TEAM DUCT TAPE

A post at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories about the Egg-Bot heading out to the Maker Faire in Detroit, caught our interest.  
The Egg-Bot “  is an open-source art robot that can draw on spherical or egg-shaped objects from the size of a ping pong ball size to that of a small grapefruit– roughly 1.5 to 4 inches [...]

Tufts University and Virginia Tech collaborated on an interesting study that has implications in robot locomotion ( Gut Movements in Caterpillars Have Impact on Robotic Design):
BLACKSBURG, Va., July 23, 2010 – Weird movements in the abdomens of freely crawling caterpillars are making headlines in the fields of engineering and biology, says Jake Socha, Virginia Tech assistant [...]

When TDT visited Georgia Tech, we saw Aldebaran robots used for work with special needs children.  An article in today’s St. Petersburg Times, which originally appeared in the New York Times (A Soft Spot for Circuitry), talks about growing use of “robot therapy“ in environments ranging from nursing homes, to substance abuse counseling to diet coaching. 
Paro is a [...]

From Newswise:
 The loneliness of the long-distance robot: A Cornell University robot named Ranger walked 14.3 miles in about 11 hours, setting an unofficial world record at Cornell’s Barton Hall early on July 6. A human – armed with nothing more than a standard remote control for toys – steered the untethered robot.
Ranger navigated 108.5 times [...]

Identify the marshmallow in your project!

About three weeks ago, TDT joined team Smoke and Mirrors for a follow up story by ABC News reporter John Thomas, about their team’s State Championship experience.   The piece just aired this weekend on ABC Action News, and can be enjoyed online , as well.

FIRST Robotics episode of the Education for Innovation podcast, the first podcast dedicated exclusively to understanding how and why students study technology and engineering K-12. This episode is hosted by Dave Janosz and features guest Randy Schaeffer.