http://blogs.msdn.com/b/kinectforwindows/archive/2011/11/22/kinect-for-windows-building-the-future.aspx

It looks like Microsoft has figured out how to lock out Linux Kinect users.  It had to be frustrating for Microsoft that all the best Kinect demos were running on Linux machines.  this Microsoft reply in the comment section sure does imply that the drivers…

I blog about TrackBot, B4 and related topics at the RAREblog.

Microsoft is offering cash for your ideas.

http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/kinectaccelerator/

If you are a developer or existing team/startup focused on building a business that takes advantage of the Kinect and Natural User Interface technologies, then the Kinect Accelerator is where you need to be. Through this program,…

Hacking the OWI535 Robot ARM Using RobotSee, the TI Launchpad,

and the EMGRobotics Six Pack Booster

by Eric Gregori (www.EMGRobotics.com)

You can download all the firmware and  RobotSee code used in this article from here:…

Rocker-Bogie Suspension – A Challenge worthy of MINDS-i

The rocker-Bogie suspension is a  suspension used on the mars rovers. It uses six wheels that are independently powered by a motor and the front and rear wheels are able to steer. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocker-bogie

…

Last weekend was the ASME Open Source Microcontroller Workshop. 

Coming Saturday Nov. 12: The ASME

Open Source Microcontroller Workshop!

Since I was a kid, I have always looked at things as "robot pieces".  When "normal" people walk into a toy store, they see toys.  When I walk into a toy store, I see "robot pieces".  So, today at the Chibots meeting when Stuart was showing the Minds-I 6x6, I did not see a 6 wheeled vehicle, I saw "robot pieces".

 …

I love the internet.  Tonight, I was searching for something completely different and up popped a Youtube video for this incredibly cool Android app.

http://www.ionroad.com/

The following is a simple Linux application I put together to control a iRobot Create from the Linux command line.  Super simple, and easy to modify to your needs.

The code supports piping commands from a control app to this one.  I write my Linux robot applications as a series of commands that I pipe together.

Example:  sudo ./glview | iRobotCreateDrive

glview is a app I wrote that interfaces to the Kinect and guides the Create based on…

In honor pf the one year anniversary of the Microsoft Kinect (http://buildsmartrobots.ning.com/profiles/blogs/one-year-anniversary-for-the-kinect-over-10-million-units-shipped) I decided to write an article on how to build a Kinect based robot.  This is actually the second iteration of Kinectbot (I am not a very creative robot namer), the first attempt was taller…

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Microsoft-Kinect-Teardown/4066/

The Microsoft Kinect was released in the US on November 4, 2010.  It was…

Algorithm for Interpolating the Position and Magnitude of a MAX on a Saturated Signal

by Eric Gregori

A common step in many computer vision algorithms is to detect a maximum in a signal.  The MAX is commonly the center of a object of interest in the signal.  

Example: Finding the brightest light using a…

Introducing the future of advanced robotics controllers - Beaglebone.

At only 3.4 x 2.1 inches (it fits in a Altoid tin), the Beaglebone is exactly the same size as a standard credit card.  

With a (1Ghz)? Cortex-A8 the…

As a roboticist there is no way you can come away from watching the movie Real Steel (

http://steelgetsreal.com/) without being excited.  I enjoyed the movie a lot, but not for the same reason…

The OpenCV face detector has become very popular last few years because it is relatively easy to use and available for the right price - free.

What most people do not realize is the OpenCV face detector can be trained to detect almost any object. The OpenCV face detector is a Haar feature detector that is trained to identify an object.  The training process involves inputting multiple images of the type of object you want to detect followed by false images (images that do not contain…

Launchbot V2 is another TI MSP430G based robot using the R3D3 from Elenco (http://www.robotshop.com/elenco-line-tracking-robot-kit-1.html) as the frame.

The TI Launchpad is a easy to use low-cost debugger and flash programmer for the MSP430G line of TI microcontrollers.  The MSP430G2211 can be purchased from…

http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1134

"The GP2Y0D805 and GP2Y0D810 are Sharp’s smallest and…