Rolling Robot – Next, What To Do With It

Spherical robots are not new, its just that they have had a few drawbacks.  Primarily, how does a sphere climb over obstacles like large boulders that are in its path?  Greg Schroll has developed a possible solution to that problem by using gyroscopes to maintain momentum.  His invention has possible applications in space exploration, environmental studies, and underwater research.  Check out some of the previous spherical robots covered here on RobotNext.  The NXT-based rolling robot and the hamster ball for lunar exploration are two good examples.

Spherical Robot

Credit:  Westword

By Rob Fisher in Tech ​Colorado State grad student Greg Schroll has taken the idea of the spherical robot — basically a robot contained in a ball,
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A CSU grad student's rolling robot is turning heads, but what the hell do we
Westword
Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:51:37 GMT

LEGO NXT Money Counter

This is a nice project for the LEGO enthusiast.  You can check out the project and watch the You Tube video of the robot counting money.  Unfortunately, I did not see plans on how to build the robot on the The NXT Step blog.  It would be a fun build to try out.  Still, it is entertaining just to watch.

A nifty little money counter. It uses the size of each coin to determine it's value.
From the creator –

I made a little project with the aim to get an automatic money counting machine.
The Robot contains:
3 Motors
touch sensor
light sensor
The Robot decides which coin it has by the size of the coins, then he ads the values and displays the result.
When all coins are counted the robot recognizes this and gets itself back to starting position. ready for the next coins.
again its programmed with nxc , and took me 2 days. (works with euros and cents)


Damien Kee

Money Counter
Damien Kee (noreply@blogger.com)
Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:51:00 GMT

RobotNext Weekly Newswrap

This week's stories have no single theme, but there are several stories that appear in different versions on multiple days.  The first story from today features a spherical robot based on the LEGO Mindstorms NXT.  Check out the video of this robot moving around under the command of its builder, it is very interesting.  In the next story on this same sphere-shaped robot, the author makes a more humorous approach to the subject.  Again, check out the video.  The other posts from the week cover a deep-diving robot, a real-life recycling robot (it is not quite WALL-E), and a robot cat.  Take a look at these and see what did not make RobotNext this week.  Let me know what you think of the weekly newswrap.

Spherical NXT-Based Robot

… it via Bluetooth. (Spherical robot uses Lego Mindstorms NXT) It uses the same form of locomotion as some other robots you may already know about; see the videos in these articles for more information and diagrams …

Spherical Robot Lego Mindstorms NXT-Based
Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:07:23 GMT

Spherical robot would make for frustrating soccer games

As I watch this spherical robot roll around at the behest of its master, designer Nils Völker, I'm reminded of the old Dungeons & Dragons joke about the
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Spherical robot would make for frustrating soccer games
DVICE – USA
Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:24:07 GMT

Hybrid robot vehicle undertakes record-breaking dive – Engineer Live

Hybrid robot vehicle undertakes record-breaking dive
Engineer Live
There is an underwater vehicle flavour to Jeremy Cresswell's look at what's fresh on the hydrographic front, notably a new type of hybrid robot vehicle for
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Hybrid robot vehicle undertakes record-breaking dive – Engineer Live
Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:56:29 GMT

Real-Life Wall-E Recycling Robot Takes to the Streets of Italy – Inhabitat


Inhabitat

Real-Life Wall-E Recycling Robot Takes to the Streets of Italy
Inhabitat
It may not be as tiny or nimble as Wall-E, but this real-life dustcart robot traversing the streets of Peccioli, Italy is just as cute.
and more »

Real-Life Wall-E Recycling Robot Takes to the Streets of Italy – Inhabitat
Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:01:53 GMT

on-demand trash robot DustCart : The Alternative Consumer

The robot is also outfitted with special sensors that monitor air temperature, as well as air pollutants, such as: nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, ozone, benzene, CO and CO2. dustcart3.jpg. DustCart avoids fixed obstacles,
The Alternative Consumer – http://www.alternativeconsumer.com/

on-demand trash robot – DustCart : The Alternative Consumer
mr. happy
Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:32:56 GMT

Sega's Robot Cats Have Nine Lives

Sega Toys is rolling out yet another robot cat companion, though we're not exactly sure why they keep trying. Sega's latest robot feline From what we can tell by checking the stores here, polling shop clerks, and scanning our network of contacts in the business, the robot cats, and most of the other low cost companion robot products have been non-starters. Some similar product offerings, like the super cute infant…

Sega's Robot Cats Have Nine Lives
Lem
Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:57:11 GMT

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