Dave Prochnow
Dave's Articles
One Good Eye: An Open Source 3D Scanner
November 2017
Love the idea of a Star Trek replicator? If so, a 3D scanner may be in your future.
Boost Your Creativity with LEGO
October 2017
LEGO raises its robotics offerings with their new BOOST construction system.
The Wonderful World of Robot Mastermind, Tony Ellis
July 2017
Tony Ellis’ latest home-based autonomous robot — the ALTAIR EZ-2 — puts all others to shame.
Goliath 3: Critter Chaser
May 2017
Keep your garden varmint-free with this modified Wi-Fi controlled model replica of a historic tank robot.
Get Social with FaceBox: the Friendly HeadBot
February 2017
If you weren’t lucky enough to score one of SparkFun Electronics’ limited edition Cyber Monday Redbox Robots, then you’re in luck! We’ve come up with our own version that is a tracking, flashing, and speaking robot.
Symbiont Sensors
January 2017
Here’s an easy way to add sensors to your robot with no battery, no wires, and no switches, plus you get Bluetooth.
Meet the Incredibots
October 2016
A remarkable group of teenagers from Columbus, OH — dubbed the Incredibots — have earned themselves the coveted FLL Global Innovation Award with an amazing solution for recycling Styrofoam™.
Boston Dynamics’ SpotMini: A Robot Too Little, That Could Be Too Late
August 2016
The SpotMini — Boston Dynamics’ newest bot for personal use — might not be enough to help the company's financial situation.
Motion Control Demystified
May 2016
Getting the right kind of motion out of a motor can be tricky with power, engineering forces, and control all competing against your robot’s desire to go.
The Power to Move
March 2016
RoboClaw programmable motor controllers can give you can edge with your robotic control game.
REVIEW: Made on Imagination, Built on Dremel
February 2016
Dremel’s first foray into 3D printers could also become a common fixture on every maker’s workbench and inside every STEM classroom.
Instant Robots
January 2016
3D Printed Robots - Using the Lulzbot Mini
Microcerebrum — Build a Better Bot Brain
November 2015
Here’s a proposal for an inexpensive complete robot controller alternative that can deliver equivalent functionality of programmed control without the coding chore overhead.
BooBits: Three Ghoulish littleBits Projects
September 2015
It’s time to add some tricks to those treats with these three fun projects to do with kids (of all ages!) that will also teach some basic electronics.
littleBits and the ActoBitty
June 2015
Magnets and aluminum combine to create ActoBits.
Build Your Own 3D Printer with Actobotics
May 2015
After a failed experience with a low cost kit, inspiration struck to design and build a custom 3D printer with some rock-solid construction material and some simple hand tools.
M is for the Robot that ARM Made
April 2015
Meet mBot — a new platform for working with embedded robotics that is affordable, programmable, and downright fun.
Make a MiP Hack Back
March 2015
In late 2014, WowWee Group Limited came out with another commercial robot success: MiP. So, of course, the first thing we want to do is hack it.
littleBot: A Modern Build on a Classic BEAM Robot
February 2015
littleBits — an ever-growing library of electronic modules that snap together — is put to the test to recreate a classic robot design.
Build the Diet Buddy
December 2014
Afraid you’ll pick up a few pounds this holiday season, or need help staving off those late night fridge attacks? Then, you need the Diet Buddy!
Mobile Me
October 2014
With the high cost of telepresence robots, wouldn’t it be nice if you could just make a simple one of your own? Well ...
Make Mine a Mad Rushin’
June 2014
Convert a stock LEGO kit into a crazed cat crushin’, monster truck drivin’ robot.
No PC and You Need to Code Your LEGO EV3? No Problem!
April 2014
Baked inside each LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Brick is the ability to code primitive programs. See how to use it to perform rapid prototyping “sanity checks.”
Red Rover, Red Rover ... 10 Years of Opportunity
March 2014
Who would have thought 10 years ago that NASA would still be gleaning all kinds of awesome intel from their golden Opportunity.
DARPA Gets the SCHAFT
February 2014
Japanese Team SCHAFT crushed the competition at the recent Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Robotics Challenge Trials.
Robot Rescue: ROVs Lend a Hand During Gulf Oil Spill Disaster
July 2010
Get a closer look at the ROVs that were put to use within hours of this highly publicized offshore tragedy.