So building and programming drones is your thing? With the Quad Rig, you can test your ideas on your desktop. The Quad Rig fits 180mm to 250mm drones. It allows full 360-degree rotation in 3 axes. The rig has a precision machined aluminum construction and adjustable drone mount.
Here is another educational robot that combines with your smartphone to help you learn the basics of robot programming. It uses the gyroscope, magnetometer, and accelerometer of your smartphone. You can program the device with blocks or programming languages through ROS.
Here is a drone with a soft perching mechanism that allows it to land on vertical surfaces gracefully. CAROS can fly like a regular drone but lands on walls to perform inspection and other tasks. The below video shows its soft perching mechanism in action:
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There is no better way to learn robotics and technology than building and programming your own bots. The Doorman is an animatronic sculpture with eyes that start moving when motion is detected. You are going to need an Arduino, 5 servos, a PIR sensor, and a battery pack to pull this off.
ANYmal is a wonderful quadrupedal robot ready for autonomous navigation of challenging terrains. We have already covered how it can move in snow, complete search & rescue missions, and perform other tasks. This video from Robotic Systems Lab shows it roller skating.
Here is another project that aims to develop a full-body exoskeleton to provide robotic upper body assistance to people who need it. The RECUPERA-Reha system captures the kinematics of the human body to support itself. Such a device allows users to pick and move up things while exerting less effort.
Meet the ECOVACS DEEBOT N79S: a robotic vacuum with app control and Alexa support. It can work on hard surface and thin carpets with its 3-stage cleaning system. The robot runs for 100 minutes on battery. It avoids collisions and drops with its smart sensors.
Remember WALK-MAN? It is a humanoid robot for rescue missions that can operate autonomously in case of limited communication. It can walk and crawl over uneven surfaces. The robot was designed by IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, funded by the European Commission.
So you are looking for a speaker that stands out? The Cobra Robotic Dancing Cat Speaker is worth a look. It is a fun little toy that puts on a dance show when you connect it to a music source. A dog version of this toy is also available. Simply hook it up to your mobile device or other audio sources to get started.
Here is a snake inspired robot with a soft actuator made with kirigami that can crawl on the ground without rigid parts. Harvard SEAS researchers have developed an untethered version of this with control, sensors, and power supply packed into a tiny tail.
The team experimented with triangular, circular, and trapezoidal shapes. As they explain:
As the robot stretches, the flat kirigami surface is transformed into a 3D-textured surface, which grips the ground just like snake skin… When the actuator expands, the kirigami cuts pop-out, forming a rough surface that grips the ground. When the actuator deflates, the cuts fold flat, propelling the crawler forward.
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