 Tim Wicks sent me a bundle of images of some propane vehicles that he and a buddy built -- a couple of campground runabouts that fold and stow below their RVs, and a propane-powered mini-bike.
I asked Tim for some additional details but have yet to hear back. I wanted to get this post up during Alt.Transportation month. Maybe he can fill us in on some background for these images in the comments, if he reads this. Oh, Tim...? [More photos after the jump]
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 Solar & astrophysics test engineer Hank Hancock saw a comment on our Mini-Trebuchet post about how to improve the throw distance, and put up his hand to try it out. We sent him a kit, he'll be building and documenting the before-and-after effects of adding wheels to the design. 
His first update is on putting the stock kit together.
Recieved the kit last week and finally was able to get started today, with the help on my daughter, Melissa, and her boyfriend, Sam. Photo shows the kit as it comes out of the box. Since we had the three of us, I had the teenagers remove the pieces while I got started on removing the tabs left over. A simple sanding with an emery board (regular sandpaper will do) made quick work of it.
Once the pieces were loose, the Sam & Melissa began gluing parts together. The entire process probably took all of about one hour. 
Even though we followed the directions for making the basket, it did not seem to work as well as I wanted. To help the basket hold the projectile, we added some staples to give it a more "bowl" shape. I think I might find myself a small piece of cloth or leather to make the basket out of, instead of the netting that is provided in the kit. Looking good, Hank, we can't wait to see more! In the Maker Shed
 Mini-Trebuchet kit in the Maker Shed
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Steve Norris of Boston, MA, wrote in with his latest project: a robot that'll bring you a beer. The Beverage Delivery System (BDS) is an ambitious project of mine to create a fully automated inter-home delivery system. Anyone who has built a robot has, at one point or another, been asked the question "but can it bring me a beer?"; I'm sure that like me, roboticists all over the world have grown weary of this question. The Beverage Delivery System is the answer to this age old problem, a problem that has plagued mankind since the invention of the canned beverage.
Baxter is the transport component of my Beverage Delivery System (BDS). Supporting Baxter is a fixed location dispenser robot called RoboFridge. You can think of a RoboFridge as a kind of soda vending machine that does not require money. Like a real vending machine RoboFridge supports the dispensing of canned beverages. The concept of the BDS could even be extended to non-food items like medications, DVDs and books.
The BDS process starts when a user requests an item using a simple remote control. Baxter is activated from his sleep mode and navigates to RoboFridge using a variety of navigation techniques. These include dead reckoning using encoders, IR beacons, and line following. Once he arrives Baxter will initiate a docking sequence with RoboFridge. After docking, RoboFridge deposits the canned beverage into Baxter's cargo area. Baxter then undocks and navigates back to the thirsty user to deliver the beverage.
Finally I can get a frosty cold beverage delivered to me in my favorite easy chair without any effort or argument! Read more | Permalink | Comments | Digg this! More Recent Articles | |
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