The judges’ ballots are in and we’re proud to present the ten winners of the fourth round of the 2021 Hackaday Prize. We love robots, and it’s obvious that you do too! The number and range of projects submitted this year were overwhelming.
No robotics round is complete without a robot arm, and while a few of them were in the finals, we especially liked CM6, which really pulled out all the stops. This is research-grade robotics on a not-quite-student budget, featuring custom compliant mechanisms so that it can play well with its fleshy companions.
With six degrees of freedom, and six motors, the drivetrain budget can quickly get out of hand on builds like these, so we’re especially happy to see custom, open, brushless-motor driver boards used to reduce the cost of admission. Even if you’re not going to make a 100% faithful CM6 clone, you’ll learn a lot just from going through the build. Oh, and did we mention it has a software stack?
Speaking of stacks, check out Stack-chan, a JavaScript super-cute desktop robot communicator and assistant. This one is meant to sit on your desk and connect you with your friends, being a sort of kawaii telepresence bot. Emphasis here was on simplicity of the build, and extensibility of the software; this is a robot for code jockeys, and it looks like a fantastic first step into making physical some of your virtual ideas, or just keeping in touch in these strange days. Besides, who can resist something that cute?
And while you’re in the development phase of building a ‘bot, you’re going to need telemetry, logging, and probably remote control. [Maximiliano Palay]’s Robotics Ground Control Station does all of that, with overkill. Made to drive his Cablecam bot, this has everything you might need and more, all packed in a watertight case. Computer, screen, radio, joysticks, sliders, and knobs galore: if your robot needs controlling, this is your controller. Cyberdeck meets remote? If you build one of these, you can use it for all of your robotic creations.
Of course, that’s not all! We had nearly a hundred entries and ten finalists, and while only the finalists get the money, you all deserve the limelight.
Ten Finalists from the Redefine Robots Challenge:
- CM6
- Tardygrade
- My Machinery 2021
- Stack-chan – JavaScript-Driven Super-kawaii Robot
- Assistive Robotic Manipulator and 6-DoF controller
- Autonomous Litter Detection Robot w/ Edge Impulse
- UV Sanitizing Autonomous Robot
- FiberGrid Reloaded
- A Robot for Automating 3D Printers
- Robotics Ground Control Station
Thanks for voting my project into the final round of this year’s HackadayPrize! Parts for the new iteration of my granules extruder have arrived right this afternoon. Time to go back to my workshop…
imagine the robot preventing pushing the red button :D
Now that I see that…
“Just try to press the e-stop, human!”
FiberGrid is a pretty neat idea, I learned something! I didn’t realize there was such a kind of sensor.
Thanks to the sponsor and the judge for voting on my project “UV Sanitizing Autonomous Robot” … this is my second year of participation in the Hackaday Prize, and I have already updated my project with its latest version.