In the past few months, we have covered plenty of cool robots inspired by Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest. JeremySCook has already shared a bunch of videos showing his 8-legged ClearWalker clear polycarbonate Strandbeest in action. In his latest guide, he shows how to add Bluetooth control to the bot.
So you would like to build your own robot? You are going to need the right gear, including servos, controller, robot hands, and other components. The SainSmart 5DOF Humanoid Metal Hand can help. It can be driven using five servos. Each finger can move independently.
Here is another robot that mows your lawn, so you don’t have to. The Flymo 1200R is a robotic mower that can handle an area of 400 m2 and slopes 14%. It can cover 30 square meters per hour. The robot has an automatic charging system. It uses collision sensors and a boundary wire to stay out of trouble.
Meet WowWee Chippies: cute robotic puppies with different reactions and moves. When you pet their heads, they sniff, bark, and sneeze. You get a remote control to make your robot dog dance, sing, and chase its tail. Chippies can explore your room on their own and guide it from intruders.
Meet the Heurobotics Mark II: a hybrid aircraft for farming and other tasks that can takeoff and land vertically. It flies like a plane to handle inspection, search & rescue, and farming tasks.
Here is a fully functional robot powered entirely by vacuum. EPFL scientists made it using soft building blocks. The robot moves by having air sucked out of them. It can be configured to climb walls and grab objects.
Remember the Scorpion-3 Hoverbike? It is a flying ride with a motorcycle seat that provides you with a fun, safe flight. Hoversurf has built this machine with a custom software for full manual and automated control. This video shows a recent public flight of the Scorpion-3:
Meet the Air Hogs Hyper Drift Drone: a 2-in-1 vehicle for racing and flying. It lets you race on the ground or fly in the sky with its detachable drone. A self-righting cage is available, so you land upright and can takeoff fast after a crash.
The DJI Mavic PRO has just gotten a lot better. The Platinum version not only flies for 30 minutes, it also makes less noise when flying. You still get a 4K camera with 3-axis gimbal, collapsible design, and other fancy features found in top DJI drones.
Sphero has a bunch of new Star Wars droids for you to play with. The Sphero R2-D2 Droid comes with realistic movement and augmented reality training. It features front/rear lights and a speaker. You can control it from your iOS or Android device.
