Author: TTW2021

There have been grass cutting robots and pool cleaning robots for several years now. There are even robot fish that can swim around your pool for fun or just as a conversation starter.

Here is a link to one of the newer robot fish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3tC1-CIYLc

(under construction Aug 27 2021)

Here we will talk about Python and where it can be used and why it has gotten so popular with Arduino and robotics hobysists and professionals alike.

(under construction Aug 13, 2021)

Here we will discuss Pepper (Aug 11) under construction

This category of robots can include various kinds of robots.

There is a category of robots which many consider controversial but something that does serve a purpose in many situations.

We are talking here about what are called sex robots.

We won’t be passing judgement here because this type of robot is getting more human like and for many people this is something that can be considered a good thing.

Consider the hundreds of thousands of people who are severely handicapped and have been denied, for whatever reason, friends and intimate parters.

We have seen how the elderly with dimentia and similar conditions respond to simple toy cats or dogs for companionship.

So lets acknowledge the fact that hundreds of millions of people in this world suffer from loneliness and this has led to widespread depression and suicide in many places and higher in certain high stress cultures.

The idea of sex toys or what were joking called “sex dolls” have been around for decades and for many people these things serve a legimate human need.

So today we have seen a huge increase in the manfacture of realistic human dolls in which many are being made with electronics components and some sensors to mimic human behaviour.

The Realdoll company has been producing ultra realistic non-electronic human like dolls for decades and in the last several years they have been adding robotic type features to them.

Here is where we will talk about the types of robots made as toys for children, teens and adults.

Some of the more recent ones in 2021 were

• Osmo
• Boxer
• Anki Vector, Cosmo
• Lego Mindstorm Robot Inventor or EV3
• Novie
• Sikaye RC Robot
• Makeblock Mbot Kit
• Sphero Mim, SPRK
• Little Bits Star Wars Droid

Lets talk about some of the considerations involved in building a robot.

You could start with questions like

1. what will be the purpose or function of robot?
2. what is your budget?
3. how autonomous will it be and how many sensors and complex AI is needed?
4. will it be battery powered and will it only be used indoors?
5. how realistic will it be if it is a bipedal/humanoid robot
6. will it be male/female/cultural and will clothes cover up most of it to avoid using latex skin
7. will it be from traditional materials or are you trying for “soft robotics” or using tendons/rubber

In this website we will assume that we are planning for fairly budget oriented robots under $20,000 and preferably under a few thousand.

We will also shoot for open source code for the most part running on affordable boards like a $50 Arduino, am $80 Raspberry Pi or similar and using advanced boards like a $300 Netvidia Jetson for the AI if needed.

We would use consumer level $20 servos and $10 sensors for the most part with a $200 LiDar probably being the most sophistocated sensor.

So we will choose between these options

1. humanoid/bipedal that walks or dances or jumps and picks up or throws things
2. animal like walking/crawling multi leg robot with some tasks
3. a rolling platform like a robot vacuum that could do work
4. some underwater or air born or micro sized robot

Now in terms of moving lets address the bipedal human robot first.

We need to decide its height/weight and if it is a full or half body robot and how well it would do the following: (usually called locomotion or moving)

1. walking just like a human or the “drunk” walk or a no-knee joint walk or similar
2. rolling on a platform with wheels or treads or a half robot on a wheeled tray
3. will it jump/dance/run/bend/get up when it falls/lift a leg/climb/

What will the arms/hands and head/neck and waist/shoulders do?

1. will the arms bend at the elbow and will the hands grip with 2 fingers or all 5 or a tool?
2. will the arms and body be clothed and will visible parts have latex realistic skin on?
3. will the limbs be 3d printed or just use traditional materials and cover with clothing?

Then you would get into the questions of how it was powered and cooled and controlled with software or autonomous sensors.

1. what language are you going with? Arduino with C or Python with Raspberry Pi
2. do you use control software from MRL or EZ Robot, or ROS toy software with Lego Mindstorm EV3 or Meccnoid software or Blockly or Microsofts Robot software

Here we will have a discussion of what the messages are of the hit TV series “Westword”.

Despite the known rule that robots can do no harm to their creators…we see quite the obvious going on here. Why and how and is this very far off from the reality in our future?

There is a scene in Season 1 where Anthony Hopkins the creator of the company, is found in an old house in an uninhabited sector 17 tending to a group of first generation hosts who he calls “ghosts”.

Why did he keep them sequestered out here?

He proudly and somewhat sadly seems to be lamenting and missing the simpler times with his first robot humans.

We will ask for your participation on one of our dozens of discussion groups on Facebook. www.facebook.com/Westworld.

There is a “Black Mirror” fan page of sorts as well and we hope to see many interesting discussions on these groups in the years ahead.

Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm. (or Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm)

They operate on 3 axis and have a rotating feature.

They move well laterally and move faster than Cartesian arms.

They are used for assembly work and often in medical situations.

The pet products industry is one of the biggest money makers around since North America has been in love with their pets forever it seems.

This last year we have seen a handful of pet robotics machines come out like pet robot litterboxes and feeding devices.