This new area is for exploring my latest hobby, BEAM robotics. I needed something to do on cloudy nights.
BEAM stands for:
Biology
Electronics
Aesthetics
Mechanics
Essentially, using mostly junk found around the house or in dumpsters, BEAM practitioners try to create biologically inspired, autonomous robots. Instead of using microprocessors, these creations are wired to act "instinctively" to survive. This method of robot building was pioneered by Mark Tilden.
This appeals to me because I've long been fascinated with Artificial Life (as opposed to artificial intelligence). These little mechanical beasts seem to have the potential to exhibit A-life characteristics.
The Symet (Rogert)
My
first creation isn't exactly a robot yet. He is a symet... a symmetrical robot
that basically exists as "plant life." He eats light and moves about a bit. A
good introduction to the BEAM solar engine, it is a pretty dumb but entertaining
gizmo. The kids think he is cute and named him Rogert.
You can find plans for a symet on the web and construct him with common junk. The only special part is the solar panel.
Check back later for more. I have a kit coming soon, and plan to make a photovorous turbot. In the meantime, I recommend these links.
The Cybug Scarab (Arrow)
I completed this kit from jcminventures.com, hoping to learn a few things about robotics in general and especially BEAM. I think it accomplished that mission. It is a fun kit to put together and works pretty well, although I still have to tune it.
What you
see here is a Cybug Scarab with a "hunger instinct" addon. He is obstacle
avoiding, and is photophobic when fully charged and photophyllic when in need of
charging. The idea is that you can put a light over his charging area and
he'll come to it when hungry. I haven't built the charger yet.
His photophobic behavior isn't as pronounced as I hoped. Maybe I can tweak it a bit. But he is fun to watch and confuses the cat. The kids have named this one "arrow" because of the arrowhead shaped PCB on the top.
I wish I could make him fully solar powered, to increase his BEAMishness. However, I think he's a bit too power hungry for that. The best I can do is make a solar powered charging area for him. They sell the kits, but I'll more than likely try to build it myself.
VIDEO:
Next project?
A solarroller or photovore. I've scavenged a bunch of parts, and should be able to do this one soon.
The Solar-roller is shaping up well... most of its parts come from an old tape recorder. The design I'm going with is one from the book Junkbots, Bugbots, and Bots on Wheels.
BEAM LINKS
http://www.totalrobots.com/beam.htm
http://grant.solarbotics.net/What_is_beam.htm
Last Updated:Monday, 02 January 2006 10:17 PM -0700
