From Parallax

Way better than the Transformer Turkey I found! Check our the Parallax Turkey - and not a "turkey" of a product in the bunch!

Thanksgiving 2014

Happy Thanksgiving from Robotics Under the Stole!

Turkey Transformer...

The Fellowship Continues...

I've done this before and may have to have another go. Lots of fun. I love waiting for a package to arrive! Thanks to Chris, an engineer at Parallax, and the host of Savage Circuits for the video and the great idea!

To Catch a Comet

"To Catch A Comet," a compelling documentary that details the complexities and challenges of the ten-year, four-million-mile journey of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Spacecraft Rosetta as it chased down and landed on the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in a history-making feat this week, premieres Wednesday, November 19, 2014 on PBS.

You can also stream the entire program on the PBS website.

Christmas Goodies!

Got an Arlo Power Distribution Board on the way (my Christmas prize!), Also ordered an  Assorted 3-Wire Extension Cable 30-Pack and pair of HB-25 Mounting Bracket(s). Thanks for the 10% off, and the free shipping and the free WS2812BRGB LED Module Parallax! What a deal! 

Been wanting one of these for a while... Now - if I can just wait till Christmas...

Will use these supplies to complete an Arlo Bot.

More on Rosetta and Philae

I was lucky enough to be watching a live feed at the moment they received the signal that Philae had successfully landed. Absolutely amazing!

The Rosetta Blog is here: http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/

Rosetta Flickr 

Touchdown! Rosetta's Philae Probe Lands on Comet

This is an amazing achievement and demonstrates the endless possibilities in the field of robotics! See the full story here.

One other interesting bit of info - The lander is named after Philae Island in the Nile where an obelisk was found and used, along with the Rosetta Stone, to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Information on the video - Rosetta’s deployment of Philae to land on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. 

The animation begins with Philae still on Rosetta, which will come to within about 22.5 km of the centre of the nucleus to release the lander on 12 November 2014.

The animation then shows Philae being ejected by Rosetta and deploying its own three legs, and follows the lander’s descent until it reaches the target site on the comet about seven hours later. The animation is speeded up, but the comet rotation is true: in the time it takes for Philae to descend, the nucleus has rotated by more than 180º (the comet’s rotation period is 12.4 hours).

The final steps of Philae’s descent towards the comet are shown as seen by a hypothetical observer close to the landing site on the comet.

Acknowledgement: The background image of the sequence showing Philae closing in on the landing site was taken by Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera (ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA) on 14 September 2014 from a distance of about 30 km.

Philae was provided by a consortium led by DLR, MPS, CNES and ASI.

Spare Parts

Saw the preview for this Robotic's film too. Can't wait...

Spare Parts is based on this article in Wired Magazine.

Here is a trailer for a documentary about the real deal.

Big Hero 6

Saw this tonight with my family. Great robotic's and adventures in creating things' themes...