Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science and engineering that deals with intelligent behavior, learning, and adaptation in machines. Research in AI is concerned with producing machines to automate tasks requiring intelligent behavior. Examples include control, planning and … [Read more...]
We eat food that is processed by the stomach and intestines to make fuel for our muscles, bones, skin, and the rest of our body. While you could probably design a digestive system for a robot and feed it hamburgers, french fries, and other foods, an easier way to generate the power to make your … [Read more...]
If you're searching for some exciting NXT projects and ideas--or would simply like to build JohnNXT, a replica of the famous Johnny 5 robot--you will enjoy Daniele Benedettelli's book Creating Cool MINDSTORMS NXT Robots.He shows you how to build and program them from scratch, starting with the … [Read more...]
Batteries are required in most fully self-contained mobile robots because the only automatons connected by power cord to an electrical socket are found in cartoons. That doesn’t mean other power sources, including AC or even solar, can’t be used in some of your robot designs. On the contrary, … [Read more...]
An almost endless variety of computers can be used as a robot’s brain. The most common types that are used are: Microcontroller. These are programmed either in assembly language or a high-level language such as BASIC or C. There are literally hundreds of different microcontrollers with a … [Read more...]
The size and shape of the robot can vary greatly, and size alone does not determine the intelligence of the machine or its capabilities. Home-brew robots are generally the size of a small dog, although some are as compact as an aquarium turtle and a few as large as Arnold Schwarzenegger. The overall … [Read more...]
People like to debate what makes a machine a real robot. One side says that a robot is a completely self-contained, autonomous (self-governed) machine that needs only occasional instructions from its master to set it about its various tasks. A self-contained robot has its own power system, brain, … [Read more...]
Robot experimenters have a unique way of looking at things. They take nothing for granted.For example, at a restaurant it’s the robot experimenter who collects the carcasses of lobsters and crabs to learn how these ocean creatures use articulated joints, in which the muscles and tendons are inside … [Read more...]
What skills do you need as a robot experimenter? Certainly, if you are already well versed in electronics, programming, and mechanical design, you are on your way to becoming a robot experimenter. But intimate knowledge of these fields is not absolutely necessary; all you really need to start in the … [Read more...]
IntroductionThe word robot is commonly defined as a mechanical device capable of performing human tasks, or behaving in a human-like manner. No argument here. The description certainly fits. But to the robotics experimenter, “robot” has a completely different meaning. RobotA robot is a special … [Read more...]