Overview of Robot projects on Kickstarter from RoboHunter

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    Another month has passed since our last review , and Kickstarter continues to stamp new robot designs. Some of them are clumsy, others, on the contrary, are a matter of pride for their developers.

    For comparison, the selection contains startups that have already completed the fundraising and are almost ready to start serial production.

    It should be noted the general tendency towards “educational” models for children , which, according to startups, are able to seat a young child for robotics and coding.

    On the other hand, it's nice to see “build it yourself” projects. Naturally, they do not carry great user value, but as an example to follow - very much nothing. Looking through these initiatives on Kickstarter, once again you are convinced of the enormous potential of the miniature programmable platforms Raspberry Pi and Arduino.

     

    Seek N 'Sneak



    Aggressive robot arm for moving items has already won the Staff Pick badge from Kicstarter. First of all, for the realization of a childhood dream - a faithful companion who can "give a crab" or collect things scattered on the table.



    Inside the robot, an almost complete set of “growth” modules is installed: Raspberry Pi, accelerometer, CMOS camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for remote control. So if someone gets bored of packing things, he can always expand the functionality of his Seek N 'Sneak with a couple of extra lines of code.




    Bombinibot



    Despite the ridiculous Italian name, BombiniBot inspires confidence and even admiration. This is perhaps one of the few successful educational programs in robotics, which combines construction and programming.



    BombiniBot is based on Lego universal spare parts, which significantly expands the capabilities of young talents. The familiar Raspberry Pi is installed on top of the frame. It is worth recognizing that the creators of BombiniBot thoroughly approached their startup and at the time of launch they had already prepared a software environment with code blocks for quick setup of the robot.

    The only thing left is to train a new generation of robotics. That, apparently, the issue has already been resolved. About a month is left until the fundraising is completed, and the project has already been sponsored by more than the modest amount of $ 3,521.




    mBot



    Another training robot , but this time it was based on Arduino, iron parts from the Soviet designer and a programming shell for coding scratch 2.0. Unlike BombiniBot, Asians did not stint on the price and set a ransom of $ 250,000.



    True, this model has a screen with funny eyes and wireless control, which again is the merit of Arduino, but not the development team. Honestly, it remains a mystery to us how the project managed to collect 285 thousand dollars.




    Thynkbot



    Fur has always been a favorite genre of Japanese anime. Controlling a robot with an EEG helmet - all the better! ThynkBot developers decided to bring this sci-fi to life. The inventors proposed an EEG headset and a two-wheeled robot, which can be controlled by the power of thought.



    The project started on Kickstarter on June 13, but so far has not attracted the confidence of the audience and scored only 2 out of 100 thousand dollars. Apparently, the blame for the video is too beautiful and the lack of any technical details in the description. Moreover, on pre-order "fiction" costs only 350 dollars.

    One can only hope that someday we can still command the armies of robots with the help of thought.




    Gimbal



    Despite the fact that the gimbal was invented back in the 3rd century BC, it still remains an expensive toy. Full-fledged robotic suspensions are used in video shooting, but these cranes are so dimensional that they are absolutely not suitable for amateur recording.



    Today, prices for amateur mounts start from 10 thousand rubles and float up. It all depends on the stabilization mechanism and the quality of the product. Therefore, the developers came up with the idea of ​​Gimbal - an easy-to-use gimbal for the camera.

    The startup confidently raised 6 thousand dollars, and now enthusiasts are in full swing collecting the first batch of cardan suspensions. 




    Edu



    A well-started startup “build it yourself” for robotics lovers. As an experimental robot, the developers proposed to stamp the quadrocopter. Everything looked simple and pretty: assembled, programmed, shot with a laser.



    Eedu has even been awarded Kickstarter's Staff Pick label. However, the project managed to collect only half of the declared amount - 50 thousand dollars. Debriefing showed that Kickstarter is simply full of “training” robots and even the new format of a flying drone is not able to break through a wave of new products.




    Pancakebot



    One of the benefits of the idea of ​​3D printing is the versatility of technology. Thanks to brave experimenters, the list of materials operated by the printing press is growing every day. That's how the developers of Pancake Bot playfully decided to create a printer for printing pancakes.



    In the USA pancakes are called pancakes (cakes in a pan). In this case, instead of a frying pan, we decided to use a red-hot working form of a 3D printer, and instead of a cook's hand, we used a special extruder.  

    The idea hit the mark. Everyone loves pancakes - so the project raised almost half a million dollars from the claimed 50 thousand, and investors are already licking their lips in anticipation of their own Pancake Bot. 




    SlushEngine Stepper Motor Driver



    In addition to full-fledged robots, on Kickstarter in full swing they are also promoting additional mods, spare parts for robotics. In this case, Canadians decided to create a programmable board for controlling motors.



    The key feature of the mod is the ability to offload the processes of the main board. The controller works well in conjunction with the Raspberry Pi, Beaglebone and Arduino and supports up to 4 independent engines.




    Wireless Robotic Interface For Radio Controlled Cars



    Another mod, this time an add-on for a radio-controlled car. Created on the basis of Arduino and essentially integrates all the features of the board in any radio-controlled model, thereby saving the user from the costs associated with building the case.
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    Mobile Tackling Target



    In conclusion, we want to offer a fun design of the target for training in American football. By and large, this is not even a robot, but a mobile pear with a gyroscope that will run across the field and rise after a rapid strike by a defender.
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    I really want to watch how an angry athlete runs around the field for a rubber bulb.

     

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