Marcus' robotic news

V2 Retired

2009-07-07T00:48:00.000-07:00

Hello there,

Been a long time since my last post here. My V2 has had a seized hip motor for a while now and I'm assuming he has the dreaded 'crumbling wire' issue that has killed many a V2. One day I'll get around to fixing him up again!

So many bots... So little money

2007-07-29T05:20:00.000-07:00

Well I've decided to not get a Manoi. I have been reading alot of posts from users around the web and it seems that he is a high maintenance little chap. Apparently adjusting the home position is critical to his performance and if I wanted to add mods this could get very tricky.

For now I want to get a Roboquad and a Homersapien, unfortunately I have around $0- to spare for such luxury items. I still have one more mod for the V2 that I need to get around to doing and then I will need a new bot to hack apart and have some fun with.

To get some instant satisfaction after my nightmare of a time with programming a PIC for a nixie project I pulled out some old valves I had lying around and made myself a nice little overdrive/distortion pedal.

So out of my Uni break "to do" list I managed to complete only one of my projects. Anyway as I said the last V2 hack is on it's way, it is quite a simple little hack but I think it will round off my V2's arsenal quite well.

100,000 HITS TODAY! + PIC Problems

2007-06-20T05:01:00.000-07:00

Well first off I was surprised when I checked out my guest book today and found my site has cracked 100,000 visits. Hopefully there are alot more flamethrowing, coilgun wielding gizmos gracing our planet due to people visiting my site.

Still having problems with this damn 16f84a PIC I'm trying to program for my nixie projects and I've decided to give up!

THATS RIGHT.... IT BEAT ME!!!

I have bought another chip off a bloke called Wouter and paid him a little extra to drop the DAMN hex file onto the chip.

I could program the thing but when placed into the circuit it would not operate... After checking the circuit for the 5051st time I concluded that it was not the circuit and something about the programming method (eg. fuses etc..). I know the program works as a huge amount of people have used the same code for thier clocks.

After chaging all the values under the sun in every single PIC programming software I could get my hands on I gave up. I hate to give up but it was that or loosing my sanity! (whats left of it anyway!)

Once I get this watch and clock out of the way, I'll get back to some less frustrating electronic circuits for my bots that require, NO BLOODY PROGRAMMING.

Bad start to my first try at programming, I'm getting worried about getting a Basic Stamp module now if it is going to be this frustrating!!!

Uni is completed!!! Catch up time...

2007-06-13T02:52:00.000-07:00

I had my final exam today which means I have some spare time up my sleeve for the next month. Hopefully I get through a few projects that have been put on the back burner for some time.
These include, in order of proposed completion;

Nixie clock
IN-17 Nixie watch
Final V2 hack
Steam powered photovore
Distortion pedal MKII

The little nixie clock and nixie watch have been on the back burner for far too long as I seem to have no end of trouble with the programmers I buy to drop the nixie clock code onto a chip. Can't wait to get them sorted and add the last hack to my V2.

I have been playing around with teh dragonfly and have added different weights to it to see what kind of mod I can do to it. It looks like the weight of having a gas tank, extra battery and a small valve would just be too heavy for teh little guy to fly with. (I know DUH!!! but I had to have a go) So the dragonfly now sits on the shelf awaiting excited nephews or cats i don't want in my backyard. Cool little gadget to have!

FlyTech Dragonfly arrives... What to do?

2007-05-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the folks at Wowwee, I now have myself a brand new FlyTech Dragonfly for being part of the RS Media suite Beta testing program.
I'm low on batteries at the moment, so I'll have to wait until I get some to fire the bug up and give it a fly. Looking at the size of the little guy though I'm sure there is room for at least one little hack?
I'm Not quite sure what yet, but as most of you know; If I can fit in a flamethrower I will.

Everything is better with fire!

Takara/Tomy i-sobot: Due later this year

2007-05-14T02:51:00.000-07:00

I remember this little guy from a while back but thought it was just another robot that was gone, forgotten and never to be realised.
Thankfully I was wrong and the tiny (6.6") robot will be released in July for around US$250.00. A version including a camera and Wifi capability is also on the cards for a later release to retail at around US$350.00.

The little bot sports 17DOF, voice recognition, a IR remote with LCD screen and hundreds of preprogrammed movements.
Check out the video of this awesome bot below;

When I get a Manoi...

2007-05-03T02:04:00.000-07:00

I try to keep up to date with the happenings on the Manoi front by visiting ROBOT DREAMS. As I was browsing around I came across an article describing how to use a wireless Playstation controller to control a Manoi AT01.
Yusuke Yumae developed at kit called the TEC-1, this converts the Playstaion output into a signal that works with RCB3 and RCB1 control boards.

Another adition I would love to have would be Manoi grippers which I also came across whilst on ROBOT DREAMS earlier today. The grippers were designed by Matt Baure and allow the Manoi to pick up small objects. Below is a video from TEMPUSMASTER showing off the grippers.

Until I can get my aching hands on a Manoi I have a few little projects to work on. Nocturnal has sent me a new speaker for my V2 which I will replace soon, I have had very poor sound from my V2 since I tore the speaker just after Christmas 2005. I have also finished repairing my steam engine and will be using that to power a simple robot. Finally, I still need to get some cash together to buy a basic stamp module for the "Flipbot Project" and learn to program in PBasic.

Uni holidays hit in a few weeks so keep popping back.

Manoi PF01 on ebay

2007-04-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

I punched Manoi into Ebay and found a PF01 for sale. It seems to be at an extremely inflated price, at AU$2665.00 and must be one of the limited "pre-release" models.
If you are one of those people who just really MUST have one immediately this is your shot.

Seems this auction even waves the "Educational related institutions only" rule, which was put in place to limit the need for after sales support from the public. That means this robot is available for anyone to get their hands on... at a price.

Pico - The worlds smallest robot?

2007-04-22T06:04:00.000-07:00

Again I am guilty of avoiding study. I think this is where most of my posts will spawn from and therefore I won't mention it again.

PICO from Zac Wheeler of PoorRobot.com is claimed to be the worlds smallest autonomous, self powered robot. Zac attempted the robot a few years back but due to small components and power supply not being available to him at the time he put it on the back burner until now.
Pico has infrared obstacle detection and an onboard microcontroller.

QUICK STATS:
12.5mm on a side
0.125 cubic inch / 2cc volume
15 minutes run time
0.5f/s - 0.15m/s Max speed
Microcontroller brain
Infrared sensing

Head over to Zac's site for further design and build details, but don't leave before watching the video of his little creation below.

Steam Robot from Strenco & My Mamod Minor 2

2007-04-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

Right now that my friend over at Crabfu has reignited my passion for steam engines I pulled out my old Mamod Minor 2 steam engine I bought years ago and set about fixing it up. I have had to repair two tears in the boiler caused from my stupidity attempting a hack on the damn thing when I bought it. I'm still a way off and it is not going to win any prizes for the nicest looking restoration.

When I get it running I've got a little project lined up for it on a simple robotic base...

Now whilst looking at other items of interest I found a company that is building a steam powered robot toy, which should be released this year. Strenco toys posted a video of the robot walking around on a table top, it moves REALLY slow but for some reason I still want one. Hopefully that urge will pass, as I'm sure the price tag attached is scary! Check out the video below.

Manoi PF01 - Advanced shipping has began!

2007-04-17T23:13:00.000-07:00

Just surfing the net in between some intense essay writing... Well not that intense, anyhow.

I stumbled across Loving the Machines article on the advanced shipping of the Manoi PF01. Only 150 robots have been released until the regular sales of the bot begin in June. The price looks like it will be around the US$1600- mark, so I'm going to have to wait a little while before getting my inexperienced hands on one.

I'll be closely watching the RoboSavvy forum to get an idea of how easy this little guy is to assemble and program. Check out the video of the PF01 below.

Trossen Robotics is currently selling them for $1699.99 and has a little bit of info about the Manoi PF01, I want one now!

Crabfu SteamWorks - Steam driven robotic creations

2007-04-11T03:01:00.000-07:00

I have a soft spot for steam engines of any description and when I found this guys site I thought all my Christmas' had come at once!
He has a huge collection of insane steam creations including converted RC cars and tanks, but most impressive are the steam powered robots. Below you can see pictures of a steam converted interactive R2D2 droid his robotic steam crab robot and his walker. Click on the images to go to his site and see his full variety of awesome steam powered contraptions. I'm going to have to try my hand at something along these lines, I know I've got an old Mamod minor steam engine somewhere.

Vadersapien & Yodasapien RSMedia personalities

2007-04-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

I don’t have a RS Media but I have put together a personality using audio clips of Yoda from the Star Wars films. It is by no means a complete personality but should be fun to mess around with. I didn’t add a dance sequence, bodycons or macros. I’ll leave that up to you capable RS Media owners to fill the gaps and make him your own. Together with Roschler’s Vadersapien, Yodasapien brings balance to the force. Download Yodasapien and Vadersapien by clicking on them below. Use the force to extract and enjoy!

Mini RSV2 hacks by Carlkett

2007-04-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

In an effort to make a mini RSV2 a little more interesting Carlkett has gone out and added a radio and a motion sensor with alarm to his tiny robotic friend. Now he can either take him down the beach for some robotic tunes or leave the little fella at home to guard his house with the ‘mini guard mode mod’.

I just couldn’t resist... Pointless Pino

2007-04-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

This week I went out and bought a Pino of Ebay, really knew nothing about him but he was cheap. I won’t be able to get a Manoi for quite sometime, so I needed something to pull apart and fiddle with in the meantime. Pino looks pretty cool (apart from his silly pointy nose) but from all accounts is nothing more than a glorified Tamagotchi. He progresses through three stages of development and will take on one of three personalities; friendly, shy or naughty.

After reading a bit about Pino I found that he has hand, sound and light sensors, and only 6 degrees of freedom. When I get the little guy I will tear him apart and post my findings, hopefully I can hack him to become a bit more useful and entertaining.

Manoi PF01 ready for release in April

2007-04-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

If you weren’t already aware I am pretty keen on getting one of these little buggers. hit the video section to watch a couple of videos of the robot in action. The April release date is for Japan from what I understand but it shouldn’t be too long before they pop up on Robosavvy for sale to the rest of the world. Although it will be quite some time before I will be able to aqiure one myself I will be closely looking out for any developments on the PF01 front.

Nocturnal’s bluetoothed RS Media

2007-04-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

Nocturnal has been at it again and has added a Bluetooth module to his RS Media to control it from his PC. The hack details will be provided soon by nocturnal including how to connect the Bluetooth device and perhaps even the source code for the on screen interface and control. Click the pic below for some further details.

Robosapien 4mem8’s V2 robotic base

2007-04-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

Robosapien 4mem8 has been working on a robotic base for a number of months now and is finally adding his V2 onto it. The robotic base and the V2 will have separate functioning ‘brains’ with 4mem8 using some scripts to tie both of the devices together. Below is a photo of his progress to date, if you want to see more visit 4mem8’s site here development and construction details.