This week on Maker Update, an alarmingly capable hexapod,
an led kaleidoscope, a chat GPT teddy bear, and a hackable pi watch.
Hello I’m Donald Bell And welcome back to another Maker Update,
Update the show where we update you on cool things makers are making.
Hope you're doing well. I've got a lot of cool stuff to share.
Let's get started with the project of the week.
Check out this Arduino powered hexa pod by Aecert Robotics.
Not only is it an incredible and slightly terrifying robot,
but the story behind this development is pretty amazing, too.
This robot was built from scratch in three months.
The 3D printed design, the code, the custom remote control, everything.
And unless there's something I'm not seeing here on his channel,
this is his first robot.
Granted, he has professional experience in coding and knows his way around
Blender 3D design software, thanks to his hobby in game development.
So I don't feel too bad about myself.
More than anything, though, you can tell in the first minute of his overview video
that Aecert has an all consuming obsession with hexa pods.
You don't do a project like this for funsies.
I know this kind of project rapture, and I can tell you
that this little demon was crawling around his head for who knows how long.
In his ongoing playlist, you'll hear about how he tackled
the mathematics of the unique hexa pod gait, how he got all those servos
to behave and not twitch, how he created his own PCB,
got his robot to jump, attack, and switch into crab mode.
It's really enjoyable to see how it all came together.
With any luck, Aecert will release the code and design files
once he feels it's in a good place.
Until then, I'll be eagerly checking back to see the progress.
More projects!
Deborah Ansell of Geek Mom Projects and Becky Stern have teamed up
to create a project video for Deborah's 3D printed LED Kaleidoscope.
The really cool idea here is that Deborah is using wireless induction powered LEDs.
These LEDs are encased in little 3D printed shapes
that help to diffuse the light.
And because they're wireless, they can freely shift around
as you turn the end cap, just like a conventional kaleidoscope.
You can find everything you need
to make this project yourself by following the link in the description.
On Adafruit, M. LeBlanc-Williams has a guide to how to make your own
AI, animatronic teddy bear using a Raspberry Pi and chat-GPT.
I mean, obviously we wouldn't want to bake artificial intelligence into something like that Hexa Pod,
but a teddy bear robot uprising seems somewhat manageable.
And what really helps is that toymaker
Gund already sells the animatronic bear.
It just needs some hacking and a few extra parts to get up and running.
Using this same formula you can Chat-GPT-ify all sorts of talking toys.
Billy Bass, Grogu, Furbys, twerking Santa.
There's a ton of spin off potential here.
Now for some tips and tools.
Have you ever thought
about building your own digital watch using an RP 2040 microcontroller?
Well, it turns out that it's something you can already go out and buy.
On Tindie, A seller called Maker Go
is selling a fully assembled watch based on the RP 2040.
I hesitate to call it a smart watch because I don't think there's
any wireless connectivity going on here, but it is hackable.
We know this because the good folks at Raspberry Pi tore one down,
wrote new code for it, and even created their own 3D printed case.
You can find a link to more details in the description.
On YouTube, Jimmy Diresta
has a great video covering
nine mistakes that beginners commonly make on the band saw.
It's a great video and a great title,
but it doesn't entirely account for all the uniquely Diresta
band saw tips and techniques that are captured here.
Not only is it entertaining, but it may save you a fingertip.
Tim Hunkin is back with another secret life of components video.
This time he's tackling a challenge every maker of every stripe
has had to contend with: Cutting holes. Big holes, tiny holes,
holes in wood, holes in metal, holes in concrete.
He looks at ancient tools, hand tools, electric tools,
and what you need to keep those tools sharp.
Back over on Adafruit, Erin St. Blaine has a video
and a written guide on tips and tricks for diffusing addressable LEDs.
Dialing in the diffusion on an LED project really is the magic touch that takes
something from looking like a blinking Christmas tree to a smooth, ethereal glow.
There are a bunch of ways to accomplish it from foams to fabrics,
and Erin covers them all.
For this week’s Digi-Key spotlight,
Looking at all those hexa pod servos got me curious about the selection
of servos on Digi-Key.
Not only is it a great way to surface results and sort by size
torque, voltage or RPM, but you're also going to stumble across
some unique options that you're just not going to find on other sites.
Here's a clutch servo made by DF Robot that when blocked for 5 seconds,
turns off and resets to avoid burning out.
Here's a servo by Kit Tronic
with alligator clips on the leads.
Here's a high torque giant metal servo made by HITEC.
And if you ever wanted to know what a $750 commercial servo looks like,
check out this beautiful all metal servo from Futaba.
Whether you're looking for something
specific or some surprising options you never knew existed.
You can find it all on Digi-Key.
All right.
And that does it for this week's show. Be sure to subscribe.
Leave a thumbs up. Leave a comment.
Big thanks to Digi-Key Electronics for making this show possible.
And thank you for watching. I'll see you soon.