One of the things that I like so much about the people who are into hobby robotics is their fearlessness. There is virtually no fear of failure among the group. They are adventurous and willing to try new things. A failed experiment is just as good as or better that a successful one because it teaches something. They are willing to abandon an old idea when a better one comes along, even if they have much invested in the old one. They are willing to share all of this information with others admitting to both triumph and disaster. When something works, they give the answer away unselfishly. When something bombs, (sometime literally going up in smoke) they continue to work undaunted having learned at least one way that will not work.
Without fear, without selfishness, there is only the love of the work itself and the learning. Failure teaches as much or more than success. Failure seen this way is success, for it moves the process toward the goal along its way.
Many of the folks who share their ideas on web forums have mottos attached to their signatures at each post. Things like – “There's nothing like a new idea and a warm soldering iron,” or “Never give up when things go wrong.” or "The first rule to being successful is 'Learn from your mistakes', The second rule is 'Be willing to make mistakes.'"One of my favorites is – “lets see what this does... KA BOOM (note to self do not cross red and black)”
Fearless! I find great hope in trying to live this way.
By the way, this is what is attached to my signature line - "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
HEXBUG Micro Robotic Creature
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There are five different models. I have the "Alpha." Pretty amazing for $9.99!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Mythbuster Robotic Hand
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The Class that Will Be Soon
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The teacher knows why I am taking the courses and says we will tailor things to help me learn for my projects. The school offers classes in AC circuits, semiconductors, transistor circuits, digital electronics, introduction to robotics and much more. I can't wait to start.
The Class that Wasn't
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This was the course description as advertised -
Gatorbot – Robot Camp – for Middle Schoolers (entering 6-8th grades)
lead by Fr. Whit
July 16 – 20, 2007, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon (with a mid-morning
snack and break)
Gatorbot Robot Camp will teach the basics of Robotics. Robot builders will work with two robots, a mouse-like Weasel Robot (which each student will keep) and the Parallax Scribbler. Learn simple kit construction and elementary programming. It will be a great week that we hope will grow into a Robotics Club.
For more info, see the following websites and movies:
http://www.robotikitsdirect.com/movies/weasel.mpg
http://www.scribblerrobot.com/
http://www.parallax.com/dl/mm/video/ScribblerLine.wmv
lead by Fr. Whit
July 16 – 20, 2007, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon (with a mid-morning
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Gatorbot Robot Camp will teach the basics of Robotics. Robot builders will work with two robots, a mouse-like Weasel Robot (which each student will keep) and the Parallax Scribbler. Learn simple kit construction and elementary programming. It will be a great week that we hope will grow into a Robotics Club.
For more info, see the following websites and movies:
http://www.robotikitsdirect.com/movies/weasel.mpg
http://www.scribblerrobot.com/
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http://www.parallax.com/dl/mm/video/ScribblerLine.wmv
In the end, I had decided to use Tamiya's Wall Hugging Mouse instead of the OWI Weasel Bot. Unfortunately, the class was cancelled. Not enough students signed up.
Oh well, at least I got two mouse bots and a Scribbler! Attached also is a sketch of the Gatorbot which still may be the logo for a robotic's club at the kid's school whose mascot is the Alligator.
My First Robot - Robot 1
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I got bogged down in the electronics, especially the microcontroller. I knew I needed an H-bridge and then to understand PWM. So, I backed off and got some goodies from Parallax - starting with "What's a Microcontroller?" I have really worked hard to catch up on that end of things over the last 6 months. I will return to this bot and finish it up with the new stuff I have learned, but for now I continue to learn more electronics and control.
The pictures show the basic platform (top and bottom) and one of
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It is now not what I would do, but it represents where I began and it helped me identify for myself what I needed to learn to continue. It will always be special because of that. Plus, it worked (well, sort of, I got scavenged and purchased parts to scoot around). Mostly, I learned a lot - some ideas that worked and a bunch of things that didn't. Maybe it's always like that.
I still like the yellow and blue!