The Robot Podcast

"The Robot Podcast" is a podcast focused exclusively on the technology and developments in the robotics industry. We are currently developing the show some more and will release within a few weeks. We will be speaking with industry leading engineers and businessman who are creating and using these incredible machines.

3D Printed Arduino Robot Arm Launched on Kickstarter

This is a project that I have been a part of for a few weeks. It is a low cost robot arm primarily for STEM and hobby.

We have taken it to kickstarter in order to get the ball rolling.

This has a been a fun project, because, like a software, it moved incredibly quickly. We went through multiple designs in a matter of days. And we had basically the full product in a couple of weeks.

Support the project on Kickstarter so we can get a very versatile and low cost robot into the hands of kids everywhere.

Udemy Course - Autodesk Inventor

I have done a lot of online video tutorials over the last few years. I recently decided to try out Udemy. This is the first course that I have created. It is a fast-paced introduction to Autodesk Inventor. Let me know what you think.

I do like Udemy they do a very good job of lining out instructors so that we create structured content.

Autodesk Inventor: The Basics

Here is my introduction video to the course and why CAD is so awesome

3-D Printed Arduino Robot Arm

This project has come a long way since the original post.

Now it is a 4 DOF arm that has a whole bunch of code and website to get it all. Visit 3D Printed Robots to get all of the cad and code for this project.

I am also turning it into a kit. If you would like to preorder one, then go to the website and let us know.

It has been a fun project. At this point we have GUI control of the arm and the kinematics are getting tuned in (difficult since the arm is not a precision machine). In the near future we will add a recording capability to the GUI and get a kinematic controller completed that will allow the use to put in a position in taskspace and have the arm move to it.

3-D Printed Microservo Robot Arm

This a project that I took on to create a simple robot arm for kids camps and classrooms. This arm is controlled by an arduino and uses 3 microservos. While it currently does not have a gripper that will be added soon. I will also be completing the kinematic model so that I can implement a positional controller into the arm.

When fully completed I will release the designs and likely produce a few as kits.

In the demo below I was controlling the arm through a keyboard.

Raptor: 3-D printed prosthetic hand

I designed the Raptor to be a basic terminal prosthetic hand that could be 3-D printed. There are only 4 pieces that are printed and they can be made at a home printer.

I designed the Raptor hand for a design competition on GrabCAD. As of this post the competition is still up.

If you would like to print the Raptor yourself here are all the files that you need

If you would like me to design a custom application prosthetic for you feel free to contact me.

Here was a demo of the prototype. I used shockcord and paracord as the cables which is way to bulky. In future I will likely use small steel cable a maybe just rubber bands.

Portable Event Solar Phone Charger

This solar phone charger is designed to be deployed at outdoor events like weddings and concerts so that people can charge their phones. Normally extension cords or large cumbersome solar umbrellas have to be set up to fill this need.

The one issue is that people have to supervise their charging and the charger itself can be stolen. In a future iteration I will add essentially a port for a bike lock and locking compartments for phones to sit in while charging.

I would also like to spread the usb ports around the  edges more so that they are not so condensed. It will change the experience from waiting in line to just walking up and plugging into your own space.

Jerry Personal Robot Kickstarter

Launched Jerry on Kickstarter a few days ago.

Jerry Multipurpose Home Robot Demo

I've been working for several months on the Jerry Project. He is finally ready to demo. This is the first video. I plan to have Jerry ready for sale near the end of 2016. From now on it is going to be a software development issue. All the hardware works just as expected. Jerry will first be released as an educational and hobby platform and within a year he will be in homes.

 If you would like to see more or watch the progress visit:
www.slantrobotics.com
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube

Microservo 3-D printed gripper

I found that there are really very few 3-D printed grippers available. So I made on. This one uses a microservo and two rubber bands to create an semi-adaptive gripper. The overall mechanism is based off of the gripper developed at Slant Robotics. But at this moment the amount of material used is a bit large, so I may create a more minimal structure.

Download on GrabCad

Slant Robotics

I have formed a new branch of Slant Concepts...Slant Robotics. The "Jerry" Project is going to become an official product. Jerry is now being built in Nampa, Idaho with a projected reveal of a finished product at the end of April. Jerry is going to be the home robot that everyone has imagined.

Be sure to follow the project of Twitter or Facebook.

Another Book - The Everything Machine

Finished up another book. "The Everything Machine" is a quick look at the current state of the art of robotics. It's a discussion of where robots are and where they are going.

Buy it on Amazon

Jerry Project: Update

Here are some pictures of a couple final prototype designs for Jerry, a low cost, vision-based, personal robot. I also added the first official teaser video. The real prototype will be soon to follow.

The Jerry personal robot with all actuated components opened and extended

The Jerry personal robot with arm retracted and an added screen for improved telepresence functionality.