This is a working model of an Arduino based Milling Machine created using FischerTechnik. For those of you who are unaware of FischerTechnik, it is similar to the LEGO^TM Building Blocks.

A group of four Mechanical Engineering students at the Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) created this project as part of their Mechatronics class in their Second year of Bachelor of Sciences (B.Sc.) Program.

Laurens Valk, one of the creators, explains the essence of Arduino in the project:

“The system uses the Adafruit motor shield to run two stepper motors, and the Sparkfun EasyDriver for the third stepper motor. The Arduino runs code that listens to Matlab commands over USB. We expanded that code a little to make it possible to add the third stepper motor and some other commands. Most of the actual code was programmed in Matlab, with the Arduino as the interface between computer and motors/sensors.”

We had a little chat with Laurens. Here is the excerpt:

When did you first hear about Arduino, and when did you first start using it?

I’ve seen a lot of Arduino projects over the years, but this was the first time we used it in a project. Personally, I usually build robots with MINDSTORMS NXT, but this felt like a good opportunity to combine mechanical work (the printer hardware) with real electronics (Arduino).

How did you end up making a Milling Machine/ 3D Printer for your project?

We chose to come up with our own design challenge and decided not to do the standard exercise. Initially we thought about making a (2D) plotter or scanner. Then quickly we started thinking about the same things, except in 3D. One of the projects that inspired us was the LEGO Milling Machine by Arthur Sacek. Both a scanner and printer would still be doable in 3D, but the time was limited, so we settled with the printer idea.

All construction had to be done in one workweek for logistical reasons. To make sure we were able to finish in time, we prepared much of the electronics and software outside the lab. We finished just in time, but unfortunately we could do only one complete print before we had to take it apart. Not surprisingly, it was very exciting to wait for the result of the one and only complete test run. We couldn’t see the result until we used the vacuum cleaner to remove the dust.

Here is a video showing the working of this machine. [And the Vacuum Cleaner Laurens is talking about]:

This gives an Insight into the many feats that an Arduino can accomplish.

[via: http://arduino.cc/blog/]

How many robots run on Arduino? I really don’t know. The guys from Complubot keep on sending pictures from the robots they are finding at the Robo Cup in Mexico DF. Want to see some pictures? Look at the following:

(c) 2012 Complubot, Japanese Team on Soccer B

The Japanese Team on Soccer B have been working with Arduino for 3 years now. The robots on the picture are only using our IDE, as they made their own PCBs to host 8 InfraRed sensors, a compass, and the motor drivers. Take a closer look at it on the next picture.

(c) 2012 Complubot, Japanese Soccer B team at RCJ Mexico DF

On the other hand, the German team, running on an Arduino Mega, are controlling 60 InfraRed sensors to detect the ball on the field. They got the 1st price on Soccer A Open and have been using Arduino for just one year.

(c) 2012 Complubot, German Soccer A Open team (winner)

I bet you want to see that robot closer, 60 IR sensors are quite many. It also controls 4 UltraSound sensors and 1 Compass. Quite an achievement. Look at this:

(c) 2012 Complubot, German Soccer A Open robot

Well, the picture isn’t very sharp, but you can clearly see the amount of sensors on that machine. I have to make some more research to understand what is the black plastic thingy on the top board of the robot. It feels like some sort of exhaust pipe. The black dots on the red PCB are the IR sensors.

If there is a team that beats all about the amount of time they have been working with Arduino, is the Mexican coming from UNAM. On the Soccer B category, these guys have been running their robot on Arduino for only 2 months!! They are however controlling 8 IR sensors and one Compass over I2C.

(c) 2012 Complubot, Mexican (UNAM) Soccer B team

Also from Mexico, this time participating on the Rescue competition, we find a team with a really broad age range. The team from Monterrey ranges between 10 and 19 and made a robot controlled by Arduino Uno.

(c) 2012 Complubot, Moterrey Rescue Team

The Swiss team has been using Arduino during 2 years and are the only one in my list that have started using a camera. They run their bots on Arduino Mega and control 12 IR and 4 US sensors.

(c) 2012 Complubot, Swiss Soccer B team

If there is a country that is well know for soccer that is Brazil. Their Rescue A team at the RCJ looks like this:

(c) 2012 Complubot, Brazil Rescue A team

And their robots are pretty easy to spot, pitch black with an Arduino Mega in the stomach:

(c) 2012 Complubot, Brazil Rescue A robot

To close the post, I want to show you an image of my favorite robot so far. It is the one made by one of the Mexican teams again in the Soccer B category. It’s platforms are made in wood and it is a masterpiece of a combination of glue-gun and breadboard. Sometimes we think we need so much to build things, and others come to remind us how easy it is to make things happen with whatever you have in hand. If there was a price to the most low-tech solution at this competition, this team would win or be among the finalists.

Oh, yes … and a photo of the team:

(c) 2012 Complubot, Mexican Low-Tech Champions

Soon: some more images and thoughts about The Arduino Robot, after one week of beta testing in Mexico, stay tuned!

[via: http://arduino.cc/blog/]

Arduteka en colaboración con Cooking Hacks y Milla Digital del ayuntamiento de Zaragoza han preparado un evento con capacidad para más de 400 personas en uno de los edificios más emblemáticos de la ciudad, el Antiguo Seminario Metropolitano de Zaragoza transformando en una moderna Ciudad Administrativa Municipal y que amablemente han cedido para organizar el evento.

Desde charlas sobre arte interactivo con Arduino como interface, pasando por talleres sobre impresión 3D hasta demostración de integración de Arduino con Asterisk será solo una parte de lo que vamos a poder disfrutar, ya que estarán habilitados diferentes Stands como el de Parrot, en que podremos probar el nuevo Ar-Drone 2.0, el de Cooking Hacks que nos amenizarán con micro talleres Arduino e incluso el de nuestros amigos de Ultra-Lab que seguro hará las delicias de los asistentes.

Por si esto fuera poco.. Contaremos con la presencia y colaboración de David Cuartielles, el cual nos ofrecerá una charla sobre los últimos productos Arduino que se está aconteciendo…

Accede ahora a toda la información en la nueva web de ArdutekaAQUÍ e inscríbete!!

Te lo vas a perder??

[via: http://arduino.cc/blog/]

Tasty Tweets is a data visualization experiment that allows users toexplore twitter trends through taste with a press of a button. The installation has been developed by Kostantinos Frantzis, Ruben van der Vleuten and Kat Zorina during the Data Visualization course 2012 at Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design,

Using the Twitter APIs, the project collects tweets containing mentions of fruits such as blueberry, pineapple, apple and carrot andcreates a smoothie.The layering of the juices results in a visual representation of theproportions of flavors mentioned – a graph in a glass.

Since twitter trends are changing very quickly, each smoothie has a uniquepalette of flavors.

The Twitter APIs is used to gather the tweets while Processing is used to analyze andprocess the data and Arduino controls the flow of liquids into the glass with solenoids.

More info here.

[via: http://arduino.cc/blog/]

embdSocial™ is an Internet-of-Things (IoT) platform usable to provide communication support to smart objects and devices. embdSocial™ is based on WISP™, an electronic module that can be connected to any microcontroller-equipped device (such as an Arduino board, by means of ad-hoc shield) to exploit several communication services:

Each WISP™ allows real-time bi-directional communication through our secure, globally accessible API. In addition to merely providing internet connectivity, embdSocial™ provides one interface and architecture that simplifies common tasks through the use of plug-ins:

• Tweeting/receiving @messages
• Updating Facebook statuses
• Sending/receiving emails
• Sending/receiving SMS text messages
• Manipulating files in your Dropbox

Each WISP™ is equipped with a 802.11 network interface (with support to WEP, WPA and WPA2 protocols) which allows the device to be easily connected with the embdSocial™’s servers; moreover, its configuration is completely web-based.

More information can be found on the embdSocial™ homepage, together with a couple of videos presenting its capabilities.

[Via: HackADay and embdSocial]

[via: http://arduino.cc/blog/]