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/#comment-38726 “and is unfortunately sold out at the moment. tinyminds has plenty of other inventive, equally inspiring robots available for purchase.”

awesome! Because I come to this site to buy stuff and I was worried you were going to try to teach me how to build my own.

]]> By: BigD145 http://hackaday.com/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/comment-page-1/#comment-38725 Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:05:12 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2008/07/10/spotlight-on-tinyminds/#comment-38725 Neat, but typically missing pictures from the back.

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