Micro Robots

Robots.net posted a cool article yesterday. Researchers from the Argonne National Lab as well as other researchers were able to cultivate and channel the swimming motion of bacteria (Bacillus subtilis) to move micro gears. The picture (taken from robots.net) shows the bacteria pushing the gears. It also gives the time at each point of the gear rotation. You have to remember though, these gears are very small. The idea is that this could be a way of forming micro robots that can preform minuscule tasks. And the power would come from an army of bacteria, pushing the gears. How cool is that? In a way, its close to nanotechnology, in the sense of how small these robots would have to be. What do you think scientists and researchers would created with this kind of technology?


* For the full article please go to http://www.anl.gov/Media_Center/News/2009/news091216a.html

Mindstorms NXT 2.0

Just go through finals week. Got to tell you, Pre-Calculus Honors is tough stuff. So this is a stress-reliever post got the Mindstorms NXT 2.0 set for Christmas. I started by building only the quick build, as the other three models do not really have any new structures, and the sensor are all the same, except for the color sensor, with built in lamp. The only really new features are in NXT-G. They have added both an icon editor and and a sound recorder, both of which work exceptionally well. The sound is very clear, and the image is quite detailed for such a small LCD. Here is a picture of the 4 starter models. The robot I have built uses the NXT 2.0 brick and the 1.0 brick. I'm hoping to utilize some of its features, like the sound recorder. Other than that, thank god finals are over!

The King's Treasure

Actually, I got this book on Christmas. I was intrigued by the preceding books of this kind. Incorporating a story into the use of these robots is, I believe, a very good way to build different projects. In case you don't know, this is the book's cover:

For more advanced builders, the story just provides background info for the project. Because of this, you can go about your own way of building and programming the robot to complete the task. Or, if stumped, the book provides its own means of how Evan, the main robotics expert, builds his robot.

For beginners, however, this book is excellent. It can spark the child's imagination for what projects he may want to do in the future. But this book provides a realistic advantage as well. This shows one of the many future possibilities of robotics; use in the field of archeology. It is well known that there are countless traps for thieves who attempt to steal valuables. Robots make looking into these chambers without setting off any traps a much safer job.