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ER1 Personal Robot Reviewed
Makarand writes "The Mercury News is carrying a review of
the ER1 Personal Robot
from Evolution Robotics Inc (of Pasadena, CA). The ER1 resembles neither a dog
nor any robot in sci-fi movies.
It is a 3-wheeled platform (resembling an industrial table) holding a laptop (running Windows)
for its brains and a Web camera for its eye.
The ER1 sells at $600 (laptop not included). For an extra $100 you get a completely assembled ER1.
Evolution plans to sell expansions like grippers and infrared sensors in the future. If your laptop
is Wi-Fi capable you can drive the robot around inside your home or control it using the Internet from anywhere."
Slightly OT I know, but is there any good information online about creating your own robots? There is a ton of CHEAP old PC equipment on eBay you could use as the brain for a robot, but I would have no clue about interfacing PC hardware with motors and such. That would be an awesome project to work on, but where to start?
Any links would be appreciated... and I personally think that passing this information on to a fellow geek, and giving them some parts (motherboard/other PC hardware, motors, etc) to mess with would be such an awesome Christmas present.
And yes I know of Lego Mindstorms, but it seems like you could be even more creative if you had more control over every aspect of the robot you are building.
Mark
This is completely off-topis, but karma is for fools.
I enjoyed Dude, Where's My Car.
Not every movie has to have some epic tale, oscar winning acting and million dollar effects.. Sometimes all they need is a smoking dog. Heh heh, smoking dog.
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