Robotics Links

Robotics Links
for technophiles

Welcome again to bent machine labs.

"bent machine labs: Desire is our one true engine." (TM.)

This is a brief, handpicked collection of links which are either useful or really cool.

link site
rating
notes

cool robots!

Sony Aibo
movies
Autonomous and somewhat programmable. Sony designed a little robot puppy "entertainment robot" for mass-production and sale to consumers. Cute, four-legged autonomous robot with color vision. They're on to something for sure, it's just that nobody can quite say what yet.

Cricket
by Henry Arnold
fun
Autonomous and programmable. A few truly well-designed home-built robots lie in the neutral zone between "BEAM-style" robots and "Rug-Warrior-style" robots with a good balance of hardware and software, and a definite aesthetic sensibility. This is one of them. Uses the Parallax Basic Stamp.
Site includes detailed plans, directions, software, and even sells some of the hardware to make your own cricket.

Inuktun Robots
keen
Teleoperated? Mobile robots designed for industrial use. Mostly for crawling inside pipes and vents. Like the modularity of their designs.

Rover
by Steve Richards
*****
Autonomous and programmable. Acroname Robotics (listed below) is developing exciting new technologies for robotics. Specifically, this robot uses an interface they are developing to control robots with Palm Pilots and PCs. Rover has a Palm Pilot brain, and is also a good example of a semi-pro hobby robot - check it out.

MIT robot fish
cool
Remote conrtrolled? Probably one of the coolest robots on the web. Inspirational.

Snakes
by Dr. Gavin Miller
cool
Remote controlled. A programmer who developed a snake locomotion algorythm for 3D animation, and has ported the system to robots. Very very cool. Download the movies if you have the time and bandwidth.

information and products for robot builders

Robots
*****
The Robot Menu, maintained by Arrick Robotics.
Where hobby roboticists like you and me send in a photo and write a blurb. This menu is a great place to check out what people with budgets like yours are up to.

Electronics
good
Tomi Engdahl's Electronics Page
A huge site full of links and information.

Microprocessors
good
Peter H. Anderson
A plain but very informative site, written by a professor, which dispassionately reviews different microprocessors and tells how to get the most bang for your buck. Somewhat opinionated about programming languages, but still good honest info offered with a dose of down-home severity.

Plastics
big
The Macrogallery
More info on plastics than a person could really need to know anyhow.

Innovative Hardware
cool
Acroname, Inc.
A unique company for the hobbyist (and maybe even pro) that has a very enthusiastic attitude towards robotics and offers interesting products, supplies all the information a person could ask about them, and on top of all that, is developing their own innovative technologies.

link pages

Robot Information Central
the best
Maintained by Arrick Robotics. The most comprehensive source on the web, but unfortunately rarely updated and usually with a few dead or outdated links.

Ars Robotica
new
Links, interviews, and tutorials. Updated every couple of days, but sometimes sporatic. The links here are for the most part very recent and cover a wide range of subjects.

Robot Cafe
new
Also new. Also updated every couple of days, and also kind of sporatic. Some of the links are really less than fresh, though, even if they call them "new."

Robotica Pagina
excellent
European robotics link page in english with a lot of stuff you just don't find elsewhere. Covers a wide range of subjects.

robot brains

MIT Handyboard
good
Uses the Motorola HC family of micros. Powerful, with a nice set of features. Venerable and well-supported by a large community of users so there's lots of info online, with a good selection of programming languages, some of which are free. Expensive board, though, and a lot to learn. Maybe not a great choice for beginners.

Basic Stamp
yup
Micros built by Parallax based on Microchip and Scenix processors.
Programmable in their own version of Basic. Many complain about the memory constraints, but the programming language is very high-level and easy to learn. Not particularly expensive. Great for beginners.
Also supported by a large community of users.

PICs
???
Micros manufactured by Microchip. Some language choices. The chips are cheap, but expensive programming hardware and software is needed. Lots of online community support, but rarely for the main processor in robotics projects for some reason. Mostly you'll find them used for coprocessers (to control motors or sensors) with Parallax Basic Stamps used for decision-making and higher-level control.

OOPIC
???
Aiming to steal some Parallax customers. Haven't spent much time on this one. Manufactured by Savage Innovations. Some people are really excited about it, but it's really new so there isn't much of a online community. About as expensive as a Stamp. Programs in Visual Basic.

Basic X
???
Their new BX-24 is "pin compatable" with the Basic Stamp II, which means you should be able to pull a Stamp out of your robot and sock one of these babies in. Obviously built with the aim of competing with that one particular Parallax product. (See a trend here?) Programmable in their own version of Basic. About as expensive as a Stamp. Faster, with more memory, but the language, while more "powerful," doesn't look as high-level as Parallax's.
Like the OOPIC, there isn't much of a community yet. Manufactured by NetMedia.

category
subcategory
links and notes

hobby robotics categories - info, kits, stores

low/no programming
BEAM
BEAM robotics has a manifesto. They like everything low budget, autonomous and small. Everything solar. Some thumb their noses at radio controlled robots, and I guess none use microprocessors. In fact, BEAM roboticists tend to brag about how little control hardware (i.e. chips and transistors) they used in this or that robot. Despite all of this attitude, BEAM robots are pretty cool. BEAM links are here-today-gone-tomorrow. Try BEAM-online for info and links and Solarbotics for info and kits.

low/no programming
robot combat
Mostly radio-controlled sports/entertainment. Like on pay-per-view? Mostly folks who build really expensive, monsterous robots in their garages, and then duke it out with other like-minded people via robot. Check Team Delta's site for info and links. You might also visit Simreal for a larger selection of link subjects.

heavy programming
Seattle Robotics Society
What I didn't learn from books on robots I learned here.
Lots of good info, especially for beginners, even if you want to skip learning to program in C. One of their big sayings is "Don't use hardware to fix a problem which could be solved by software." It's hard to argue with, but also provides a glimpse of their philosophy. Navagation, sensor, and info about everything else in their online magazine "The Encoder."

decent kits
Lynxmotion
Hardware kits for robot arms, four and six legged walkers, and wheeled platforms. They run the price gamut from $100 to $500 for a kit. Sold alone or with various Basic Stamp configurations. Their software is available online, and looks well-written, easy to understand and modify.

good overview
Robot Store
Hit their site and order a catalog to see what is popular enough to end up at a store dedicated to robots. Kits, micros, hardware. Beware: Some of their prices are outrageous, especially for servos. Compare prices elsewhere before buying.

Major areas of interest I skipped:

Lego Mindstorms is a series of Lego kits built around a microcontroller based on the MIT Handyboard, but with its own programming system.

Those $30 to $80 non-programmable but autonomous robot kits - check the Robot Store, above.

Various kits or consumer robots that may be good, but that I haven't looked into in depth: Cye, Boris the muscle-wire walker, Descartes, Pocket Bot, the list goes on.

Hacking radio-control cars or other kinds of toys and putting micros in them.

Robots controlled somehow from a PC or Mac: tethered or via radio or infrared link.

home

Everything copyright, 2000 Dave Benz

link site	rating	notes
cool robots!
Sony Aibo	movies	Autonomous and somewhat programmable. Sony designed a little robot puppy "entertainment robot" for mass-production and sale to consumers. Cute, four-legged autonomous robot with color vision. They're on to something for sure, it's just that nobody can quite say what yet.
Cricket by Henry Arnold	fun	Autonomous and programmable. A few truly well-designed home-built robots lie in the neutral zone between "BEAM-style" robots and "Rug-Warrior-style" robots with a good balance of hardware and software, and a definite aesthetic sensibility. This is one of them. Uses the Parallax Basic Stamp. Site includes detailed plans, directions, software, and even sells some of the hardware to make your own cricket.
Inuktun Robots	keen	Teleoperated? Mobile robots designed for industrial use. Mostly for crawling inside pipes and vents. Like the modularity of their designs.
Rover by Steve Richards	*****	Autonomous and programmable. Acroname Robotics (listed below) is developing exciting new technologies for robotics. Specifically, this robot uses an interface they are developing to control robots with Palm Pilots and PCs. Rover has a Palm Pilot brain, and is also a good example of a semi-pro hobby robot - check it out.
MIT robot fish	cool	Remote conrtrolled? Probably one of the coolest robots on the web. Inspirational.
Snakes by Dr. Gavin Miller	cool	Remote controlled. A programmer who developed a snake locomotion algorythm for 3D animation, and has ported the system to robots. Very very cool. Download the movies if you have the time and bandwidth.

information and products for robot builders
Robots	*****	The Robot Menu, maintained by Arrick Robotics. Where hobby roboticists like you and me send in a photo and write a blurb. This menu is a great place to check out what people with budgets like yours are up to.
Electronics	good	Tomi Engdahl's Electronics Page A huge site full of links and information.
Microprocessors	good	Peter H. Anderson A plain but very informative site, written by a professor, which dispassionately reviews different microprocessors and tells how to get the most bang for your buck. Somewhat opinionated about programming languages, but still good honest info offered with a dose of down-home severity.
Plastics	big	The Macrogallery More info on plastics than a person could really need to know anyhow.
Innovative Hardware	cool	Acroname, Inc. A unique company for the hobbyist (and maybe even pro) that has a very enthusiastic attitude towards robotics and offers interesting products, supplies all the information a person could ask about them, and on top of all that, is developing their own innovative technologies.

link pages
Robot Information Central	the best	Maintained by Arrick Robotics. The most comprehensive source on the web, but unfortunately rarely updated and usually with a few dead or outdated links.
Ars Robotica	new	Links, interviews, and tutorials. Updated every couple of days, but sometimes sporatic. The links here are for the most part very recent and cover a wide range of subjects.
Robot Cafe	new	Also new. Also updated every couple of days, and also kind of sporatic. Some of the links are really less than fresh, though, even if they call them "new."
Robotica Pagina	excellent	European robotics link page in english with a lot of stuff you just don't find elsewhere. Covers a wide range of subjects.

robot brains
MIT Handyboard	good	Uses the Motorola HC family of micros. Powerful, with a nice set of features. Venerable and well-supported by a large community of users so there's lots of info online, with a good selection of programming languages, some of which are free. Expensive board, though, and a lot to learn. Maybe not a great choice for beginners.
Basic Stamp	yup	Micros built by Parallax based on Microchip and Scenix processors. Programmable in their own version of Basic. Many complain about the memory constraints, but the programming language is very high-level and easy to learn. Not particularly expensive. Great for beginners. Also supported by a large community of users.
PICs	???	Micros manufactured by Microchip. Some language choices. The chips are cheap, but expensive programming hardware and software is needed. Lots of online community support, but rarely for the main processor in robotics projects for some reason. Mostly you'll find them used for coprocessers (to control motors or sensors) with Parallax Basic Stamps used for decision-making and higher-level control.
OOPIC	???	Aiming to steal some Parallax customers. Haven't spent much time on this one. Manufactured by Savage Innovations. Some people are really excited about it, but it's really new so there isn't much of a online community. About as expensive as a Stamp. Programs in Visual Basic.
Basic X	???	Their new BX-24 is "pin compatable" with the Basic Stamp II, which means you should be able to pull a Stamp out of your robot and sock one of these babies in. Obviously built with the aim of competing with that one particular Parallax product. (See a trend here?) Programmable in their own version of Basic. About as expensive as a Stamp. Faster, with more memory, but the language, while more "powerful," doesn't look as high-level as Parallax's. Like the OOPIC, there isn't much of a community yet. Manufactured by NetMedia.

category	subcategory	links and notes
hobby robotics categories - info, kits, stores
low/no programming	BEAM	BEAM robotics has a manifesto. They like everything low budget, autonomous and small. Everything solar. Some thumb their noses at radio controlled robots, and I guess none use microprocessors. In fact, BEAM roboticists tend to brag about how little control hardware (i.e. chips and transistors) they used in this or that robot. Despite all of this attitude, BEAM robots are pretty cool. BEAM links are here-today-gone-tomorrow. Try BEAM-online for info and links and Solarbotics for info and kits.
low/no programming	robot combat	Mostly radio-controlled sports/entertainment. Like on pay-per-view? Mostly folks who build really expensive, monsterous robots in their garages, and then duke it out with other like-minded people via robot. Check Team Delta's site for info and links. You might also visit Simreal for a larger selection of link subjects.
heavy programming	Seattle Robotics Society	What I didn't learn from books on robots I learned here. Lots of good info, especially for beginners, even if you want to skip learning to program in C. One of their big sayings is "Don't use hardware to fix a problem which could be solved by software." It's hard to argue with, but also provides a glimpse of their philosophy. Navagation, sensor, and info about everything else in their online magazine "The Encoder."
decent kits	Lynxmotion	Hardware kits for robot arms, four and six legged walkers, and wheeled platforms. They run the price gamut from $100 to $500 for a kit. Sold alone or with various Basic Stamp configurations. Their software is available online, and looks well-written, easy to understand and modify.
good overview	Robot Store	Hit their site and order a catalog to see what is popular enough to end up at a store dedicated to robots. Kits, micros, hardware. Beware: Some of their prices are outrageous, especially for servos. Compare prices elsewhere before buying.

Major areas of interest I skipped:
Lego Mindstorms is a series of Lego kits built around a microcontroller based on the MIT Handyboard, but with its own programming system. Those $30 to $80 non-programmable but autonomous robot kits - check the Robot Store, above. Various kits or consumer robots that may be good, but that I haven't looked into in depth: Cye, Boris the muscle-wire walker, Descartes, Pocket Bot, the list goes on. Hacking radio-control cars or other kinds of toys and putting micros in them. Robots controlled somehow from a PC or Mac: tethered or via radio or infrared link.