Xbr Merchandise

Ive got a few Shirts up with the xbr robot on them at the gallery at zazzle, check out the xbr gallery at zazzle

3D images without the Glasses

I saw this used on some sites around the net and the idea to apply it to the nasa rover images hit me, so here it is , my first mars rover animated stereogram.

Optical Illusion #1

please wait large animation file - loading frames

watch the center for a while, defocus, destress, relax and wait for the world... yeah right, its just an optical illusion, it isn't aportal to another dimension

Game background (menu)

22granite1
Originally uploaded by sprocket2cog.

Here's a sample for a menu background thzts a bit like concrete

XBR online

Ive decided to finally commit to building a full scale robot, but rather then just do it and see how it turns out, ive decided to do a fair amount of design and prototyping in CAD before i start building.
Primarily the design is just the chassis and body , but the idea is to create a robot that can be used for a range of uses by changing a few parts around.
The robot is not a design for the lab or workbench, but rather a real world bot based on the four wheel skid steer rovoer designs that are all over the net.
The differance with this robot design is that it isnt some kit that looks like its a high school project, but rather a body that looks good and resembles robots from popular culture, the buyer would then insert his own brains and sensors to do what they want it to.
Ideally the robot will have power and drive systems installed before delivery, but parts for just the chassis could be supplied, and even an open source project letting people download plans and build their own prototype chassis, could be provided.
We are just going to run with this until it works, or we fall over, but we will be giving this the best go at success that we can muster, in terms of time effort and what little money we can scrape together.
The project has spawned a blog that will document the design of the robot shell, and hopefully instill a desire in other robot enthuthist's to build better robot bodies to but their robot projects into. The link is http://xbr-online.blogspot.com/

3..2..1..SUMO !!

Heres a quick little battle between two ai2 robots from microbric, these little beast's come programmed with several modes including this one.
Ill try to get the viper sumo and the ai2 bots fighting each other soon as well.
But in the mean time grab your giant foam finger and cheer for your favorite team.. RED or....RED.., and yes, in the second video there is a winner. ;)
Catch you when the sparks stop flying...
sprocket

Why we need to teach Robotics

WEll news in Australia for the workers at the Holden plant is grim, with over 600 workers given the heave ho in favor of...you guessed it ROBOTS.. I did a google search on the holden plant and was able to locate a company called sage automation that way back in 2003 was awarded a contract by major german firm,Eisenmann. THis multi million dollar contract was part of a 5 year plan to upgrade the car plants in around the world, including ..you guesses it, the Eliabeth facility in South Australia.
So with companys like Sage employing more people to design and construct robot systems for manufactoring, then we realise that now is the time for schools to start training our kids in the Basic's (pun intended) of control systems and basic mechanical and pnuematic systems so they can get good jobs servicing the robot workers and even designing them.
The Robot revolution is going to have some casultity's so nows the time to cut your losses and turn to the dark side...long live the robots...

the image is the elizabeth plant in circa 1965 ? not a robot in sight

MICROBRIC AI2 New FIRMWARE

Well the much awaited release of the new advanced firmware and gui has arrived with the guys over at microbric just releasing the links to get your version today.
You will need to follow the directions to update your ai2, but once you have it will give you a robot brain with all the bells and whistles stripped out leaving you with nearly double the avaliable memory for your own "take over the world " code...
So what can you expect, well at first glance you might think there isnt much new.
(Apart from the lack of a draw to lcd command icon..)
But there is ...Firstly the most obvious is the ability to build your own robot with out having to conform to the basic configuration. Now you can add a second set of motors or more sensors, including your own homebrewed ones, as now you have accsess to more control with addtional little features unlocking in the bricworks software.
One of the most powerful unlock's is the ability to control the if and loop statements with recevied serial data. This means you can set up the ai2 to receive PC based controls fairly easily if you have a grasp on sending ascii via a telnet program to the com port your using, or for letting the viper talk directly via cable to its younger sibling.
Some of the other little things you might notice is the ability to finally use the analogue in, which because you couldnt rearrange modules couldnt be used.
Now it allows reading up to 2volts in 1024 20mv steps, so finally we can add a host of analogue based sensors on to the bot, including variable resistors, temprature sensors and even windspeed if you want to, maybe you could make a handheld weather station ?
or a remote locking system for your car or bike.
The ideas are endless.
But if you missed out on the ai2 , then you can still buy the big brother from microbric or dick smith electronics.
There is also several Overseas stockist's so check out the net HERE

Hacking Web Camera's To 35mm Lens

Of all places to find this hack, I found it at a UFO watching site.
Basiclly if you take the lens off your camera and expose the ccd you can take a standard 35mm film lens and using some pvc pipe and some glue and screws you can construct a decent camera for watching the back yard.
You will need to work out the focal length to get it focused and the easiest way to do this is with a torch and a tape measure.
First set your lens to a know length on the lens, say 1meter , then you need to place the lens 1 m away from the torch so the light shines though it. Now take a sheet of paper and place it behind the lens, you should see the torch light on the paper, move the paper in and out untill the light is focused ( all be it on a miniture scale) on the paper.
This is the distance the webcam screen needs to be for it to be in focus.
Work out a system to hold it in place and then plug it in.
I know this is a basic tutorial but as all lens are diffrent you will have to muck around with the right way to mount the components together.
happy hacking..The image is streamed from my camera when it's up and running.
refresh to see new pic, updated every 2 mins or so.

RobospienV2 Revisted

I have decided to go through some of the earlier hacks and mods for those that missed it.
Ive had a lot of interest in some of the older robosapien and roboraptor hacks, so ill start with a quick over veiw of the v2 cover removel.
First things first, lay the robot down with the arms by its side in the neutral postion.
locate all the screws in the hips and body section, making sure not to overlook the shoulders. remove the screws and place them to the side.
The front will come off first, then you will need to remove the screws inside near the shoulders to remove the back cover, the motor control board is located on the back, at the top of this photo.
Ill go into more detail about the v2 later, includeing a basic head hack that takes under twenty minutes and gives you a crazy new robot....stay tuned.