And while on the subject of Lego Education, their Clearance rack is full of great stuff right now. CHEAP!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Lego Education 2010 New Releases.
TechnicBricks has a great article on some outstanding new releases coming in 2010 from Lego Education. I highly recommend checking it out in case you have missed it. Good stuff.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
HiTechnic Sensor Multiplexer Review Part 1
I just got the Sensor Multiplexer from HiTechnic the other day. I haven’t even plugged in a cord yet, but I wanted to share a few initial thoughts.
The first thing I noticed is that it is slightly bigger than I imagined. No big deal, I just imagined it to be a little smaller. It’s about 2 ¼ inches square and about 1 inch high or 7 studs square by 3 studs high. It is built to standard Lego dimensions so it will easily fit into your mounting.
HiTechnic carefully avoided infringing upon the Lego stud design my making all the protrusions and the distance between them one stud wide so a standard beam fits between them. You cannot snap the SMUX into your project so it must be captured between regular elements.
The second thing I noticed is that it has an external power source of a 9 volt battery box. There is a rather small red and black wire about six inches long connecting the battery box to the SMUX. I didn’t realize it required an external source because I was using the Touch SMUX as a reference which does not have the battery box requirement and I guess I didn’t look closely at the picture on the HiTechnic web site.
There is an indicator light on the battery box which has some functions related to the state of the SMUX and I will get into that more when I start to program it. There is a small on/off switch to turn the SMUX on during operation. You must use a small screwdriver to install the battery.
The battery box isn’t built to Lego dimensions, which makes mounting a little more cumbersome, but not overly difficult. The best way to mount is right now is probably using a couple of rubber bands and strapping it to other Lego elements. Personally, I wish that the battery box was incorporated into the SMUX. That way all the mounting could be done at the same time and I wouldn’t have to worry about breaking the small wires connecting the two during construction.
The distance between the ports on the SMUX are just wide enough for a beam to fit between them, but it is tight.
The first thing I noticed is that it is slightly bigger than I imagined. No big deal, I just imagined it to be a little smaller. It’s about 2 ¼ inches square and about 1 inch high or 7 studs square by 3 studs high. It is built to standard Lego dimensions so it will easily fit into your mounting.
HiTechnic carefully avoided infringing upon the Lego stud design my making all the protrusions and the distance between them one stud wide so a standard beam fits between them. You cannot snap the SMUX into your project so it must be captured between regular elements.
The second thing I noticed is that it has an external power source of a 9 volt battery box. There is a rather small red and black wire about six inches long connecting the battery box to the SMUX. I didn’t realize it required an external source because I was using the Touch SMUX as a reference which does not have the battery box requirement and I guess I didn’t look closely at the picture on the HiTechnic web site.
There is an indicator light on the battery box which has some functions related to the state of the SMUX and I will get into that more when I start to program it. There is a small on/off switch to turn the SMUX on during operation. You must use a small screwdriver to install the battery.
The battery box isn’t built to Lego dimensions, which makes mounting a little more cumbersome, but not overly difficult. The best way to mount is right now is probably using a couple of rubber bands and strapping it to other Lego elements. Personally, I wish that the battery box was incorporated into the SMUX. That way all the mounting could be done at the same time and I wouldn’t have to worry about breaking the small wires connecting the two during construction.
The distance between the ports on the SMUX are just wide enough for a beam to fit between them, but it is tight.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
I am out of the office.
I won't be posting again until Saturday or Sunday, I am going to be out trying to get an awesome job I have lined up.
I did receive my HiTechnic Sensor Multiplexer today. I haven't tried it yet, but I definitely have some comments I want to share about it. I hope to do that this weekend.
I did receive my HiTechnic Sensor Multiplexer today. I haven't tried it yet, but I definitely have some comments I want to share about it. I hope to do that this weekend.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Candle Making Kinetic Art
I considered building a robot that makes candles. This would be done by dipping the candle in different colored wax using some sort of overhead gantry to create a multicolored effect. Then using some sort of CNC lathe to create different diameters that would show off the different colors.
Then I get on YouTube, a natural source for learning and ideas. I didn’t find any real good “How To” videos, but I did find one interesting video. Someone actually turned the task of dipping candles into a sort of kinetic art.
Then I get on YouTube, a natural source for learning and ideas. I didn’t find any real good “How To” videos, but I did find one interesting video. Someone actually turned the task of dipping candles into a sort of kinetic art.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
RobotC 2.0 Now Available.
After what seemed to be decades, the programmers of RobotC have announced they have finally released version 2.0. If you know anything about the program, it has been updated in the 1.xxxx realm many times and sometimes created more problems than were fixed. If you have paid the $30 for a previous version, the license is still valid and upgrading is free. If you want to try RobotC, you can download it and use a fully functional version for 30 days before you are required to pay the $30 license fee.
RobotC is my preferred programming environment when I need more power than can be found in NXT-G. I always recommend it, but the only real drawback I can say is that they don’t support Bluetooth communications between more than 2 NXTs. I am getting ready to download and install it, so I can’t really speak too much about the upgrade. In the past I have been pretty happy with updates, so moving up to 2.0 should be pretty easy and rewarding.
The upgrade can be done through this link.
From the RobotC website.
RobotC is my preferred programming environment when I need more power than can be found in NXT-G. I always recommend it, but the only real drawback I can say is that they don’t support Bluetooth communications between more than 2 NXTs. I am getting ready to download and install it, so I can’t really speak too much about the upgrade. In the past I have been pretty happy with updates, so moving up to 2.0 should be pretty easy and rewarding.
The upgrade can be done through this link.
From the RobotC website.
ROBOTC, a C-Based programming language for robotics
ROBOTC is the premiere language for educational robotics. It is a C Programming Language with an Easy-to-Use Development environment. It supports several different robotics platforms, including popular platforms such as the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT and Innovation FIRST VEX. Download its blazing fast, High Performance Firmware to your robot. Using its Interactive Run-Time Debugger, you can easily pinpoint the problems in your programs. Try it out today by going to the Downloads section and choosing your platform.
Learnin' for Free
I found something incredible. The Ministry of Human Resource Development for the government of India has funded a program called The National Program Technology Enhanced Learning. It is an extensive program to help people get training in technology. I haven’t investigated the full reach of the program, but I have looked through the videos on YouTube.com and it is very impressive.
Incredibly, they have posted 4,251 videos. Most are one hour classes on different college level classes covering 117 different topics. Basically, it is a full college education on video free for everyone. All the videos are surprisingly in English, but the professors are Indian. Some are done very well, others not so much.
The list of topics looks just like a syllabus from any university. They include Electrical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Electronics, and on and on. I have a couple that I am particularly interested in; Mechanical Robotics and Mechanical - Kinematics of Machines.
Here is the playlist for the entire program. Very impressive. To give you a taste, this is the video for Introduction to Robotics.
Incredibly, they have posted 4,251 videos. Most are one hour classes on different college level classes covering 117 different topics. Basically, it is a full college education on video free for everyone. All the videos are surprisingly in English, but the professors are Indian. Some are done very well, others not so much.
The list of topics looks just like a syllabus from any university. They include Electrical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Electronics, and on and on. I have a couple that I am particularly interested in; Mechanical Robotics and Mechanical - Kinematics of Machines.
Here is the playlist for the entire program. Very impressive. To give you a taste, this is the video for Introduction to Robotics.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
X-Brat
This is a pretty cool robot. I have thought about building a bot that shoots, but haven’t really figured out a good way of locating the target. Shooting at a light source or something might work.
The best part is the builder gets shot at by his own creation.
The best part is the builder gets shot at by his own creation.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Escapements
Some years ago, I worked several times (mostly unsuccessfully) to build a pendulum clock. I had no problems with the hand movements, the gearing, the weights, the pendulum, the structure; I had it all figured out. But I had lots of problems working out the escapement. An escapement is a device which converts continuous rotational motion into an oscillating or back and forth motion. This creates the familiar tick tock sound.
Very generally speaking, the pendulum, the weight and the escapement work together to create the power of the clock. The weight pulls on a drum which turns the escapement wheel. The escapement wheel transfers very small impulses of force to the pendulum to keep it swinging. The pendulum will always swing at a constant pace or period, thus a pendulum is a great way to keep accurate time.
The tricky part is creating an escapement that will work regularly, have enough power to keep the pendulum swinging, and not too much so the pendulum is over powered and swings wildly. YouTube user BenVanDeWaal seems to have this problem licked. It seems he has devoted his entire Lego building existence to building escapements, and I might say he has done a very nice job. He has several videos of several escapement types, but here are a few of my favs:
There are many more, and if you like these, go visit BenVanDeWaal's site.
Very generally speaking, the pendulum, the weight and the escapement work together to create the power of the clock. The weight pulls on a drum which turns the escapement wheel. The escapement wheel transfers very small impulses of force to the pendulum to keep it swinging. The pendulum will always swing at a constant pace or period, thus a pendulum is a great way to keep accurate time.
The tricky part is creating an escapement that will work regularly, have enough power to keep the pendulum swinging, and not too much so the pendulum is over powered and swings wildly. YouTube user BenVanDeWaal seems to have this problem licked. It seems he has devoted his entire Lego building existence to building escapements, and I might say he has done a very nice job. He has several videos of several escapement types, but here are a few of my favs:
There are many more, and if you like these, go visit BenVanDeWaal's site.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Short Dry Spell On Posts
Sorry about the short dry spell on posts. We are dealing with the flu bug all around us, plus I am preparing for an interview for a really great job.
But here is a neat video of some non-robotic kinetic sculptures.
Be back soon!
But here is a neat video of some non-robotic kinetic sculptures.
Be back soon!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday's Idea-Omnibot
Omnibot was every boys dream in the mid 1980’s. If you had one, then you also had a complement of jealous friends, me included. Just another example of how 25 years takes away the feeling of “I have to have one” and replaces it with the feeling “I don’t want that junk, I have something much better.”
Building this out of Lego would be pretty cool, and the best part is that we could make it with many, many more functions.
Building this out of Lego would be pretty cool, and the best part is that we could make it with many, many more functions.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Mechanisms and Linkages
As I have mentioned over and over, I am a fascinated by motion and movement. I have posted a few kinetic art videos of which I am a huge fan, and there will be more. A few of my favorite classes in college were Kinematics, which is “the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of objects without consideration of the causes leading to the motion,” Dynamics, which is “the mathematical analysis of the motion of bodies as a result of impressed forces,” and the course that applies the two in real world applications, Kinematics and Dynamics of Machinery.
Much of the applied course was devoted to linkages and mechanisms. There are several classes of linkages and probably hundreds of named linkage arrangements. I own several books which verbally and mathematically describe many of the linkages. I get a kick out of looking at a machine and finding a linkage or mechanism that I recognize.
But I have a feeling that many of the linkages and mechanisms will be replaced by more mechanically simple servo motors and linear actuators. If you look at old machinery, you will find all kinds of cool movements generated by cams, levers, mechanisms and linkages, but with robotics and complex mathematics, some of those devices are obsolete. But they will never go away, and even more complicated linkages are being developed which I really like.
You can find tons of videos of many of linkages on YouTube.com and similar sites. One of my favorites is of course Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest.
The Strandbeest has been duplicated in several mediums including Lego. I’m not going to link to any of those videos out of respect for the artist, but some of those are quite impressive as well. If you are not familiar with Jansen and the Strandbeest, I highly recommend visiting the link.
I have found several really interesting pages devoted to sharing linkage and mechanism designs and graphics. Here are a few;
RoyMech. This is a detailed page including all kinds of engineering resources, but my favorite is Mechanisms.
KMODDL. “KMODDL is a collection of mechanical models and related resources for teaching the principles of kinematics--the geometry of pure motion. The core of KMODDL is the Reuleaux Collection of Mechanisms and Machines, an important collection of 19th-century machine elements held by Cornell's Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.”
Brock Institute for Advanced Studies. This page shows animated graphics for several linkages.
Kanagawa Prefecture’s Linkage mechanism simulator is a downloadable linkage simulator.
Much of the applied course was devoted to linkages and mechanisms. There are several classes of linkages and probably hundreds of named linkage arrangements. I own several books which verbally and mathematically describe many of the linkages. I get a kick out of looking at a machine and finding a linkage or mechanism that I recognize.
But I have a feeling that many of the linkages and mechanisms will be replaced by more mechanically simple servo motors and linear actuators. If you look at old machinery, you will find all kinds of cool movements generated by cams, levers, mechanisms and linkages, but with robotics and complex mathematics, some of those devices are obsolete. But they will never go away, and even more complicated linkages are being developed which I really like.
You can find tons of videos of many of linkages on YouTube.com and similar sites. One of my favorites is of course Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest.
The Strandbeest has been duplicated in several mediums including Lego. I’m not going to link to any of those videos out of respect for the artist, but some of those are quite impressive as well. If you are not familiar with Jansen and the Strandbeest, I highly recommend visiting the link.
I have found several really interesting pages devoted to sharing linkage and mechanism designs and graphics. Here are a few;
RoyMech. This is a detailed page including all kinds of engineering resources, but my favorite is Mechanisms.
KMODDL. “KMODDL is a collection of mechanical models and related resources for teaching the principles of kinematics--the geometry of pure motion. The core of KMODDL is the Reuleaux Collection of Mechanisms and Machines, an important collection of 19th-century machine elements held by Cornell's Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.”
Brock Institute for Advanced Studies. This page shows animated graphics for several linkages.
Kanagawa Prefecture’s Linkage mechanism simulator is a downloadable linkage simulator.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Roomba Pac-man
The Roomba is a robotic household vacuum cleaner. It’s a favorite hacking target of some people and you can find several blogs and videos around the net. Most of them are pretty lame compared to even a basic obstacle avoidance NXT robot. But this one is pretty cool and very complicated.
It would be way over my head to program, but nonetheless, fun to think about building with a full set of NXTs.
It would be way over my head to program, but nonetheless, fun to think about building with a full set of NXTs.
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