Tag Archive for: Robot

From Linux-powered warships to robot bears, the year in Ars Tech Lab

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The default Windows 8.1 Start screen. Microsoft revived the Start Button on the desktop in October, to the relief of many.

The last twelve months have seen some major upheavals in the technology world that few would have predicted last year. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announcing he would be resigning as CEO (on the heels of Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia), the utter disaster that was the launch of Blackberry’s new operating system, and fallout in the tech world over the National Security Agency’s broad surveillance programs are among the most obvious.

But as important as those developments were to the IT world, the stories that had the most resonance with Ars readers were the ones about technology actually doing what it was supposed to do, or about the technology industry giving the people what they wanted. At the top of that list was the return of the Windows Start button.

One Microsoft way?

When Windows 8 was released in October of 2012, it received mixed reviews, with Ars Microsoft Editor Peter Bright calling it “a study in compromises.” People tend to fear change, and lots of folks were still hungry for ways to make the new operating system work more like Windows 7. So when we got an early look at the revised “Windows Blue” interface for the first major revision of Windows 8—and the return of the Start button—it was a hint that Microsoft had listened to the most frequent complaint about the usability of the Windows 8 interface.

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300-pound crime-predicting mobile robot: Crime-preventing precog or ‘R2D2’s evil twin’?

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Imagine a five-foot-tall, 300-pound mobile robot, which has a striking resemblance to R2D2 and “can see, hear, feel and smell” as it predicts and prevents crime. But not everyone thinks the surveillance-machine on wheels is cute; in fact, Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy and Information Center, told The New York Times that the Knightscope K5 Autonomous Data Machine “is like R2D2’s…
Ms. Smith’s blog

An Arduino-based robot for people who don’t know how to build robots

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Sparki the robot. Isn’t it adorable?
ArcBotics

There are plenty of Arduino-based robots in the world, but actually building one is a bit tough if you’re not familiar with Arduino programming. But a company called ArcBotics has created an Arduino-based robot called “Sparki” that can be used—and programmed—by anyone. You don’t have to assemble it yourself; the little plastic robot will be ready to go out of the box with an included remote control. To let users create additional functionality, ArcBotics is preparing programming samples and tutorials for controlling the robot’s sensors and actuators.

Sparki is a Kickstarter project (of course), one that has raised nearly $ 14,000 toward its minimum goal of $ 60,000, with 29 days left. The robot will be sold for $ 99 when it’s available, and Kickstarter pledges of $ 99 or more will reserve you a robot with an estimated delivery of October 2013. The robot designs will be released publicly for those who want to build their own.

ArcBotics previously used Kickstarter to raise money for its “Hexy the Hexapod” robot kit, aimed at more advanced users. ArcBotics’ stretch goals for Sparki of $ 100,000, $ 200,000, and $ 300,000 would allow it to build an Android app to control Sparki via Bluetooth, a wireless data radio for communicating with other Sparki robots, and a drag-and-drop block programming environment, respectively.

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Ars Technica » Technology Lab

Your robot army, controlled by Arduino and Bluetooth

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The RFduino “maker” allows hardware hackers to build devices with Arduino code and Bluetooth wireless communications.
Open RF

Soon, you could make everything in your life smartphone-app-controllable—or at least the things that have wires. A California-based inventor has taken to Kickstarter to fund the launch of the latest evolution in “maker” technology—an Arduino-compatible microcontroller that’s small, fast, and cheap, with built-in wireless communications. The RFduino has already exceeded its Kickstarter goal nearly 30 times over, with 10 days to go before its deadline.

Based on a Nordic Semiconductor 32-bit ARM system-on-chip that has built-in support for Bluetooth 4.0, the RFduino runs the same code as Arduino UNO and DUE boards, and it works with any type of sensor, servo, or other device that can communicate with an Arduino microcontroller. Bluetooth 4.0’s Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) feature allows the microcontroller to run on power sources as small as a button-cell battery for some applications—and the team has developed a “shield” for the CR2032 battery, as well as single- and dual-AAA battery configurations. It can also run off a USB power source or can be wired directly to a 3-volt DC power source.

As a result, the RFduino could be used for a whole host of devices that interact with mobile devices, including remote controls, proximity-switch devices such as alarms, and home automation applications that control LED lighting. It could also allow devices programmed with Arduino “sketches” to interact with each other over Bluetooth 4.0—potentially allowing for the development of swarms of smart devices that can talk both to smartphones and notebook computers and their environments.

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