Notes of a Future Roboticist

[learnrobotics-blog]

TBs: As far as we can learn from your online presence, you have very strong Technic building skills and a deep knowledge about construction machinery, while you are also a music bass player for living, I guess. How can such different interests and occupations coexist in the same single person? JC: I also enjoy competing in amateur athletics, and in my opinion all these activities have much in common. The notion that they are fundamentally distinct seems to be a fairly modern concept, perhaps derived from the notion of specialisation. In contrast, the ancient Greeks believed that study of literature, music, philosophy and participation in athletics were all necessary for an individual to be a productive citizen. 

[learnrobotics-blog]

What we already know about you, Jennifer Clark? You started playing with LEGO bricks long time ago, since your fingers were dexterous enough to work with the bricks.  Some time later you became a talented and skilled Technic builder. You have built complex, large and amazing construction vehicles made with LEGO Technic elements, while the AFOL online presence was just starting. But mainly you are now a music bass performer, living in the largest city of Scotland (Glasgow) and having a long experience as a band leader and musical arranger/director.

[learnrobotics-blog]

Next on my Reading List: Incredible Lego Technic

We’re very glad it all worked out – the Lego community needs books like this one! Finally, we can’t finish this interview without asking two very important questions; 1. What’s your favourite creation featured in Incredible Lego Technic? and 2. Will there be an Incredible Lego Technic II?

I can’t possibly pick just one favourite creation – I have 74 of them :) They’re all my favourites, which is exactly why they’re in this book. Each of them was just as challenging, inspiring and rewarding to work on and I’m proud I could do something to show them to a broader public.

[learnrobotics-blog]

I cannot recommend this book enough. I haven't finished it (I've been taking detailed notes while reading and re-reading it) and I've already learned so much. Thank you very much to the author for putting the time and effort to write this book. :) 

The Unofficial LEGO Technic Builder’s Guide is filled with building tips for creating strong yet elegant machines and mechanisms with the Technic system. Author Paweł “Sariel” Kmiec will teach you the foundations of LEGO Technic building, from simple machines to advanced mechanics, even explaining how to create realistic to-scale models. Sariel, a world-renowned LEGO Technic expert, offers unique insight into mechanical principles like torque, power translation, and gear ratios, all using Technic bricks. 

[learnrobotics-blog]

A Closer Look

In-depth articles on

Grippers

Lifts

Wheels

Belt Drives

Gear Theory 

Batteries

Motors

[learnrobotics-blog]

[learnrobotics-blog]

He is a lego master builder. Please support him :) 

[learnrobotics-blog]

[learnrobotics-blog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_6p-1J551Y

Published on Dec 17, 2013

The Cubli is a 15 × 15 × 15 cm cube that can jump up and balance on its corner. Reaction wheels mounted on three faces of the cube rotate at high angular velocities and then brake suddenly, causing the Cubli to jump up. Once the Cubli has almost reached the corner stand up position, controlled motor torques are applied to make it balance on its corner. In addition to balancing, the motor torques can also be used to achieve a controlled fall such that the Cubli can be commanded to fall in any arbitrary direction. Combining these three abilities -- jumping up, balancing, and controlled falling -- the Cubli is able to 'walk'. Lead Researchers: Gajamohan Mohanarajah and Raffaello D'Andrea This work was done at the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control, ETH Zurich, Switzerland and was funded in part by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), grant number 146717. For more details visit: http://www.idsc.ethz.ch/Research_DAnd... Other links: http://robohub.org/swiss-robots-cubli... http://youtu.be/bMuCACqwI4s (Zurich.Minds talk on Cubli)

[learnrobotics-blog]

[learnrobotics-blog]

Interesting Finds for Robot Enthusiasts

1. Robotic Operating System (ROS) 

"The Robot Operating System (ROS) is a flexible framework for writing robot software. It is a collection of tools, libraries, and conventions that aim to simplify the task of creating complex and robust robot behavior across a wide variety of robotic platforms."

2. Intel Edison Breakout boards for arduino

from adafruit, and from trossen robotics 

"Each Edison is packed with a huge amount of tech goodies into a tiny package while still providing the same robust strength of your go-to single board computer. Powered by the Intel® Atom™ SoC dual-core CPU and including an integrated WiFi, Bluetooth LE, and a 70-pin connector."

3. Pixhawk or APM arduino based autopilot systems from 3drobotics

" It features advanced processor and sensor technology from ST Microelectronics® and a NuttX real-time operating system, delivering incredible performance, flexibility, and reliability for controlling any autonomous vehicle."

4. Instructables DIY drones list by Menirz

"A compilation of various RC and Autonomous Drones designs that I plan on using as reference for when I design and build my own drone "

5. Rust Programming Language (somewhat robotics unrelated) 

"Rust is a systems programming language that runs blazingly fast, prevents almost all crashes*, and eliminates data races."

6. Vanadium Labs and RFduino Products

"The ArbotiX robocontroller is an Arduino compatible microcontroller board, designed to control small-to-medium sized robots."

"RFduino: A finger-tip sized, Arduino compatible, wireless enabled microcontroller, low cost enough to leave in all of your projects!"

7. Modular Robotics Research 

MBLOCK from MIT - Small cubes that self-assemble

the robots are cubes with no external moving parts. Nonetheless, they're able to climb over and around one another, leap through the air, roll across the ground, and even move while suspended upside down from metallic surfaces.

THE CUBLI - The Cubli: a cube that can jump up, balance, and 'walk'

The Cubli is a 15 × 15 × 15 cm cube that can jump up and balance on its corner. Combining these three abilities -- jumping up, balancing, and controlled falling -- the Cubli is able to 'walk'.

8. Flying Robots on Ted Talks 

- Raffaello D'Andrea: The astounding athletic power of quadcopters

- Vijay Kumar: Robots that fly ... and cooperate

- A robot that flies like bird

9. Kinematics With Microstation

Kinematics with MicroStation is a complete semester long course created and delivered using MicroStation. The focus is on learning at a deeper, intuitive level than dry formality and rigor for the sake of it. with UjjwalRane

[learnrobotics-blog]

Coming Soon Articles <3

*recommendations are based on author's personal preference only

(1) Subsystem abstraction for systematic robot design 

- mechanics - structure (strength), motion transmissions (mechanisms), geometry

- electronics - actuators, sensors, power supply, circuits

- software - algorithms and control theory, planning and  artificial intelligence

(2) Structural and motion transmission systems for rapid prototyping

- vex iq (plastic) 

- lego (plastic) 

- multiplo (plastic) (not recommended)

- makeblock (metal)(recommended)

- vex (metal) (not recommended)

- meccano (metal) (not recommended)

- makerbeam, openbeam, microrax (metal) (recommended)

- actobotics (metal)

-tetrix (metal)

(3) Beginner robotics education platform kits 

- bioloid stem kit 

- lego ev3

- makeblock ultimate kit

- vex iq 

- multiplo  (not recommended)

- robotgeek geekbot (not recommended) 

(4) Robot Brains 

- vex iq (beginner)

- lego ev3 (beginner) (not recommended)

- multiplo (beginner) (not recommended)

- makeblock duinobot (beginner) 

- ardubotix (advance) (recommended) 

- lynxmotion botboard (advance) (not recommended) 

(5) A Few of my Favorite Quadcopters

- zano (micro)

- anura (micro)

-dji inspire

- hovership (thingiverse)

- pixxy (thingiverse)

(6) My Favorite Open Source, relatively low cost, arduino based robots

a. hexy - hexapod

b. sparki - rover

c. uarm - arm

d.mearm - arm

e. rofi - biped

f. pixxy - quadcopter 

g. hovership - quadcopter

h. shellmo - insect like 

i. aracna - quadropod

(7) Trossen Robotics Favorite Finds

- HR-OS1 Humanoid Endoskeleton

-RobotGeek Desktop Roboturret

(8) A Deeper look 

- chassis, conveyor systems and wheels 

- lifts and arms 

- motors

- types of batteries 

- gear theory

-common mechanisms 

[learnrobotics-blog]

Three Great Tech Toys for Kids (Ages 7-12+)

1. Moss

"With MOSS there is no need wiring your construction. The power and data are sent through an elegant single button contact, while the ground passes through the steel spheres."

Educational Guide Quality: Excellent 

Price: Very Expensive

Playtime score*: 4/5  

Expandability Potential: Good

Current # of modules**: 18

Programmable: Yes

Arduino compatible: No**

How it works: http://www.modrobotics.com/moss/moss-getting-started/

Learn more: http://www.modrobotics.com/

2. Little Bits

"littleBits is the easiest way to learn with electronics. It's an ever-growing library of electronic modules that snap together with magnets so you can invent anything!"

Educational Guide Quality: Excellent 

Price:  Very Expensive

Playtime score*: 4/5  

Expandability Potential: High

Current # of modules**: 60+

Programmable: Yes

Arduino compatible: Yes

How it works: http://littlebits.cc/intro

Learn more: https://littlebits.cc 

3. Tinkerbots

"TinkerBots is a toy building set with easy-to-add robotics that make it possible for young children (and adults, too) to create an endless number of toy robots simply by snapping together TinkerBots’ patented “Power Brain,” kinetic modules and passive pieces, and even LEGO bricks. No wiring or programming required. TinkerBots is like “living LEGOs."

Educational Guide Quality: Very Low** 

Price:  Very Expensive

Playtime score*: 3/5  

Expandability Potential: Good

Current # of modules**: 19+

Programmable: Yes

Arduino compatible: Yes

How it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeLEUVqQk_w 

Learn more: https://tinkerbots.net

*based on estimated # of enjoyable hours with the system

**as of dec 2014

Disclaimer: subjective ratings here are based on author's opinion only.

[learnrobotics-blog]

Vex IQ vs Lego Ev3 (see #3) among other things

I have finished writing down my notes about the basics of Vex's motion and structure subsystems. I however can't post it cuz I can't take a decent picture of those 3 pieces of long bond paper. Will figure it out soon. 

Here are other things I did related to robotics. 

1. Watched a few great ball contraptions of Lego and Vex IQ. 

Here are my favorites: 

Vex IQ Week End Short GBC

Akiyuki's 17 Module GBC

Brickworld Chigago GBC 2014

2. Watched a few sumobot competitions of Lego and Vex 

2012 Lego Sumobot competition in Vienna

2009 small highschool sumobot competition using the original vex

3. Read some articles explaining the pro's and cons of both vex and lego robotic systems

The one I think is most unbiased is from Damien Kee

I think this one is a bit biased but useful comparison nonetheless :) 

In general, from what I gather, they say that Vex IQ offers more bang per buck. The "Vex IQ Brain" has more ports (12 vs 8), and its ports are interchangeable (all ports can be for input(sensors) and output(motor)) while "Lego Ev3 Brain" has dedicated ports ( 4 input (sensors) and 4 output (motor)). But because vex IQ is the new kid on the block, there are less kinds of structural parts and there less third party peripherals available compared to lego which is the more mature system. Also, the starter kit of Vex is 250 USD while Lego Ev3 is 340 USD. Vex fans say that if you want to build cool looking robots go for Lego, but if you want to build more functional cost-effective robots (Aside from the "Brain", Vex pieces cost significantly less per volume of plastic), use Vex IQ. 

4.  Checked the Master Builder Academy theme of Lego as well as Ev3. Both are pretty interesting.

Lego Mindstorms Ev3 

Lego Master Builder Academy

Lego MBA is really interesting. I hope I can grab hold of an online copy of their books. Lego did not make it available to the public though. :( 

5. Read more old slides about Vex Robotics Design 

- gear theory, sprockets and chains

- lifting mechanisms, arms, grippers, wheels from Joshua Gabrielse's website

[learnrobotics-blog]

More about Vex Motion and Structure Subsystems.

I just finished reading Vex Inventor's Guide. 

Having an Bachelor in Electronics + Communication Engineering degree, I'm interested most in the motion and structure subsystems of Vex since I don't know much about that area,  I'm looking forward to expanding my knowledge in that area. 

I will be taking down notes about what I have learned based on the Inventor's guide as well as a few other sources.

(1) Vex Teacher from Carnegie Melon University 

(2) Slides gathered from the net

I will be posting my notes about the things I've learned here soon!

1. post my notes about structure and motion

2. post about the most interesting vex parts (in the motion and structure subsystem)

[learnrobotics-blog]

A Few Robotics Resources

For the past week, I have been looking at different robotics construction systems. And of course, all of them are pretty neat. I limited myself on those with really good documentation online. And I look forward to giving them each a separate article of their own but due to time constraints, I will just be posting resources that I have read here. I might do a review of them in the future. 

1. Vex - Vex Inventor's Guide - 2005-2008

2. Sparki - Beginner to Advance Robotics Lessons with Sparki

3. Actobotics from Sparkfun - Robotics 101(11 videos)

4. Moss Robotics - Four day lesson plan for Moss 

One of the best resources for robotics aside from Adafruit is Society of Robots. These sites are the best to checkout for those interested on learning about robotics, but don't know where to start. 

I have actually compiled a list of all the interesting robot systems I have seen online. I have listed 30 robots (stand alone and construction systems). This list is intended for analyzing what would be the best (secondarily more or less cost effective) combinations to buy for a small independent robotic school. Of course, needless to say, this list is incomplete. 

You can view the spreadsheet here.

Robotics Education Product Evaluation

[learnrobotics-blog]

Impressions - LittleBits

"Littlebits is a growing library of electronic modules that snap together with magnets. It is the easiest way to learn about electronics"

Yes, indeed it is one of the cutest sets I've seen, if not the cutest. I love that they really emphasize the visual communication aspect of it. It helps bring the fun back in education - so much more engaging that the traditional textbooks. But because of this, LittleBits are quite pricey given the cost of the actual hardware.

It is a perfect gift for young children to get them excited with electronics. It is something I would have loved to play with in grade school. I could have spent hundred of hours will all kinds of cute artsy projects. ;) 

They even have a hardware development kit to help you create your own modules as well as an Arduino coding kit, for beginner coders. Even though LittleBits is hackable, experienced makers might feel that it's some what of a scam based on the actual cost of materials to make those modules and that it is of course very limiting with what you can do.

Don't get me wrong, you can do so many things with it, but of course if you're looking into more complex projects like autonomous 17 dof obstacle avoiding robots that sends data to the internet through BLE then well, perhaps you can still do it, but not very efficiently (and it would be so much more expensive to boot).

Impressions are based on reading all of Littlebits' brilliantly designed booklets: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xvp5jroqrw5ktzd/AAAqIjrU80DknVmwbjQwTN_aa?dl=0

Learn more about them : https://littlebits.cc