Laptop + Arduino + Roomba = Zoomba!

One of the pillars of geekery is the art of robotics. Lives have been given to the pursuit of perceived intelligence that may be bestowed on our creations. Many methods, from autonomy to remote controlled systems all fall within the definition of what a robot can be.  Few however embrace both disciplines in a balance that provides the best of both worlds. Well hold on to your boots bucko, ’cause we’ve got the answer.  Telepresence when applied to robotics is the art of being in control or viewing a robot without actually being present in the robot’s environment.  Many examples of commercial telepresence robots are well known, and there are lots of examples of DIY projects that allow you to modify a prebuilt platform in order to add telepresence.  Despite any of these, making such a robot is actually pretty simple and less expensive than you might think.

Enter our wise teacher, local robotics and tinkering enthusiast Dan Ray.  He’s a pretty cool guy really, and he makes some really interesting robots.  Jartron for example made a splash with Make Magazine, and Dan has made some interesting examples of telepresence robotics that we think will be really fun to learn about.

New braaaiiins...

Participants at this workshop will learn how to use Skype to call a computer connected to a small microcontroller running motors. The concept itself is pretty fun, and to keep it that way, we plan to get the robots running and let them run amok in the shop with games and challenges fit to make able pilots from those willing to take the reigns.  From there its up to you to decide whether you want to add sensors, or create commands to give the robot the ability to explore and sense its surroundings.

In order to make keep the costs of this workshop low, we have made several options. At the most basic level, you can attend the workshop for the admission price of $44.99. This includes the microcontroller board and small components needed to become the brain of any robot you might want to make. Other items like motors will be made available for purchase after the main event, but are not necessary to buy for the workshop.

Participants will need to bring a laptop computer or netbook to use for the interface to their robot.

The workshop will be on June 9th, 2012 from 12pm-4pm.  Anyone under the age of 12 might want an older person with them to help out.

To register for the workshop, please follow the link to the registration page at store.reuseum.com