ROBOCUP, We're Almost There! - ARTEMIS Humanoid Robot

It's been a long time since I thought about RoboCup.  For those of you not familiar, RoboCup is an organization with the goal of having humans to compete against robots in a game of soccer by 2050.  After looking at this newly released video of UCLA's ARTEMIS robot, I'd say we are getting there.  I've been a fan of the RoboCup events since the beginning and have had the opportunity to attend some.  It's amazing to see all the teams with their different approaches to building a robot to play soccer against humans.  There used to be only one or two major players in the humanoid bi-pedal robot space, but now we have a plethora.  I'm glad to see UCLA making strides in their development.  Leave and comment and check out the video below.

  

Boston Dynamics' Stretch at MODEX!

 I had a chance to attend the MODEX show this week and was pleased to see that Boston Dynamics was in attendance with their Stretch platform on full display.  I love seeing robotic products going from the prototype (work in progress) stage to the production model phase and boy is this thing a beauty.  The gray and white color choice is clean and non-threatening.  The simple geometries of the turret base and the main body are simple yet elegant.  I also love the wide and flat appearance of the turret mast that houses the vision systems.  All in all, I'm very impressed at the way the design came out and would enjoy picking the brain of the head designer(s) that produced it.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay at the Boston Dynamics booth for long and I did not take enough pictures.  Here are the two shots that I snapped and you can watch an older video of Stretch in action below. 

Hopefully I'll be able to share some more goodies from the MODEX trip.  Stay tuned!

XBOX Design Lab inspired R/C Transmitter

 This has been forever in the making.  I'm in the process of designing and building my first 15 - 17 channel RC radio transmitter! I've always been fascinated with all types of control surfaces, but specifically remote control car controllers.  I have a growing assortment of all types of radio controls and video game controllers.  Now, I'm combining what I see as the best of both worlds into my very own personal radio.  Be sure to tune into my new livestream where I'm designing the radio in real time and going over the why and the how of what I'm doing.