Robot Magazine - March/April 2009 issue 15

The Latest in Hobby, Science and Consumer Robotics

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March/ April 2009 Issue 15

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ON THE COVER

Perhaps the best-loved movie robot in history, R2D2 has delighted millions since it appeared in the first “Star Wars” movie in 1977. Hasbro’s interactive R2D2 responds to voice commands and ably captures this complex character’s personality and quirks.

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columns &
departments

6 UPDATE

8 NAME THAT BOT

10 ROBOT FEED
Readers' letters

12  LERN
      Leading Edge
      Robotics News

30 SNAPSHOT
Snack time

80 PLUG AND PLAY
Product news

90 FUTURE BYTES
      A robot can learn a lot
      from an ant
      —by Steve Norris

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features

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20	MECH WARFARE
	A new robotic warfare competition set to debut at Robogames 2009 —by Andrew Alter

24	ELBIT VIPeR
	Tracks & wheels —by Francis X. Govers III

26	ROBOT ARM PROPOSED FOR ORION SPACECRAFT
	Astronauts may take latest-generation Canadarm to the moon —by Jim Oberg

32	BATTELLE MULTI-USE ROBOTIC SYSTEM —MURS
	Robots to clean tanks of mighty B-52 Stratofortress —by the staff of Robot with Tim Lastrapes, Scott Newhouse & Darren Krasny

36	FALL CHIBOTICS ROBOT CONTEST AT iHOBBY EXPO
	Largest Chibots competition ever is a bug success! —by Royce Pipkins

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	38	POLOIU 3pi
		New, educational, tabletop robot is a line-following speedster with much expandability —by Dick Swan

	40	BOT BASICS
		LCD readers reveal your bot’s thoughts —by Harry Mueller

	42	GET A GRIP!
		Propeller-based Boe-Bot, Part 2 We add a gripper with tactile feedback —by Peter DelMastro

	46	BUILDING ROBOTS ON A BUDGET
		Decide on a “junkbot” platform and go for it! —by Che Edoga

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	50	HASBRO'S R2D2 INTERACTIVE ASTRO MECH DROID
		What every Jedi Knight needs in his living room —by Gary Kolesar

	52	CRUSTCRAWLER SG6 ROBOTIC ARM
		A rugged, precision-engineered manipulator —by Peter DelMastro


	56	TURBOCHARGE YOUR VEX ROBOT!
		LED, sound add-ons & a new LCD peripheral add razzle-dazzle to your bot! Source Code and additional comments for Turbo Charged VEX —by Dick Swan

	60	BOTS & BUBBLES!?
		Students go for the gold in the NAIT Robotic Manipulator Contest —by Dean Berry

	62	PULSAR PROFESSIONAL PCB FAB-IN-A-BOX SYSTEM
		Print your own circuit boards —by Steve Norris

	64	ONE SMART ROTORCRAFT
		Autonomous robot helicopter navigates & does recon —by Tom Atwood

	88	NASA PISCES
		Lunar rover tests in Hawaii —by Gary Fujihara

edu bots

	68	GRASSROOTS ROBOTICS
		HEXBUG fundraising boosts robot teams nationwide! Hexbug Exploded Views —by Tom Atwood

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	72	INVENTEAM BUILDS COCONUT-TREE-CLIMBING ROBOT
		Decide on a “junkbot” platform and go for it! —by Marie Planchard

	76	CMU Vex CURRICULUM 2.0
		Multi-media robotics learning Full VEX 2.0 Curriculum available for teacher review and student use www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/roboticscurriculum/vex_online/ VEX Curriculum Overview www.vexcurriculum.com VEX Curriculum Resources www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/content/vex/index.htm ROBOTC Programming Environment for Innovation First, Inc. (IFI) VEX robots http://www.robotc.net/vex_full/

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