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Features

Taking the STAIRSs to Advance Robot Development, by Jeremy Kerfs
Researchers at Stanford and Cornell are pioneering new methods of teaching robots to interact more fluently with their surroundings using the STanford Artificial Intelligence Robot (STAIR) as the base.

How to Prepare For - and Maybe Even Win - a Robot Competition, by Pete Smith
Get some insights and helpful tips from a veteran of robot combat.

GPS Navigation - Part 3, by Chris Savage
Our Navigation code will get a bit more complex, so this month the focus will be on how the individual sections work.

Projects

So, You Want to Build a ComBot - Part 2, by Greg Intermaggio
This time, we'll put everything together to turn that bucket o' bolts into a working ComBot.

Go XBee - Pro With Your Robot Control, by Fred Eady
Learn how to monitor systems, display status via an LCD, activate relays, drive solid-state relays, and flash status LEDs, all via the top of a tiny wire antenna.

Using a VEX Controller for Electronic Experiments, by Daniel Ramirez
Build a DIY numeric LED display that's bright and easy to read, while at the same time conserves battery power and precious I/O pins.

Columns

Robytes, by Jeff Eckert
Stimulating Robot Tidbits

GeerHead, by David Geer
Hot Dog! Robot serves up wieners!
If you want people to pay attention to your technology, blend it with something that lots of people already love. In this case, that turned out to be the all-American hot dog!

Ask Mr. Roboto, by Dennis Clark
Your Problems Solved Here.

Twin Tweaks, by Bryce Woolley Evan Woolley
Robonova – Come Here – I Want to See You
This month, we have the privilege to present the VeeAR VRbot voice recognition module which comes to us courtesy of Tigal. Tigal is a high-tech electronics distributor from Austria, and the VRbot module is designed for use with the Robonova-1 from Hitec (and with its Japanese cousin, the Robozak).

Then and Now, by Tom Carroll
What Does A Robot Look Like?
What does a robot look like? What should a robot look like? Does a robot have to look a particular way to be considered a robot?

Combat Zone

BUILD REPORT: Reversing the Trend
in Combat Zone: Features
I recently completed our first drum bot — Weta, God of Ugly Things. And while it is a pretty conventional design, it does have one feature rarely seen in bots of this type: The drum is reversible, so it can spin in either direction.

MANUFACTURING: DIY CNC for CAD/CAM
in Combat Zone: Features
For those unfamiliar with CNC routers, I am building a three axis machine, meaning it can move in three different directions: backwards and forwards (the Y axis); side to side (the X axis); and up and down (the Z axis).

PARTS IS PARTS: Kitbots Rolls Out B-16 Gearmotor Mounts
in Combat Zone: Features
Ihave a pretty solid policy that this column only promotes parts that are thoroughly “combat tested” by the fighting community. This month, I’m bending that policy.

RioBotz Combot Tutorial: LaunchBots
in Combat Zone: Features
Original Text by Professor Marco Antonio Meggiolaro, Summarized by Kevin Berry

Combat Zone’s Greatest Hits
in Combat Zone: Features
Last month’s debut of this new feature generated a lot of buzz — or should we say crash!

Motorama 2010
in Combat Zone: Events
February 19-21, 84 killer robots gathered in Harrisburg, PA to delight hundreds of motor sports fans with their metal crushing mayhem in the North East Robotic Club’s (NERC) Robot Conflict 2010.