Adafruit Industries - Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! » robotics

NEW PRODUCT – Geared DC Motor with Magnetic Encoder Outputs – 7 VDC 1:20 RatioThe first step in a robotics project is to get a motor spinning. Once you’ve done that you quickly learn that n...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/12/13/new-product-geared-dc-motor-with-magnetic-encoder-outputs-7-vdc-120-ratio/

Ben on the buildits blog shares pictures of the assembly line at Boston Dynamics assembling the latest herd of Mini Cheetah robots.I made several minor design mistakes I had to fix.  Some holes ...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/12/11/building-the-latest-heard-of-mini-cheetahs-at-boston-dynamics-robots-robotics-bostondynamics/

The Overhaul of the Future Begins Now: Überclocker 5.0 (Also, Welcome Back to Robots) | equals zero.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/12/09/the-overhaul-of-the-future-begins-now-berclocker-5-0/

via SlashGearNASA has shown off the ‘robot hotel’ that it is sending into space as part of the SpaceX commercial resupply mission scheduled to launch tomorrow. The robot hotel is designed to ...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/12/09/nasa-shows-off-the-robot-hotel-its-sending-into-space/

A contest to use machine learning to autonomously operate the virtual Open-Source Rover created by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to explore the surface of Mars.From December 2 – Febr...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/12/09/the-aws-jpl-open-source-rover-challenge-aws-robotics-contest-opensource-awscloud-nasajpl/

NEW PRODUCT – Pi Supply Bit:Buggy Car (without micro:bit)The Pi Supply Bit:Buggy Car is a small and cute DIY smart car based around the BBC micro:bit. It’s a simple but well-designed li...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/12/06/new-product-pi-supply-bitbuggy-car-without-microbit/

Just one of the many reasons I would love to make another visit to Scotland! Via dezeen.An exhibition at the V&A Dundee explores the evolving relationship between humans and robots. From 1920s sc...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/12/03/va-dundee-curator-selects-five-designs-that-map-the-evolution-of-robotics/

via MOTHERBOARDNASA is gearing up to test drive a submersible robot underneath Antarctica’s sea ice, with hopes of eventually sending a similar machine to search for aliens in the subsurface oc...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/25/nasa-is-going-to-test-drive-an-alien-hunting-robot-in-antarctica/

Issue 25 of HackSpace Magazine features two methods of getting motors connected to a micro:bit board: the Adafruit CRICKIT for micro:bit vs the Kitronick Motor Driver Board v2.Adafruit also offer...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/25/issue-25-hackspace-magazine-adafruit-crickit-for-microbit-vs-motor-driver-board-v2-adafruit-microbit-crickit-hackspacemag-adafruit/

HackSpace Magazine Issue 25 recommends the Adafruit Crickit Robotics Boards among its modules, add-ons, shields and HAT boards for gift giving.Adafruit’s CRICKIT is a Swiss Army knife for maker...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/22/hackspace-magazine-issue-25-maker-christmas-the-crickit-robotics-board-crickit-robotics-adafruit-hackspacemag/

Larry on the bitbank software blog posts about building a remote-controlled car based on an Arduino Nano 33 BLE.The Beetle-C has its own CPU to control the 7 RGB LEDs and 2 motors. This CPU expos...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/20/rc-mini-car-using-the-arduino-nano-33-ble-bluetooth-robots-bitbank/

Shane Colton posts the latest work on the TinyCross Go-Kart:I finished building up the second dual motor drive for TinyCross, which means that the electronics and wiring have finally caught up ...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/19/the-tinycross-go-kart-4wd-and-servoless-rc-mode-gokarts-robotics/

Via Inceptive MindThe new “growing robot” can be programmed to grow, or extend, in different directions, based on the sequence of chain units that are locked and fed out from the “growing t...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/18/mits-new-robot-can-grow-like-a-plant-and-squeeze-through-tight-spaces-robotics/

via SlashGear A team of MIT engineers believe that while soft robots can squeeze into spaces typical rigid machines can’t, they’re usually not sturdy enough to be fitted with tools like senso...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/18/plant-inspired-robot-squeezes-into-tight-spaces/

New research paper from Kingson Man and Antonio Damasio at Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, looks into robots with feeling.Via Tech Xplore:Feelings ...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/16/could-ais-next-chapter-bring-design-of-feeling-machines-ai-artificialintelligence-makerobotfriend/

Via Core77Something that’s never addressed in Japanese anime: How would those giant robots support themselves, let alone generate the energy to move around? Just one of Voltron’s metal lions ...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/13/ultralight-66-foot-long-robot-arm-paves-the-way-for-real-life-giant-robots-robotics/

via COLOSSALAs part of his engineering efforts, Olijnyk incorporates movement and articulation. His robot limbs are movable, and wheels rotate. In some of his works, the designer even incorporate...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/12/sci-fi-inspired-cardboard-sculptures-by-greg-olijnyk-feature-fully-articulated-limbs-and-working-motors/

via COLOSSALTo balance out his working life as a graphic designer focused on 2-D digital projects, Greg Olijnyk creates cardboard sculptures  in his free time. The remarkably refined artworks ar...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/12/sci-fi-inspired-cardboard-sculptures-with-articulated-limbs-and-working-motors-arttuesday/

Sometimes if you want to innovate you need to look to nature. Researchers are trying to improve robotic dexterity by mimicking plants.VIa MIT News:Now MIT engineers have developed a robot designe...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/09/flexible-yet-sturdy-robot-is-designed-to-grow-like-a-plant-robotics-robot-mit/

James Bruton shared this video on Youtube!I’ve been experimenting with simulated springs using back-driveable gearboxes with ODrive Brushless motor drivers to hold their positions, and of cours...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/06/robot-dog-stability-using-dynamic-compliant-simulated-springs/

Rad list from Robohub.From Mexican immigrant to MIT, from Girl Power in Latin America to robotics entrepreneurs in Africa and India, the 2019 annual “women in robotics you need to know about”...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/04/30-women-in-robotics-you-need-to-know-about-2019/

Version 2 of these self building blocks brings communication and identification. Via MIT News:Swarms of simple, interacting robots have the potential to unlock stealthy abilities for accomplishin...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/11/03/m-blocks-2-0-self-assembling-modular-robots-robotics-mit-ai/

Super impressive new work and research from The Robotics Institute Carnegie Mellon University.Abstract: In this talk, I will describe our recent work building a biologically-inspired bat robot. B...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/29/design-modeling-and-control-of-a-robot-bat-from-bio-inspiration-to-engineering-solutions-makereducation/

Fun demo of robotic instruments in the OR from WCNC on YouTube:Surgeons at Atrium Health are getting into the Halloween spirit!See more HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Every day this month we’ll be bringing y...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/28/robotic-pumpkin-surgery-electronichalloween/

We first wrote about Shane Colton’s TinyCross ultralight electric crosskart back on August 27, 2018. Since that time some upgrades have been in the making.I’ve been waiting over a year to see...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/24/tinycross-ultralight-electric-crosskart-first-test-drive-and-data-logging-robotics-vehicles/

via MOTHERBOARDOpenAI, the San Francisco–based for-profit AI research lab, this week released a study documenting the development of an AI-linked robotic hand named Dactyl. Since May of 2017, t...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/21/humanoid-robot-hand-solves-a-rubiks-cube/

This story is great fodder for a sci-fi movie! What kind of unforeseen repercussions could come from selling your likeness?Via Vice:Geomiq, a London-based engineering company, says it’s looking...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/21/this-startup-wants-the-rights-to-your-face-in-perpetuity/

Make a bunch of these to scare trick-or-treaters or give them out to your trick-or-treaters with some candy attached to it!via Sandy Roberts on instructablesThis is a simple, fun bristlebot for H...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/19/halloween-spiderbot/

From the Adafruit forums, Roi Neustadt shares a flexible painting drone project. The video above shows the unit in a flying vertical painter configuration.The video below shows the printing secti...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/16/convertible-drone-paints-images-on-walls-and-flat-surfaces-art-robotics-fromtheforums/

via slashgearBack in June, we talked about some new autonomous robot boats that had been invented by MIT. These boats were designed to find and attach to each other while floating in the canals o...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/14/roboats-mit-autonomous-robot-boats-gain-the-ability-to-change-shape/

Via Hackster.io, researchers at the Imperial College of London have created an aquatic robot which can mimic a “flying fish” by launching out using a jet of water. Water from the environment ...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/01/robot-transitions-from-water-to-flying-propelled-by-water-pressure-robot-robotics-feather-hacksterio/

via SmithsonianFarmers can use the same “big data” tools that are integrated into other industries. Things like drones that communicate with satellites to collect data while soaring over a fi...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/10/01/five-roles-robots-will-play-in-the-future-of-farming/

Look at that landing! From BostonDynamics on YouTube:First, an optimization algorithm transforms high-level descriptions of each maneuver into dynamically-feasible reference motions. Then Atlas t...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/29/have-you-seen-atlass-gymnastic-routine/

from Michael Linsenmeier via hackster.io Gizmo is a robotic vehicle with a camera that can be remote-controlled over WLAN or the Internet by an Android app. The video capture of the camera can be...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/27/gizmo-the-app-and-voice-controlled-robotic-vehicle-raspberry_pi-piday-raspberrypi/

Issue 23 – Wireframe Magazine is here!What’s inside? Denki Games tell us all about Autonauts, an adorable survival sim with programmable robots. We catch up with composer Jesper Kyd to discus...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/26/wireframe-magazine-issue-23-is-here-gaming-robots-wireframemag-raspberry_pi/

IEEE Spectrum is reporting on Boston Dynamics’ announcement that their Spot robot is going on sale (video above).The machine’s animal-like behavior regularly electrifies crowds at tech confer...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/26/boston-dynamics-spot-robot-goes-on-sale-robotics-robots-makerobotfriend-bostondynamics/

James Bruton shared this video on Youtube!I built animatronic robot heads for my Performance Robots series. These robots are intended to be reliable, robust and transportable so they can visit va...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/25/building-animatronic-robot-heads-robotics/

via The Verge After a short stay aboard the International Space Station, Russia’s humanoid robot, Skybot F850, is on its way home, stuffed inside a Soyuz spacecraft with no crew. Skybot, origin...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/23/humanoid-robot-skybot-is-on-its-way-home-after-a-two-week-stay-in-space/

Issue 23 – HackSpace magazine: Motorized wing, making your cosplay move, add a servo for breathtaking effects by Sophy Wong – “Add movement to your cosplay with a servo motor! In this inter...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/20/issue-23-hackspace-magazine-motorized-wing-making-your-cosplay-move-add-a-servo-for-breathtaking-effects-by-sophywong-hackspacemag-circuitpython/

Firm but gentle is an oxymoron but its also what makes human grip so unique. A team out of the University of Buffalo are working on creating an more human robot grip.Via TehcXplore:One characteri...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/16/a-robot-with-a-firm-yet-gentle-grasp-robotics/

Adam from Sphero stopped by Adafruit last week and we now have a Sphero RVR we’re tinkering around with! Here’s a quick vid of some Monster M4sk eyes on the RVR.We’ll have more about the Sp...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/13/adafruit-eyes-on-a-sphero-rvr-and-some-historic-cars-that-are-alive-adafruit-sphero/

From 8bitsandabyte on Hackster.io:My girlfriend really wants a cow. Sadly, that’s a bit tricky because we live in an appartement. I did however find a small inflatable version in the local thri...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/13/mooomba-the-cow-roomba-with-piday-raspberrypi-raspberry_pi/

via TEDTaking design cues from origami, robotician Jamie Paik and her team created “robogamis”: folding robots made out super-thin materials that can reshape and transform themselves. In this...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/09/origami-robots-that-reshape-and-transform-themselves-jamie-paik/

Via Interesting EngineeringChina just stepped up its effort to use technology to police the country deploying traffic robots to help law enforcement in the city of Handan in China’s Hebei provi...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/04/robots-to-assist-traffic-cops-in-handan-china-robotics/

Via Interesting EngineeringMany crops are relatively easy to harvest mechanically. For sturdier produce, such as potatoes or wheat, machines have been assisting with the harvesting task, but when...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/04/a-vegebot-has-been-built-to-harvest-lettuce-by-using-machine-learning-robotics/

Just out is a wonderful read on learning robotics and how to make your own robots by renowned author Kathy Ceceri.Bots! Robotics Engineering with Hands-On Makerspace Activities is aimed at childr...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/02/book-review-bots-robotics-engineering-with-hands-on-makerspace-activities-by-kathy-ceceri-robotics-robots-makecode-kathyceceri-nomadpressvt-msmakecode/

Via FastCompanyThe robots are here. They’re scanning shelves at your local supermarket, delivering food, and even assisting nurses in the hospital. As the robots begin to infiltrate human space...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/09/01/how-googly-eyes-solved-one-of-todays-trickiest-ux-problems-robotics/

Browse through all that’s new here!NEW PRODUCTS THIS WEEK Adafruit PDM Microphone Breakout with JST SH Connector: An exotic new microphone has arrived in the Adafruit shop, a PDM MEMS Microphon...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/08/31/new-products-8-28-2019-featuring-adafruit-perma-proto-40-pin-rasp-pi-pcb-kits-w-2x20-header-adafruit-newproducts/

Katherine Schwab writes in Fastcompany about the issue of users accepting robots in places like a library in Helsinki. Adding Googly Eyes made all the difference!Addressing the complexity of huma...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/08/30/how-googly-eyes-solved-one-of-todays-trickiest-user-acceptance-issues-robots-robotics-fastcompany/

The battle against bots is ever evolving. As computers and AI get smarter and faster, captcha systems are getting more and more involved. At times, recently, I start to second guess myself…Are ...

https://blog.adafruit.com/2019/08/28/im-not-a-robot-captcha-turingtest/