Laptop + Arduino + Roomba = Zoomba!

One of the pillars of geekery is the art of robotics. Lives have been given to the pursuit of perceived intelligence that may be bestowed on our creations. Many methods, from autonomy to remote controlled systems all fall within the definition of what a robot can be.  Few however embrace both disciplines in a balance that provides the best of both worlds. Well hold on to your boots bucko, ’cause we’ve got the answer.  Telepresence when applied to robotics is the art of being in control or viewing a robot without actually being present in the robot’s environment.  Many examples of commercial telepresence robots are well known, and there are lots of examples of DIY projects that allow you to modify a prebuilt platform in order to add telepresence.  Despite any of these, making such a robot is actually pretty simple and less expensive than you might think.

Enter our wise teacher, local robotics and tinkering enthusiast Dan Ray.  He’s a pretty cool guy really, and he makes some really interesting robots.  Jartron for example made a splash with Make Magazine, and Dan has made some interesting examples of telepresence robotics that we think will be really fun to learn about.

New braaaiiins...

Participants at this workshop will learn how to use Skype to call a computer connected to a small microcontroller running motors. The concept itself is pretty fun, and to keep it that way, we plan to get the robots running and let them run amok in the shop with games and challenges fit to make able pilots from those willing to take the reigns.  From there its up to you to decide whether you want to add sensors, or create commands to give the robot the ability to explore and sense its surroundings.

In order to make keep the costs of this workshop low, we have made several options. At the most basic level, you can attend the workshop for the admission price of $44.99. This includes the microcontroller board and small components needed to become the brain of any robot you might want to make. Other items like motors will be made available for purchase after the main event, but are not necessary to buy for the workshop.

Participants will need to bring a laptop computer or netbook to use for the interface to their robot.

The workshop will be on June 9th, 2012 from 12pm-4pm.  Anyone under the age of 12 might want an older person with them to help out.

To register for the workshop, please follow the link to the registration page at store.reuseum.com

"3 Dimension Scope" Holy Nerd Relic! $19.99

700W ATX Power Supply. $44.99

Some reserve their awe and inspiration for only the most rare or eccentric items we have in the store. Their disappointment that we just have the same ol’ cool stuff all the time is barely concealed. Every day we strive to squeeze even the slightest, “Oh that’s cool” from their mouths often to no avail.  This week is however very different from any of our past shortages of awesome stuff in the eyes of the avant geek.  Rage instead will have to be concealed as they see that, yes, in the early nineties someone DID invent a 3D oscilloscope display. “My provisional patent is ruined!” they will scream in their minds, with only the slightest beads of sweat betraying their true feelings.  Oh and yes, that 700W power supply they always brag to their friends about needing for their custom Minecraft server farm will be just beyond their fingertips as someone removes it from the shelves, showing only casual interest at something so worthy of being highly prized.

Oooh yes, geeks. We know you, and though you may sometimes underestimate us, we know what you want…

Breadboarded and ready to go!

Have you ever wondered how to make a robot is made? Or how to make an LED light blink?  How does an engineer design a circuit? We are very excited to bring back one of our favorite workshops of all time to answer those questions the Circuit Basics Workshop!  The truth is, once you get your feet wet, you’ll see that many electronic circuits are not only pretty easy to decipher, but can be used with many different purposes in mind.

Anyone looking to get their hands dirty, artists and crafters who would like to add interesting features to their creative designs, or even someone interested in DIY electronics for their tinkering hobby can gain that mastery and empowerment to build their own circuits.  Please come down on Saturday the 14th of April and introduce yourself to something new!

The Circuit Basics Workshop is great for people as young as 7 years old with a chaperone, and there is no soldering required! The workshop will start at 12pm, Saturday April 7th. You can reserve your spot now by purchasing a ticket in advance via Eventbrite. Limited spots are available!

This workshop is brought to you by: Reuseum Educational, Inc.  We’re a 501 (c) (3) not‐for‐profit organization that provides materials & expertise in the support of scientific & technology education.

Here in our tiny shop of wonders, we believe that we are doing good things to help our community make new things, restore the importance and value of their not so new things, and learn from all of it. Of the greatest importance is the ability to share and collaborate on our ideas.  Globally the idea of sharing your notes and the same ethic of collaboration are widely understood by the open hardware movement, and Arduino is one of the most prolific examples of open source hardware, and we are proud to put Arduino next to our usual stock of scientific and industrial relics. They marry quite well in many projects you might see or hear our clientele and community of tinkers, builders,  crafters, and artists discussing in the aisles. We have also brought in some nice goods for your experimentation and prototyping needs, including sensors, servos and barebones microcontroller ICs.

Arduino Uno $28.99

ATmega 328 IC $5.75

9G micro servo, starts at $4.99

Ultrasonic Rangefinder $12.99

X/Y Axis

Power Supply and Drivers

Touchscreen Interface

Complete Parker precision motion system. The item was an unused spare from a fab and is in functional and extremely good, like new condition. It features a touchscreen interface and Renishaw postioning encoders. The unit has approximately 6″ of travel for both X and Y.

Price is newly marked down to $1599!

The Obtainium is basically a  gold mine for engineers in the Treasure Valley, and since its  birth, they have been a stalwart supporter of the Reuseum, providing literally tons of cool stuff for our populace.  Their inventory of over 1,300 items spans horizons that can provide a tremendous resource for people and businesses who are looking for quality and respect of the product.

To illuminate the partnership between our two businesses, Obtainium is offering the residents of the area the opportunity to pick up purchases from their online auctions here at the Reuseum, meaning that if you see something that you or your business find useful, you won’t have to pay the freight cost for it, and will be able to pick it up within 24 hours.  We hope that both the Obtainium and Reuseum can continue to earn your support, and we constantly work for this goal by seeking ways to provide better service to our community.

You can visit the Obtainium’s Ebay store, or visit www.obtainium.biz for more information about them, and what they already do for the community.