Robots Hacks

2429 Articles

Autonomous Tank Will Track You Down, Cover You In Welts

August 16, 2011 by 14 Comments

autonomous_airsoft_tank

[Dan] wrote in to share a project he recently finished up, an autonomous Airsoft tank. The toy tank makes use of a wide array of technologies to get the job done, and will stop at nothing to hunt you down (provided you are wearing an IR beacon).

An Arduino board is used to control the tank’s motors, while a Lego NXT module handles most of the other operations. The tank makes its way around using an ultrasonic sensor, which ensures it doesn’t get stuck on any errant furniture or hung up in a corner. While driving around autonomously is well and good, [Dan] upped the ante a bit by making the Airsoft turret completely autonomous as well.

He fitted a Wiimote IR sensor to the tank, successfully interfacing it with the NXT module after a bit of trial and error. Now that things are up and running, he can place his IR beacon anywhere in the room, and the tank will drive around scanning its surroundings until the target is found. Once the tank locks on, a flurry of Airsoft pellets take down whatever stands in its way.

We think that [Dan] did a fantastic job here, but see for yourself in the videos embedded after the break.

[via HackedGadgets]

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Eye See You.

August 14, 2011 by 13 Comments

So you want to add animated eyes to your next robot? Now you can.. Using ping-pong balls, some scrap plastic and 6 servo motors [Chris] has created these animatronic eyes along with some nifty animated eyebrows. To get motion emulating realism [Chris] created a 2 axis gimbal using plastic rings and some nuts and bolts. The eyes (ping-pong balls) are held in the gimbal and actuated using two servos each. The eyebrows use another pair of servos and some tubing covered in electrical tape as the actual eyebrow.

[Chris] Kindly goes through the entire build process including information for beginners such as servo motor control. The whole thing is controlled using a PIC 18F452 and circuit diagrams and code are all available on the site. Check out the video after the break to see the eyes in action, you will also find more videos describing the build process if you follow through the tutorial.

Continue reading “Eye See You.” →

Portal Puppet Probably Won’t Kill Us

August 11, 2011 by 11 Comments

This incredibly detailed puppet of the Wheatley from Portal was sent into us, and we a so very happy that we’re not writing about a GLaDOS build right now.

Hewn from florist foam and covered Wonderflex and Apoxie Sculpt, Wheatley pretty much tows the line as far as cosplay and prop builds go. What makes Wheatley interesting is his movement mechanism – he’s actually a hand-controlled puppet. Portal quotes come a small sound module that plays 10 Wheatley quotes. The control system has ten buttons and allows for the display of a lot more emotion than we would expect from a talking sphere. We really like the completely manual solution to an articulated robot eyeball – a really great, simple solution to a complex problem.

Like the portal turret and the adorable and friendly companion cube, we’re really impressed with the build quality of Wheatley. Yet again we’re left wondering why Valve doesn’t license some awesome toys like their office sentry.

Check out the intelligence dampening sphere in action after the break.

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An “Earthcore” Hexapod With Minimal Mechanical Parts

August 9, 2011 by 5 Comments

Although hexapod robots have been featured on [HAD] many times, this one features a really cool minimalistic design. With few mechanical parts to support the three servos, the “Earthcore Hexapod Robot” has a unique gait, tending to quickly slide the driving legs rather than picking the whole robot up. Although it would probably have trouble on rough terrain, for use on a smooth floor or counter, this ‘bot is perfectly suited.  Check out the video of it after the break.

Another thing that really stands out on this bot is the blue LED “eyes” and it’s tubing “hat.”  The “hat” hides the wiring for the three servos, while most of the circuitry looks to be in between the eyes. The main controller is a PICAXE 18M2 micro-controller. 3 AAA batteries seen behind the tubing power the unit.

As for the name “Earthcore”, it’s based on a book by [Scott Sigler]. If there is a movie version in the works, we hope he calls [onefivefour] to help with the special effects! Continue reading “An “Earthcore” Hexapod With Minimal Mechanical Parts” →

A Robotic Turtle Platform To Buy Or Build

August 9, 2011 by 5 Comments

This electric turtle bot instructable describes a fairly simple turtle-style robot meant to be laser cut out of acrylic (although other materials such as aluminum, MDF, or polycarbonate should work just as well). This frame is also optionally for sale, which should appeal to those that would like a mechanical robotics platform to play with, but don’t have access to machine tools. The build instructions include a detailed bill of materials which should come in handy.

As displayed in the video after the break, the robot uses a sonar sensor to navigate. This sensor is set up on a servo in order to scan the terrain, and, depending on how it’s programmed, hopefully avoid obstacles. As of when the video was taken, the little robot appears to sense an obstacle then scan with the servo left and right to see what the best way to turn is.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA_kIY3MvTE&w=470&h=349%5D

If this little turtle robot doesn’t have enough power for your taste, check out this autonomous ATV sentry.

Robots Tends Your Lawn While You Veg Out On The Couch

August 5, 2011 by 3 Comments

nuntius_the_garden_avenger

Most people can agree that picking weeds is not a whole lot of fun. [Dave] was not a big fan of sitting out in the heat toiling over his lawn, so he did the only rational thing and built a robot to do it for him.

Nuntius, the Garden Avenger, is a remote controlled robot that [Dave] can use to pick weeds from the comfort of his couch. The robot is controlled by a Propeller microcontroller, taking its commands wirelessly via a pair of XBee modules. Nuntius’ controller is pretty intuitive, consisting of a 5-axis arm complete with a gripper that [Dave] can articulate in any number of directions. His motions cause the robot’s arm to move in sync, and driving Nuntius is as easy as holding down a button and moving the controls in the desired direction.

[Dave] can monitor what Nuntius is doing via a wireless camera he has installed on the robot’s arm, allowing him to sit back and relax indoors while the robot handles the hard work.

Keep reading to see a short video demo of Nuntius in action.

[via Make]

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