June 2010

Servo Magazine

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Features

Give Your Robot a Better Grip On Things

Add a whole new dimension to your robot by giving it a helping hand (literally!).

Planning Out Your Software for Microcontrollers

The use of microcontrollers in hobby robotics continues to grow, but creating software for them can be intimidating. Matt takes you through his favorite process for developing software using a simple puzzle box project as his point of reference.

Controlling Motors and Lights with Pulse Width Modulation

This article shows you how to implement PWM into your robotics design by demonstrating the principles through two simple projects.

Using a VEX Controller for Electronic Experiments

Learn two methods of interfacing LCDs into your next build as we connect a low cost character LCD to the VEX microcontroller.

Add a Transceiver to Your ZeroG Trainer

Expand your Trainer project from last month by adding a transceiver to the mix.

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Projects

Enhance Your Plain Vanilla Benchtop Power Supply With a PICAXE

A power supply is an essential tool for any roboticist’s workbench. This article presents a cost-effective upgrade to get the functionality and flexibility you’ll need.

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Columns

Robytes
by Jeff Eckert
Robytes
Stimulating Robot Tidbits

GeerHead
by David Geer
Remote Presence Robots Put Physicians Within Reach
The Remote Presence (RP) robots from InTouch Health enable physicians to be literally anywhere — in the emergency room, the ICU, at home, the office, or even at the same or dif ferent hospital.

Ask Mr. Roboto
by Dennis Clark
Ask Mr. Roboto
Your Problems Solved Here

The Combat Zone
by Kevin Berry
MANUFACTURING: Tentacle Calculator Rehosted by Killerbotics
The combat robotics community was deeply saddened by the passing of Steve Judd last year. Steve was an icon in the sport, and left behind a lasting legacy in many areas.

Then and Now
by Tom Carroll
The Age of Robotics
A lot of people speak of the age of robotics. They’ve been doing that for decades. Sometimes these words are just hype by a book publisher to promote a book, whereas others are truly convinced that the period in which they live is the beginning of the age of robotics. They see robots everywhere in their lives — on TV, in the movies, cleaning their carpets, exploring space, and building cars world-wide.

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Combat Zone

PARTS IS PARTS: Data Points: Fine-Tune Your Bot’s Performance

in The Combat Zone

Knowing exactly how well your bot performs in a particular configuration would be very useful ... like, exactly how fast is the blade turning? What current is the weapon motor drawing at start-up and at cruise? How much does the battery voltage sag at full power?

MANUFACTURING: Tentacle Calculator Rehosted by Killerbotics

in The Combat Zone

The combat robotics community was deeply saddened by the passing of Steve Judd last year. Steve was an icon in the sport, and left behind a lasting legacy in many areas.

Open Melt — Generous Sharing or a Threat to Society as We Know it?

in The Combat Zone

The author — in a blatant attempt to up his word count and thus his income — summarizes material he’s already sold to SERVO once ...

Combat Zone’s Greatest Hits

in The Combat Zone

This month, only one builder submitted to Greatest Hits. Going by the mystery handle “kkeerroo,” this Australian fighter highlights his bot — “Vendetta” — competing at RoboWars 7 in a semi-final fight against a spinner call Bender.

EVENT REPORT: 2010 Central Illinois Bot Brawl

in The Combat Zone

On March 6, 2010 robots invaded Peoria, IL as the Central Illinois Robotics Club (CIRC) hosted their annual Bot Brawl event. This year’s event was the club’s largest yet with eight separate competitions, as well as Mech Warfare demonstrations.