A science fiction festival,  a robotic society… lets put them together and there we go.

And so we did last Saturday, by offering a demonstration for the public of Con-Version25.  We put our robots in motion, explaining-  how they behave, what is their duty, how they are built.

To promote the Robot Games 2010,  we had a mini sumo wrestling fight and  Micro-tanks mine sweeper driving around in the crowd . We Also had a member’s new creation, a mini replica of Johny 5, from the movie Short Circuit.

We also introduced our new RS Media, from WowWee. He is a humanoid type of robot, with walking capablities and other features like multi media and customizable routines.

It was a very good experience  and we are looking forward to Con-version26

RS Media humanoid type robot.

Mini sumo on the wrestling ring

Mini sumos escaping from the ring to meet people

Download it For Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux 32Bit.

Arduino Software Release Notes

0017 - 2009.07.25

[documentation / examples]
* Many new and revised examples from Tom Igoe.

[core / libraries]
* Updated LiquidCrystal library by Limor Fried.  See reference for details.
* Updated Firmata library to version 2.1 (rev. 25).
* Replaced the Servo library with one (MegaServo) by Michael Margolis.
  Supports up to 12 servos on most Arduino boards and 48 on the Mega.
* Improving the accuracy of the baud rate calculations for serial
  communication (fixing double-speed problems on 8 MHz Arduino boards).
  Thanks to gabebear.

[environment]
* Synchronized with the Processing 1.0.3 code base (rev. 5503), bringing
  many improvements (listed below).
* New icons and about image by Thomas Glaser (envis precisely).
* Support for multiple sketch windows.
* The serial monitor now has its own window.
* Comment / Uncomment menu item (in Edit) and keyboard shortcut.
* Increase and Decrease Indent menu items (in Edit) and keyboard shortcuts.
* Support for third-party libraries in the SKETCHBOOK/libraries folder.
* Libraries are now compiled with the sketch, eliminating the delay when
  switching boards and the need to delete .o files when changing library
  source code.
* Arduino now comes as an app file (in a dmg) on the Mac.
* Adding the Arduino Nano w/ ATmega328 to the Tools > Board menu.

Hi Everyone,

I am very pleased to announce that June 27, 2009 the WCRS will be holding a mini sumo matchup.

Sponsored by Solarbotics, we have a grand prize of a Sumovore Mini Sumo Kit to give away.

To register for the event, please send an email to president@robotgames.com no later than June 26, 2009.  If you do not register in advance, we cannot guarantee your ability to compete.

Please note that the spirit of this competition is to have fun, so tell your family and friends, and let’s all make it a great day!

We will be holding the games at the Calgary Aerospace Museum.  (Map)  Event will start at 10:30am sharp
There is no charge for registration for this event, however we would like to encourage people to purchase a yearly membership to the Aerospace Museum.  You will also receive membership to the WCRS included as an added benefit.

Good luck to all competitors, and any WCRS members that would like to volunteer for judging- please email me directly.

Mark Martens
President, 2009
WCRS

Arduino 16 IDE Released!

Download for:

Windows | Mac OS X | Linux (32 Bit)

Arduino Software Release Notes

0016 - 2009.05.30

[documentation / examples]
* New communication examples (w/ corresponding Processing and Max/MSP code) by
  Tom Igoe.

[core / libraries]
* Adding support for the Arduino Pro and Pro Mini 3.3V / 8 MHz w/ ATmega328.
* Adding support for the LilyPad Arduino w/ ATmega328.
* Adding write(str) and write(buf, size) methods to Print, Serial, and the
  Ethernet library Client and Server classes.  This allows for more efficient
  (fewer packet) Ethernet communication.  (Thanks to mikalhart.)
* Improvements to the way the Ethernet library Client class connects and
  disconnects.  Should reduce or eliminate failed connections and long
  timeouts.  (Thanks to Bruce Luckcuck.)
* Optimizing the timer0 overflow interrupt handler (used for millis() and
  micros()).  Thanks to westfw and mikalhart.
* Fixing bug that limited the bit() macro to 15 bits.  Thanks to Paul Badger.
* Adding ARDUINO version constant (thanks to prodding from mikalhart).

[environment]
* Ordering the items in the Tools > Board menu.
* Adding "Copy as HTML" command to the Tools menu.
* Eliminating (maybe) the occasional "Couldn't determine program size" errors.
  Thanks to the Clever Monkey.
* Moving selection of Linux look-and-feel into the arduino script so it can
  be changed by users.  Thanks to Eberhard Fahle.

[tools]
* Adding automatic dependency generation to the Makefile.  (Lars Immisch)

We built a Solar Powered Robot Ecosystem display to promote our society. 

It can be seen at the Aerospace Museum. (Map)
It has been a great demonstration of team work.  Thanks to everyone who helped to complete the project !

If you have any solar powered robots you’d like to turn loose in the ecosystem, bring ‘em down and we’ll let them play!

 The Completed display!

 Interested to see the light bring forth life!

 Craig proudly commisioning the display.

 Very interesting to sit back and watch the robots.

Via a post on Adafruit:  (Original post on Ideas for Dozens)

Today, the world of physical computing closely resembles the personal computer industry circa 1975. We’ve been around for a few years struggling around the edges with tools and products that were designed, priced, and packaged for serious industry, but we haven’t made any money and we haven’t moved the world. That’s about to change.

Great article, and good to read even if you are not into the Arduino craze.