A lot of stuff is going on all the time in the robotics field, and new amazing ideas surface every day in the maker universe. In this new series of articles the focus will be on happenings and stories which I’ve found to be interesting, fun, or if they simply caught my attention. This will be by no means an exhaustive compendium where everything is covered, but rather a way to share and discuss about things. As usual, you can freely share your thoughts and enjoy.
Advanced camera drone shoots amazing slow-motion footage
The first story for today comes from Brain Farm, which have managed to fly a Phantom Flex4K professional high-speed camera capable of shooting ultra-HD footage at up to 1,000 fps.
Naturally a cinema-spec camera is not lightweight, in this case the camera alone weights almost 7 kilograms, or about 15 pounds. For this they employed an Aerigon heavy-lifting drone designed for carrying cinema equipment. This was not enough however, they further increased the power output and modified the gimbal with fixtures for the impressive camera. Below you can watch a short video of the almost US $250,000 rig in action.
Simulation video of the Zebro Light hexapod robot
The simulation, created by roboticist Laurens Valk, has been done in V-REP and allows observing how the Zebro Light six legged robot behaves on different types of terrain.
UberBlox metal construction system is now on Kickstarter
This probably deserves a feature of its own, which I’ll probably do later on. The UberBlox system can be easily regarded as analogous to LEGO but made from metal, allowing you to build very sturdy structures for your project. The system is comprised of building elements such as metal bars, connectors and nodes, then there are various subassemblies such as rotational elements and couplings, motors or Laser cutting modules, and so-called “Brain-Boxes” which are controllers based either on Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Head to the campaign page to find out more.
Tesla unveils unique “autonomous ticket-avoidance” feature
Autonomous cars are becoming more and more advanced and refined, and Tesla is one of the most innovative car manufacturers out there. This week, on April 1st of course, they’ve presented their proprietary “autonomous ticket-avoidance” feature, as you can see below. Who knows, maybe next year we’ll see that automatic yellow light running feature we’ve always wanted. Watch more such innovative technology videos on Robohub.
Short interview with Thomas Aubin from Atmel
A few thoughts are shared about the controller board market, regarding various approaches to implementing such technology and coding possibilies, with a few examples.
Open source Windows is not that far fetched anymore
According to Microsoft’s Mark Russinovich at ChefConf this week, it is not impossible to release Windows as open source.
How to build a Raspberry Pi tablet
Click to enlarge
Maker Michael Castor built his own tablet PC at the core of which lies a Raspberry Pi model B board. The 10 inch capacitive touchscreen is connected directly to the Pi’s LVDS port via an adapter and a 10Ah battery powers the system.
Of course there is also WiFi an Bluetooth connectivity, as well as several USB ports. The casing is made of wood with a backing made of carbon fiber which looks pretty interesting, even though it seems a bit bulky. Nevertheless I really like this build.
Codie programmable robot for chilren is on Indiegogo
Codie comes from Hungary and is a robot and app system aimed at teaching children to take the first steps towards robotics and programming. The programming environment, which runs on iOS or Android, seems pretty friendly and allows kids to create routines by dragging program blocks onto the work area and then connecting them in a certain succession. Everything is then uploaded to the little robot, which has a very friendly design and is packed with sensors. Find out more from the campaign page.
Onion Omega development board is on Kickstarter
Onion Omega is a tiny development board, “a quarter” the size of a Raspberry Pi, compatible with Arduino and able to run Linux. It can be programmed using a variety of languages and there is also an app store for downloading various extensions and sketches. Find more new crowdfunding projects on the Atmel blog.
