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www.hyperbot.com/homenojs.html Robotics supply that carries ROBOTIX products and more. (T)
Robot supply. If you ever need anything, give Neil a call -- he's great! (T)
A good site with lots of stuff! Recommended by Carlos.
Another robot supply web page recommended by Carlos.
Electronics/robot supply store that sells to schools, also recommended by Carlos.
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Stiquito/index.html The Mecca of Stiquito info!
This is the full text of a book entitled Large, Cartesian, Electro-Mechanical Robots, by Lawrence Kamm, an electro-mechanical engineer. It is the history of industrial robots.
This is an interactive exhibit of an actual traveling robotic zoo. Great graphics of various animals designed as robots.
www.yesnet.yK.ca/schools/selkirk/gallery/robots2000/index.html This website displays robotic projects by 5th graders at Selkirk Elementary School in the Yukon.
OK, here's the deal. You register (free) with this site, and then you get to use their telescope. Unfortunately, the 46-centimeter 'scope is high on the moors in West Yorkshire, England. Fortunately, the Bradford Robotic Telescope is robotic, and an astronomer does not need to be present. Anyone can direct the telescope to look at anything in the northern night sky. The observations are completed as time allows, so be prepared to wait that long, and you can browse through some of the completed jobs.
Back in 1921, playwright Karel Capek coined the word "robot," and since then books, movies, and television programs have all speculated about the form these mechanical creatures will take. Now a group of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Artificial Intelligence Lab are actually attempting this feat. Artificial intelligence is the process in which a computer takes in information and uses it to create new knowledge -- a simulation of human thinking. Cog, the Robot, is a collection of sensors and motors that attempts to duplicate the sensory and manipulative functions of the human body. Coupled with artificial-intelligence programming, Cog may eventually succeed in bringing science fiction's fantasies to reality. Move over Data, here comes Cog!
www.cs.uwa.edu.au/~mafm/robot/ Why wait for George Jetson and Spacely Space Sprockets to build you a robot, when plenty of folks are building their own right now? This page gives you the lowdown on where to pick up inexpensive hobby kits for assembling your own robot! It also includes links to places where you can download hints and plans, information on building sensors, and the entire "6.270 Robot Builder's Guide," which is also available in hard copy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
www.planetary.org/rrgtm/index.html How would you like to explore Mars? These classrooms did -- well, actually they explored a simulated version right here on Earth. The first step is to build a small Martian landscape. Put volcanoes, canyons, impact craters, rocks, and maybe a giant face on it for fun. They you get to build your robot, called a Red Rover. You make it from a special LEGO Dacta kit, which allows you to operate the robot via computer software. This project simulates what scientists go through to control robots on other worlds. Other Red Rover teams around the world can control your Rover by issuing commands over the Internet. The good news is that you can control their rovers, too. See some schools' elaborate landscapes in the Mars Sites Around the World section. You and your friends can join the fun, but you need to have your school buy some special equipment, and we warn you, it is expensive. Have a bake sale and a car wash! Tell a local business that if they sponsor the project, your rover will be named after their company. Get several local businesses to donate money and put their logos on your rover.
www.tcm.org/html/galleries/robots/ If you were going to build your own robot to explore Mars, or maybe creep into a live volcano, or perhaps entertain humans at a party -- what would you need to consider in your design? You'd need to figure out how it gets power, how it moves around, and of course how it looks. This Shockwave simulation allows you to try out various choices in a robot lab and get feedback on your choices.
Now here's a garden for the '90s, where web cruisers gather to plant seeds and water plants by the remote control of an industrial robotic arm. This started as a real garden at the University of Southern California, although last year it moved to a server in Austria. The idea is to bring together a community of people to help tend a "shared garden." Click on "Guest Entrance" at the bottom of the page. You can explore the garden by clicking on a drawing of the robotic arm. This moves the arm -- and a camera -- to give you an up-to-the-minute picture of what's going on. Every so often, they clear the garden and start over.
Have you ever wondered how cars are made? This site takes you through all the steps, saving you from walking the 16 miles of conveyors that transfer car bodies from start to finish. That's more than 230 football fields in length! At this auto factory, over 260 programmable robots install, weld, and paint in order for those shiny new vehicles to roll off the line. Look over their shoulders (or whatever robots have) and see how cars are built. There are also some great links on car history, solar cars, and racecars.
Where in the world is Xavier the Robot? Exploring the classrooms and halls of Carnegie Mellon University, of course! Check in at this web site and find out where he is, plus see what he's "seeing" as he wanders around. You can even control his movements if you visit during certain times (check the schedule). See if you can think up some new jokes for him to tell when he encounters people; the ones on the list right now are real groaners: "I'm a screen Xavier." |
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