the-65-diy-robot-that-moves-like-a-bug

And $ 65 DIY robot that moves like an insect
By Heather Kelly , CNN
Of the robot in the form of a small insect made ​​of cardboard and plastic materials , advanced surprising Dash.
Has been building a new $ 65 DIY Robot Programming for the touch . It comes with a gyroscope, visible light and infrared sensors, and iOS application to control it via Bluetooth 4. Arduino Bots are also compatible with LED lights and additional ports to expand and hack the Dash .
You can schedule their own behavior , so that the robots move in patterns or are the walls . And can serve as a squadron and cooperation , or embark on individual tasks. Add touch sensors and two robots transform Dash peace battlebots the fans fighting each other and keep track of their own lamps multicolored .
"Our goal is to get the robot up to everything , because we believe are great learning tools ," said Nick Kohut , one of the founders of Dash robots .
Appropriate, Dash will fit right in the palm . He had six legs , and weighs about half an ounce , and a unique feature is the ability to move quickly through different types of terrain. Can cover 5-6 feet of a second , and is capable of crossing the sand , concrete , and other surfaces.
Born in - dash C.U. Berkeley Lab , and the establishment of four mechanical and electrical engineers working on their thesis . She put these small robots for research funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. military.
Is available in yellow , orange , blue, black , Dash looks like a square, colored cockroach . However, are inspired by the design and the movements of the animal kingdom , including lizards. Worked closely with a team Berkeley biologists to mimic the way the legs when running animals in nature.
The first models were practical, hard work and unexpectedly beautiful . People , especially children, loved them and asked if they could buy one to take home. The four founders decided to form a team with startup accelerator called a local foundry and convert small robots in small business.
The robots will be delivered flat as cardboard. It takes about an hour and out of the parts , fold together and dab on glue إلميرز ' a little bit.
Now the company is selling like toys - boot robots cheap that children can use to find out engineering and technology. Kohut considered a programming hands is a great alternative to sitting in front of a computer screen to learn how to code.
However , robots are not only playing. They also have a real possibility.
"We believe that there are a lot of applications in the future of this technology , we build robots that are lightweight , and virtually all terrain and low cost ," said Kohut .
In an earthquake, for example, a small army of robots equipped with CO2 sensor may fall under the rubble in search of survivors without endangering their lives . They can be programmed to cover the space in the pattern or manually controlled through the application. Because of its light weight , and can fall manuscripts of different heights without breaking .
And can be useful in agriculture as well . The scripts can publish and measure local conditions in the farm and soil moisture or pH without stomping on the plants.
There are similar technological tools used in the field now, but as many as unmanned aerial vehicles , are expensive.
"When you are sending thousands of low-cost Android robots instead of the very expensive , it is cheaper to replace , " said Kohut .
Dash robots called crowdsourcing campaign to run a beta of robots. The first thousand people to register and obtain a prototype of the Council. The company expects to begin sending the final version early next year.