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Features

Doing Big Things With Little Micros by Fred Eady
This month, we’re going to move away from the mechanics of robotic arts and focus on basic electronic principles that can be amplified to form the soul of a subservient mechatronic being.

RoboGames 2009 by Camp Peavy
This year, “Agus mulyana” and “Akbar Alexander” from Indonesia took the gold with a Tarantula-legged robot called “NEXT-116.”

Projects

The Navigator: Part 2 by John W. Molnar
Last time, we introduced the concept of a user friendly, self navigation system for larger vehicles such as rover platforms and boats. Now, let’s build the system! Here are the construction details for the three boards involved, plus a detailed overview of the software that makes it all tick.

Hagetaka: Part 3 by Andrew Alter
In this article, we will cover the advanced Gumstix-based onboard controller, power management system, supporting telepresence electronics, and the weapons system.

Accessories For The CheapBot-14 by Paul Verhage
I really enjoy using the CheapBot-14 robot controller that I described in my SERVO article in the June ‘09 issue. It’s a nice entry-level robot controller and I think it makes a great robotics kit (the Lawrence, KS 4H also seems to agree). However, if the CheapBot-14 is going to behave like a robot, then it needs to sense the world around it. So, this time I’ll describe some of those sensors.

Columns

Robytes by Jeff Eckert
Robytes | August 2009
Pneumatic Robotic Hand, The Crane of the Future, Ferreting Out Contraband, and More!

GeerHead by David Geer
Co-operative ASV Robots Autonomously Investigate Harmful Algal Blooms
The Robotic Embedded Systems Lab at USC, lead by Professor Gaurav Sukhatme, regularly deploys two ASVs into the Redondo Beach Marina to monitor the sea and take samples.

Ask Mr. Roboto by Dennis Clark
Ask Mr. Roboto | August 2009
Your Problems Solved Here.

Beginner Electronics by William Smith
Programming Microcontrollers
Learning to program microcontrollers is what every electronics beginner needs to put on their to-do list. Unless you’ve been living in a cave without Internet access, you have probably heard of the BASIC Stamp 2.

Robotics Resources by Gordon McComb
Collecting Robot Memorabilia
Robotics tends to be a consuming passion. When we’re not building them, we often watch movies about robots, or read books or collect posters, or scout for art, toys, and other artifacts.

Then and Now by Tom Carroll
The Evolution Of Experimental Robots
Awhile back, I wrote about how we’ve built robots over the years and also wrote about the historical perspective of experimental robots. But what actually drove the designs? Page

Combat Zone

Mr. Self Destruct
in Combat Zone: Features
Mr. Self Destruct is a complete overhaul of my first large combat robot: a 60 lb angled bar spinner that fought at RoboGames in 2006.

Top Tips For Taps: Part 2
in Combat Zone: Features
In Part 1 (SERVO May ‘09) of this guide, we examined the theory of cutting threads and the different types of taps. This month, it’s time to get practical and learn some tricks and techniques for tapping!

Mounting Weapons: Blades and Pullys
in Combat Zone: Features
Alot of builders dream of creating a bot with an active weapon but are put off by the apparent complexity. How do you attach a blade to the axle?

Ohio Robot Club Holds 9th HORD Event
in Combat Zone: Events
Thirty insect weight robots clashed at the 9th House of Robotic Destruction (HORD) hosted by the Ohio Robotics Club (ORC) — a member of the Robot Fighting League (RFL) — and Cuyahoga Valley Career Center (CVCC) in Cleveland, OH in May.