Less-known were electronics parts mail-order catalogs with sections of assemble-it-yourself small robot kits (not much more than a PCB, components to solder, and some motors), like: light-seeking robots, line-following robots, Logo-style turtle graphics pen robots.
And occasionally a magazine would have an article a homebrew robot that some teen had built. To kids with access to scrap wood, garage sale appliances to strip for parts, and the occasional Radio Shack or mail-order component purchase, these homebrew robots seemed more accessible than ones costing hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Not in the same decade, but I attribute a non-zero part of my robotics obsession to a friend's cybot (http://lpilsley.co.uk/cybot/). I remember being amazed at it following a line, and always wanted the magazines. Tragically, it was long discontinued by the time I discovered it.
Every now and then I think about trying to get my hands on a collection and following along. I'd love to find out if there is anything in there that I haven't yet learned, despite working with robots professionally...
I had a Topo from Androbot. The prior owner didn't understand how to program it, so I got it at a discount. I kept the motor drivers, etc and replaced the brain with a CP/M machine that I could move programs on a floppy to it.
It was a struggle, but it was fun to work on. Or maybe not, we were giving a party and someone asked about the robot and asked if it had a name. My young son piped up "I know it's name, it's called "F*cking Robot".
The poster above me mentioned the Armatron. A few days ago I pulled one out of the "Closet of Doom". It still works! It went back into the closet with a disapproving spouse look.
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[ 4.6 ms ] story [ 22.4 ms ] threadThere were also some noteworthy lower-end toy robots, like:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trak
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armatron
Less-known were electronics parts mail-order catalogs with sections of assemble-it-yourself small robot kits (not much more than a PCB, components to solder, and some motors), like: light-seeking robots, line-following robots, Logo-style turtle graphics pen robots.
And occasionally a magazine would have an article a homebrew robot that some teen had built. To kids with access to scrap wood, garage sale appliances to strip for parts, and the occasional Radio Shack or mail-order component purchase, these homebrew robots seemed more accessible than ones costing hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Every now and then I think about trying to get my hands on a collection and following along. I'd love to find out if there is anything in there that I haven't yet learned, despite working with robots professionally...
It was a struggle, but it was fun to work on. Or maybe not, we were giving a party and someone asked about the robot and asked if it had a name. My young son piped up "I know it's name, it's called "F*cking Robot".
The poster above me mentioned the Armatron. A few days ago I pulled one out of the "Closet of Doom". It still works! It went back into the closet with a disapproving spouse look.