Category Archives: Culture of Robots

Meet Joe Willis

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Described by Jay Ingram as the “most remarkable young maker” that he has EVER seen, we are proud to introduce Joe Willis: Beakerhead’s much adored and hyper-talented youth ambassador.

 

L: What are you making/ building these days?

J: I have so many projects on the go that I don’t know where to start. The list of completed projects is much, much shorter. When it came time to prepare for CYSF 2013 I sadly couldn’t include everything that I had prepared. It was tough to cut some things out. Even then my trifold board was barely visible behind all the stuff I wanted to exhibit. When I go to places like Western Canada Robot Society (WCRS) or the Botzone, I am like a pinball, bouncing around learning about what other people are up to and it all sounds good to me.

Maker Faire 2012

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Maker Faire was a great success for its inaugural run here in Calgary.

Thanks to all who could come out and enjoy it!

Faby Martin has done her usual amazing work photographing the event.

Check out her pictures of the 2012 Calgary Mini Maker Faire!

Next year is going to be even bigger so start your projects today!

Special thanks to Don Greer, as well as Gina and Jason Nenniger for all their hard work.  We figure over 120 people took part in our “Learn to Solder” workshop, which was sponsored in part by Make: Magazine.

I’d also like to thank Dave Levesque and his girlfriend for coming by and showing off WCRS to the public.

As a final thank-you, we have to recognize Westjet for their fantastic contribution to the WCRS.  We will announce the winner of the draw shortly, which was made possible from their ‘WestJetters Caring for our Community‘ program.  Thanks to Shannon Hoover and Don Greer for making this happen.

I had a fantastic day and can’t wait for next year’s event!

Beakerhead

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Jeremie and I had an opportunity to attending the announcement event for Beakerhead!

Aiming to be a fusion of science, engineering and creativity (a video presentation called to mind the kind of wacky robotic contraptions you see at Burning Man), Beakerhead is the brainchild of co-founders Jay Ingram, best known for his work with the Discovery Channel, and his partner Mary Anne Moser. Collaborating organizations at this point include the U of C’s Schulich School of Engineering, Mount Royal University,SAIT Poytechnic, Telus Spark, the Glenbow Museum and local arts groups such as the High Performance Rodeo, the Calgary Animated Objects Society and the Green Fools.

Check out http://www.beakerhead.org/ for more info!

You can also follow them on twitter @Beakerhead

ten-pound robot for hostile [military] environments

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Here is an article [with video] that I found about a small robot for ‘rough’ terrain.  The article says the basic unit can be either tracked or wheeled, but the video shows only the tracked version.  From context this appears to be strictly remote controlled, with no onboard navigation or sensor interpretation.  Something like this would make a good base [just add smarts :) ] for the cross-country / Darpa style challenge idea that has been bounced around at WCRS events on a regular basis.

Versatile robot rascals weigh in for battle

The press release linked from the article has a ‘little’ more detail.  There is also a facebook page with more pictures, still only the tracked version though

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Phil