External Link Page Request

I got a request from another web group that asked if I would be willing to add them to my “external links” page.  Right now, they’re not pertinent to what I’m doing.  Once I get further along, and get to the parts where I’m installing electronics and programming Artoo, they might become more relevant to the project.  If I use the site some, I might add them to the external links.  For now, they’ll get a mention within a post, here.

Maker Pro is an active, open source platform for maker projects much like Hack A Day.  These projects are centered around Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Intel Edison, home automation and more.  The content is completely user generated.

If someone were looking for a link-trade and is doing something quite relevant to what I’m doing here, I’m open to discussion of adding sites to my external links.  Right now, the sites listed there have been instrumental in helping me get my R2 project going, so they’re listed without any hope that they’ll link back to me.

Robot Builder’s Bonanza 4th Edition

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I picked up a copy of the Robot Builder’s Bonanza.  I went ahead and picked up a newer version (4th edition) along with a copy of Arduino Robot Bonanza.  I’ve been reading through Robot Builder’s Bonanza, and it’s getting me even more excited for this project.  I’m more and more sure that I’ll be building some other robots along the way.  The blue and grey guy on the cover (and throughout the book) strikes me as an ideal look for my other robot.  It’ll have more functionality than Artoo in some ways, because hands and arms, but he’ll also be able to teach me some tricks about autonomy and programming as I go.  I’m thinking somewhere between him and Johnny-5.

I’ve also been thinking it would be pretty cool to build a t-shirt launcher that Artoo will be able to use when he’s done.  It would be very cool to go to a Durham Bulls baseball game, and see R2-D2 shooting t-shirts into the crowd on Star Wars day.

It’s worth noting that a 5th edition of the Robot Builder’s Bonanza is scheduled for release later this year.  Not sure if I’ll pick up a copy or not; it’ll depend if I’ve gotten all the way through the current edition I suppose.  (Who am I kidding.  It’s almost certain I will.  This is looking like too much fun.)

And one last thing, here’s a link to Robotoid.com, the web “home” of the “Builder’s Bonanza” series.

Robot Builder’s Bonanza

Picked up a copy of Robot Builder’s Bonanza and started reading through it.  Some of it seems a little repetitive, but it looks like it might have some ideas in there that could help.  It also makes me think, in the process of building R2D2, I may end up building another droid/robot.  I may also pick up a newer edition of the book (silly me didn’t check that I was getting the most recent).

The book was recommended (indirectly) by Victor Franco, through his blog.   In fact, this blog is at least partially inspired by Victor’s.  Where I’m getting some kits for mine, he did everything from scratch, but he also had some help from Mike Senna.  My kits indirectly give me that same help, but to a bit of a more extreme level; they’re based on his designs, but they’re also already cut out.

So I’ve already gotten through a couple chapters of Robot Builder’s Bonanza, and I can see it helping to inspire some part of my astromech, at least when it comes to the autonomous controls that I hope to add in the future.  And again, it makes me think I’ll want to build a robot that’s not a show piece, but instead can be useful around the house.  I think I’ll teach it how to vacuum and fetch drinks.

Is it cheating to build an Amazon Alexa into my robot?