Did an entry level robot and messed around with a few algorithms and then decided to sell it and spend time in other hobbies. I will probably do this again in a few years once some more standardization happens in the hardware and my son is old enough to help me and we can work on this together. Maybe build some robots to automate the organic microfarm goal on my list. Some interesting things I came across in the process that I might explore if i pick this up again:
- Bootstrap learning – “The baby, assailed by eyes, ears, nose, skin, and entrails at once, feels it all as one great blooming, buzzing confusion.” – William James
- http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~qr/robotics/papers.html#Critter
I’m frustrated with how stuck we seem to be in old thinking when we design robots that don’t need to carry “this side up” cargo. Not that it’s bad for a starter platform or anything. I guess I just wish I could reach 10 years into the future and pull some if it back into the present. Current mobility platforms are built to carry “this side up” for obvious reasons. But take that limitation (which does not exist for some robotics applications) and it creates a lot of design freedom. The most interesting robot platforms for me, and the ones which may dominate telepresence or other mobile robotics applications, may not end up looking anything like conventional airplanes, cars, or other R/C toys of today.
Here are some ideas that are really out there!
Square Wheels
Tensegrity Structures
