Glove controlled 3d printed robot hand with Arduino.

The 3D printed hand has been going around the 'net lately, many people have been adding servos to make the fingers move.  Dschurman put up an instructable that takes the robot hand the next level.

The design of the hand comes from a project called inmoov.  It can be found here http://inmoov.blogspot.com.  The plastic parts for the hand are open source and are available to download from the website.

The goal of inmoov is to build parts for life-sized humanoid robots, an interesting project in itself!  If you have  a 3D printer or and excuse to buy one, check it out!

Anyway, dschurman decided that he would like to update the design so that the fingers on the plastic hand can be controlled via your fingers in a glove.  To accomplish this, the instructable shows you how to attach resistive flex sensors to a glove.  An Arduino Uno reads the signals from the glove and controls the 5 servos that are used to manipulate the robot hand.   Arduino code is provided.

I really want to see someone make "Thing" from the Adams family.  Having this thing run around the house on Halloween would be sweet!

Dschurman estimates the project costs about $100-$150 in parts (as long as you have access to a 3d printer, otherwise this project may get a lot more expensive :) ).
Check out the video!
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Robotic-Hand-Controlled-by-a-Glove-and-Arduino/

Regardless of the coolness factor, $150 for a prosthetic hand is a hell of a deal.  Its amazing what you can do with a little programming and a 3d printer.  You would think that this project is very close to be modified to allow someone to control it who has lost his/her hand.  I can't help but to think of the scene in Star Wars where Luke is getting a prosthetic hand after his battle with Darth Vader!

Convert an RC car to Arduino Robot Platform

Randofo over at Instructables posted quite a writeup on converting a RadioShack RC car to Arduino robot.  In fact, it looks like you can acquire all the parts at your local RadioShack.

This main guts of the project are based on an Arduino Uno and a Arduino motor shield.  Randofo removes the stock innards and wires the motors to the motor shield.  This particular truck has a single rear drive motor and one steering motor.  I would think that just about any cheap RC car would work.  The explanation is pretty light, but I think the ultrasonic transducers are for object avoidance.

The project is well documented with step-by-step pictures.  I especially like the build quality.  The whole unit looks like it would be pretty solid.  The entire unit is powered by an off the shelf 9V battery.  The only upgrade I would suggest would be a better battery pack.  I would imagine that those motors would drain that 9V battery in no time.   A rechargeable would be great, maybe the Lithium Polymer shield?  And I bet you could charge it with the 5V USB connection.

This project would be a great starting point to learn motor control and ultrasonic transducers!  Arduino code is provided.


Check it out!
http://www.instructables.com/id/RC-Car-to-Robot/

Simple self balancing Arduino robot

This super simple balancing robot project looks pretty easy to build.  It uses an accelerometer to provide motor data.  An Arduino Uno controls it all.  If your like me, I bet you could salvage most of the parts from the old bottomless closet.

It looks like there is plenty of room for improvement, maybe a wireless remote or some sensors to provide information to the Arduino about how to control the robot.  But overall, this would be a good platform to get started in self balancing robots, motor control and accelerometers.  Code for the Arduino is provided!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Self-Balancing-Segway-Instructabot/

Arduino Nano based Robot project for around $20.

PaulMakesThings has a pretty cool instructable on how to build a tiny Arduino Nano based robot.  This robot uses two modified 9g servos to provide propulsion.  There is a little bit of soldering and drilling, but should be manageable by just about anyone.  This would make a great (cheap) intro to Arduino and making things in general!

Basically, the Arduino nano provides a PWM signal to drive the servos in the direction requested, a small battery allows the device to run autonomously.  Paul has designed the project to allow the implementor to add sensors later on, allowing the platform to become as smart as you want it to be.  Add some IR sensors for line following or ultrasonics for object avoidance or maybe even an NRF24L01 to add wireless control.

I don't know about where you live, but around here you need some good projects to beat the winter blues.  This project would fit the bill.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Nano-based-Microbot/