tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484943102107739496.post6039871592180736395..comments2023-03-01T07:46:47.230-05:00Comments on Pursuit of Unorthodox Ideas: Can open source hardware movement be used to realize low cost educational robots? SK Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08212054102534056561noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484943102107739496.post-6778531293502049322013-04-29T10:40:16.904-04:002013-04-29T10:40:16.904-04:00Thanks, SK. I agree with everything you say here. ...Thanks, SK. I agree with everything you say here. I am very interested to see how our efforts with the open source hand turn out. We are trying very hard to minimize many of those obstacles that you point out, but there are challenges, of course. We will be learning a lot in the coming months about what it takes to get people to invest the time and money to build an open source platform (even if it is much less money that purchasing it), and then being happy with the results. One particular challenge will be getting people/groups who aren’t “mechanically inclined” to be willing/able to build these platforms, as even the simplest steps can be daunting/difficult. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11861024539376496321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484943102107739496.post-2239849972536062952013-04-21T23:55:49.445-04:002013-04-21T23:55:49.445-04:00A distinct benefit I see from open source hardware...A distinct benefit I see from open source hardware is variety. Uniformity can control quality and expectations, but can also limit the ability to innovate from existing designs. One type of solution for one robot may work fantastically, but put that solution it in a different environment or make the robot do another task and it can present a problem. This applies to both modules and full designs.<br /><br />This is where a student, hobbyist, or engineer can look at an open source design and consider how to complete a certain task, fit certain parameters, and improve on existing hardware. This spawns both education and innovation. Students can create a standard kit robot to learn the basics, and then truly explore robotics when they develop a different design idea and put their ideas into action. Arduino has mastered this model by having many unique platforms that support many applications by bridging software and hardware in a very affordable package. Creating a platform that can spark and support new ideas is difficult, especially for educators, and open source hardware reduces that starting barrier for robotics education, research, and home development.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15829437241420927670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484943102107739496.post-45652048536349047352013-04-09T17:02:57.781-04:002013-04-09T17:02:57.781-04:00Also: As far as I'm aware, DIY drones (http://...Also: As far as I'm aware, DIY drones (http://diydrones.com) may be the closest to what we are talking about here, although they are focused on the hobbyist rather than the educator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07129706192098284973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484943102107739496.post-42489451327613074812013-04-09T16:57:17.504-04:002013-04-09T16:57:17.504-04:00The call for an educational robotics company with ...The call for an educational robotics company with an IKEA-like business model is really interesting. Last fall, I helped organize a group 'hackathon' that took place over an entire weekend at the University of Maryland as part of a student group called Hyperion. Once we got up and running, you could see the fun that students were having and the ideas flowing through the room. Unfortunately our progress was astonishingly slow: libraries for computer vision codes had to be synced, motors only work with specific speed controllers which also only work with specific batteries, etc. The lack of interchangeability, both in software and hardware, was a huge issue for us. It would be great to see an effort from some university/group take the lead in making robotics more easily accessible for common students.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07129706192098284973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484943102107739496.post-63644683955511996362013-04-09T16:55:30.105-04:002013-04-09T16:55:30.105-04:00Interesting article. However I think we should be ...Interesting article. However I think we should be careful when we use the term "open source robotics". Modularity is a big problem with open source hardware. What mechanism design is optimal for one robot may not be optimal for some other robot. IKEA has done a great job in terms of creating fastener "modules" for furniture. It continues to amaze me how MOST of IKEA furniture fasteners rely on one out of three or four signature IKEA fastening methods.<br /><br />In my opinion releasing complete open source designs for a very specific robot would be of limited value. Unlike in software design (where an unfamiliar person can somewhat comprehend what functions/modules perform what tasks), it is hard for someone unfamiliar with the design process to break the hardware design into specific modules. <br /><br />The starting point for open source hardware still needs to be open source modules that can be a part of a "mechanism library" for specific tasks. These designs should be self contained on the inside for the specific task it needs to perform. (similar to functions/packages in open source software). Tweaking simple parameters such as the build material or predesignated parameters in the link geometry should be able to make these designs modular.<br />Arvind Ananthanarayananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809970398434059661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484943102107739496.post-55488422399773456202013-04-06T21:50:37.119-04:002013-04-06T21:50:37.119-04:00"Open source robotics" holds a tremendou..."Open source robotics" holds a tremendous potential to accelerate progress in robotics and make robots ubiquitous in our society. As pointed out in the article, students are unable to access the right technology, and at the right moment, due to the high costs involved. This thereby makes it difficult to tap into their passion and high imagination capacities for creating novel robots. I see the open source approach as the best solution to this problem. There is also a wikipage now dedicated to this topic( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_robotics ). I suggest that the two open source robots-crocodile and stair climber-be added to this page. When I designed and built four miniature wheeled robots (all from scratch) during my PhD, I wanted to standardize the designs, so others can replicate them for their research, but I didn't have a clue about how to proceed. Now, I realize: open source is the way to go. <br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02197477385747188966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484943102107739496.post-86119313205111761872013-04-05T22:12:13.605-04:002013-04-05T22:12:13.605-04:00In my opinion open source hardware should definite...In my opinion open source hardware should definitely lead to lower cost robots, and enhance innovation in robotics field. One issue could be the resulting lack of standardization of design procedures and of components.... but I guess that was the price to pay for open source software as well, and it can be overcome.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12771046630472409358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484943102107739496.post-48258245340640668902013-04-05T20:58:27.467-04:002013-04-05T20:58:27.467-04:00It would be interesting to look at evolution of Ma...It would be interesting to look at evolution of MakerBot (and the likes) in terms of materials (metals compared to resin) to see if robots in turn can be used to create low cost/educational robots. Open source model / marketplace for robotic components looks like a step in the right direction.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com