MAKER MOVEMENT PROJECTS

Teen Roboticist Controls Robot from Ipad

Written By: Bill Griggs - Jul• 20•11

RobotGrrl a 19 year old Robot maker has found a new way to control her pet Robot, Robobrrd with her Ipad. RobotGrrl is using a Redpark Serial cable to connect her iPad to an Arduino microcontroller. The Redpark Serial cable for iOS, is a cable which allows the iPad to connect to RS232 serial devices. RobotGrrl then used a DB9 connector breakout board to convert to a USB plug for interfacing with the Arduino.

 

RobotGrrl developed an iPad app to demonstrate the possibilities. Being able to directly link an Arduino to an iPad opens up all sorts of avenues for the control of everyday items. The possibilities are limitless. As a thought exercise, I thought about uses for the cable for exactly one minute and came up with the following four uses. (more…)

Meet RoboBrrd

Written By: Bill Griggs - Jul• 15•11

RoboBrrd

Made from Felt, Popsicle sticks, pencils and love. This Arduino powered robot feels alive.

This is a continuation of an interview Makermasters.com did with RobotGrrl, a teen Robot maker.

BILL:       – What caught my attention from your projects was the RoboBrrd.  Could you tell me a little bit about RoboBrrd.

ROBOTGRRL:      Sure, so one night, Adafruit Industries contacted me after they read my blog, and they said, “Hey, can you do some robot videos for us for our  Ask An Engineer video show? We’ll give you free parts for your electronics.”  And so I was,  like. “YEAH!! FOR SURE.”

BILL:       Sweet deal.

ROBOTGRRL:      And so I got free electronics, for two RoboBrrds actually, but I sort of burned a lot of servos, so there’s not that many any more, but yeah, so I built up the robot.  Originally the videos were supposed to be every week, but I sort of got a little carried away with everything, and so since I got free electronics, and I wanted to be able to teach people how to build a robot. So, I decided to make it out of just every day parts, you know, so pencils and Popsicle sticks just things that people would have so that they can buy the electronics and get it started with building a robot right away.

BILL:       The beak on RoboBrrd if very ingenious.  It kind of reminds me of, a medieval (more…)

Meet Robotgrrl – Making Robots from Popsicle sticks and Arduino.

Written By: Bill Griggs - Jul• 15•11

One of the nice things about blogging is that it encourages you to read other folks blogs to see what they are up to.  I recently stumbled across a really interesting blog by Robotgrrl, a 19 year old, young lady who is making Robots out of popsicle sticks, pencils, Arduino and basically anything she can scrounge together.

RobotGrrl Erin Kennedy

RobotGrrl, as Erin Kennedy prefers to be known is a very modest, soft spoken young lady. She is also an extraordinary achiever. After our interview, I had a chance to research further and I discovered that she is constantly taking steps to put her ideas into action. She is extremely passionate about creating robots and making them social and fun. At 19 Robotgrrl has a (more…)

Minibloq is coming to Ipad – Minibloq4iPad.

Written By: Bill Griggs - Jul• 07•11

Minibloq the open source Graphical Development Environment for Arduino is coming to Ipad.  Minibloq creator Julian da Silva is working in conjunction with Andreas Schaefer to port Minibloq to the Ipad. The project named Minibloq4iPad is already underway. The iOS version will feature a (more…)

It ain’t Rocket Science – New Show about Science and Technology

Written By: Bill Griggs - Jun• 30•11

I just stumbled across a new video called It Ain’t Rocket Science, about science and technology. This is a well done production staring Adam Balkin, produced by Time Warner Cable. The project is conceived as part of the Connect a Million Minds program. The first episode talks about the FIRST Robotics Competition and has an interviews with inventor Dean Kamen, President Barrack Obama and will.i.am. from the group Black Eyed Peas. Dean Kamen discusses the FIRST Robotics (more…)