A new foundation supports the development of open-source robotics software that will bring more sophisticated abilities like motion planning to industrial robots, such as the 15-axis, two-armed SDA10D from Yaskawa Motoman Robotics. (Source: Yaskawa Motoman Robotics)
MrDon, thanks for sharing the Gadget Freak with your students. We work with a couple universities that turn class projects into Gadget Freak entries. Usually it's students working in groups of three or four. Since we pay $500 for each Gadget Freak, there's extra incentive for students to share their work.
Hi Rob, Its' amazing how creativity can emerge with the use of these electronic prototyping platforms. I like sharing these Gadget Freak projects with the Capstone Students at the School of Electronics Technology of ITT Tech to help stimulate design product ideas. BTW, I'm the Department Chair!
MrDon, you can look through our Gadget Freaks and find a number of projects that include Arduino tools. The LEGO projects are in the works, but they're coming.
Hi Rob, that's awesome about the upcoming Gadget Freak articles. I have a LEGO Mindstorms -Arduino project that allows an Android phone to communicate with the prototyping devices using Bluetooth. I have a few more tests to conduct and then I'll be able to do a writeup for submission.
MrDon, we have more Gadget Freak coming up that use LEGO Mindstorms and Arduino. These tools seems to be this generation's Heath Kits or Erector Sets, only at a much higher technology level.
Yes, prototyping platforms like I mentioned (LEGO Mindstorms and Arduino) make it very easy for young Makers/Inventors to create really cool projects. I was quite impress with the LED project created by the 15year Maker and the method he used to develop his product. Very innovated young person.
Thanks for this info, Mrdon. I would imagine this would be great fun for some of our younger Gadget Freaks. We're beginning to attract more and more young inventors. the gadget currently up (#216) was put together by a 15 year old.
I was wondering about that, Chuck. I was surprised that open source is being considered since I thought a lot of the robotic technologies would have been proprietary to the robot manufacturers.
Warren, the video is of a very simple demo. From my discussions with sources, I understand that what it shows is pretty darn complex on the software end. ROS is currently being used in surgical robot development. There are several other complex robots using ROS, shown here in a rotating gallery: http://www.willowgarage.com/pages/software You also might want to check out the SWRI site on ROS-Industrial for more details http://www.swri.org/4org/d10/msd/automation/ros-industrial.htm
Chuck, so far it sounds like "commercial" software is likely to be on the order of drivers/interfaces for a specific company's own robots, such as those Motoman is currently developing. Or did you mean commercial versions of ROS itself?
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From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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