Arduino users are getting younger! Davis Fortenberry, Age 10 designed his own robot and won The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, South eastern competition, in Orlando. He competed with a lot of college level teams and had a robot that was equally competent.

Davis, who has tinkered with robots since he was 5, built his “davibot” in a week, starting with an m3pi (“a robot in itself, really”) as the base.

He added an Arduino (Italian microcomputer that tells the base unit whether to go left, right, straight ahead), then designed components for measuring contest specifics: voltage, capacitance, temperature and waveform.

He attends the Tennessee Virtual Academy an online approved school.

[Via: Commercial appeal]

Sphero goes modular, spins out for a drive (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Mar 2012 02:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Watching the seconds go by is a frightening reminder that time pauses for no one, but somehow, a hacker going by the name of Ekaggrat has figured out how to make the process a bit less daunting. The so-called Doodle Clock is an Arduino-powered robotic arm that’s been trained to jot down the time with a dry erase marker; once the minute passes, he erases the last digit and rewrites it — a number beyond what he just erased.

More of Ekaggrat’s work can be found here.

[Via: Hackaday and Engadget]

Continue reading Arduino-powered Artbot writes the time, erases it, writes again (video)

Arduino-powered Artbot writes the time, erases it, writes again (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 03:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

2011 has been a tremendous year for tech -- Amazon launched a $200 Android tablet, AT&T and Verizon continued their LTE expansion, Apple killed off the Mac mini's SuperDrive and Samsung introduced a well-received killer 5.3-inch smartphone. But tiny tech startups made their mark as well, proving that you don't need an enormous R&D budget to spur innovation. Still, development isn't free, and unless your social circle includes eager investors, seed money has been traditionally hard to come by.

For many of this year's indie devs, crowdfunding sites have been the answer, with Kickstarter leading the pack. We've seen an enormous variety of projects -- including a deluge of duds and plenty more semi-redundant iPhone accessories -- but a few treasures soared above the swill to be featured in our Insert Coin series, with many of those meeting their funding goals and even making their way into the hands of consumers. Now, as 2011 draws to a close, we've gone through this past year's projects to single out our top ten, and they're waiting for your consideration just past the break.

Continue reading Insert Coin: A look back at ten top projects from 2011

Insert Coin: A look back at ten top projects from 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MyRobots.com: for all of your robot's social needs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iZac doesn't want to hear your sob stories. No, this Arduino-crafted bartender just wants to make cocktails, ordered through a tablet-based drinks menu. The bar patron can then place a glass on the digital scales, and iZac will measure out in the prescribed quantities necessary for the meatsack's choice of poison. The liquids are handled by aquarium pumps and laser-cut pinch valves, with accuracy to within one gram (0.035 ounces). Sadly, the bar bot's repertoire is limited by six bottles, arranged on two turntables. Risky drinkers can plump for the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' option, which creates a randomized drink of three (possibly identical) liquids. See how it all comes together in a loud, appropriately shady-looking bar after the break.

Continue reading Android-powered bar bot makes a mean Rob(ot) Roy (video)

Android-powered bar bot makes a mean Rob(ot) Roy (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.