Not really a robot, but it is neat, and think of the robot you could make with the same technology!
This past Saturday (Jan 15, 2011) the University of Memphis, Herff College of Engineering, Engineering Technology Department held the first of two “Quick Build” Sessions for the Memphis area First Robotics Competition (FRC) teams.
Students learned how to manage teams, build their gear boxes, wheels and started on the robot frames and also started work on the control system wiring.
The teams who participated would like to thank:
Team Mentors
Student Chapter of IEEE
Members of Mid South Makers
UofM Engineering and Technology Students
Memphis City Schools
and all the volunteers that made the session possible!
Thank you, and I hope it got your FRC Logomotion Season off to a great start.
A second session is planned for this coming weekend when the teams hope to have working robot bases by the end of the event.
IEEE Spectrum has a lot of news about robotics from CES.
Full info: http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/ieeern/issues/2011-01-11-email.html
Yesterday, US First held its official kick off for the 2011 game “LogoMotion”. Thirteen teams in Memphis, along with thousands of others around the world, met to watch the official game kickoff.
New Sphero ball robot announced at CES. Looks neat…controlled via a iPhone or iPad with Android to follow:
Since I started a new website for US First Robotics Competition participants in Memphis, I have sort of been neglecting this blog (SORRY), but if you want to find out the latest news for FRC in Memphis, goto http://memphisfirstteams.org/.
From:
Three Memphis area teams competed in at the Crowley’s Ridge Best competition on Oct 30, 2010. According to the information I have received:
1st place – West Memphis Christian School
3rd place – Hillcrest High School
4th place – White Station High School
All these teams will now compete in 2010 Frontier Trails BEST Regional Robotics Competition, sponsored by the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith and the City of Fort Smith on Dec 10-11.
For more information on this upcoming event see the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Website
Photo by Brandon Dill Commercial Appeal
All part of the show at U of M open house, Collierville High School students Chelsea Chambers, 15 (second from left to right); Autumn Woods, 15; Emma Sedlacek, 15; Ashley Holler, 15; Emily Banks, 15; and Caitlin Hamm, 15, get a scare when a remote-controlled rover rushes toward them during a robotics demonstration as part of the University of Memphis Herff College of Engineering open house on Friday. More than 600 students from Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas attended the event, which offered hands-on activities as well as competitive events such as boat building, harnessing wind energy and bridge construction.
Me with my robot minions – Picture by Dan Soskel
Administrator’s Comments:
This is the second year for my “mobile robotics” demonstration during the Herff College of Engineering Open House (aka E-Day). This year’s display included the Bluff City Bots 2011 USFirst Robot, the robots used for my University of Memphis – Engineering Technology Classes, an internet controlled robot built as a senior project by David Kennedy, my personal robot, a Lego NXT robot and a HexBug crab.
More pictures taken by Daniel Soskel and I are available at:
http://tech-uofm.info/fall_2010/E-Day/
Even More Pictures at:
https://umdrive.memphis.edu/g-herff/www/Galleries/Engineering%20Day%202010/index.html
Video: Incredibly Precise Robot Bowler Gets Beaten by Professional Human Bowler
From: Popsci.com
By Dan Nosowitz
This robot bowler, cheekily named EARL, is capable of laying down the exact same, utterly perfect shot every time. Yet it still lost to professional human bowler Chris Barnes. How did this happen?
EARL, which stands for Enhanced Automated Robot Launcher, a hulking behemoth (rather than a delicate dancer) of a machine, is actually a tool used for specs and certification at the United States Bowling Congress (not to be confused with the United States Congress, a marginal political organization which boasts not a single expert bowling robot). The robot is capable of throwing balls anywhere between 10 and 24 mph, as well as putting a spin of between 50 and 900 rpm on its throws.
Chris Barnes is one of the best professional bowlers in the world, the holder of 12 PBA tour titles, and is able to bowl with either hand. That being said, he is much smaller and less threatening than EARL, and cannot be controlled by touchscreen. So how did he best the top robot bowler, 259-209?
Turns out EARL’s precision and ability to throw the exact same way might have been his downfall. Since every throw was so similar, over a few throws, the ball wore down the oil on the lanes, which caused some unforeseen behavior. EARL was unable to adjust quickly enough, and Barnes threw what we in the know call a “seven-bagger”: a whopping seven strikes in a row. That put him over the top–in this game. EARL has been known to throw a perfect 300 in the past.
