Month: October 2012

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Image isn’t everything, but it’s worth more than I’ve invested to date.

I start way too many sentences with the word “So”. When I bought the label maker and the new printer a few weeks ago I was delighted that everything started to look more professional. Now that I’m back from Stanford and looking ahead I see that’s a really low hanging fruit – I can get a logo made, improve the look & feel of the website, maybe even get tshirts. Those count as company uniforms, right? That’s a tax write off, yes? Nice.

Have you got ideas that would make this place look more put-together? Let us know in the forums or contact us directly.

Also: I’m trying to get Robert Khoo‘s attention. If you are connected to him in some way, please let me know!

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Transforming a line-following robot into a maze-solving robot

On a dare about a year ago I built a line following robot in an hour. I made it into CanDo, the robot in a can. People said “what’s the point? If you tell me how to do everything then what’s left for me to discover?”

Great feedback! I like a puzzle as much as the next person. I think the way forward is to prove that it can be done and then put all the modification instructions into a separate document… like a walkthrough or a cheat sheet for your favorite game. Of course, if you want to figure it out with other people then join the forums now and start a conversation.

Pictured here are some of the first steps as I’m testing the new “eyes” and making sure the robot knows what to do when it reaches an intersection. Here’s a hint: Right-hand rule.

The middle piece that looks like a Y is the end of the maze.

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Python Drawbot

One of the local VHS members has ported the Drawbot code to Python. Here’s the Github repository for Python Drawbot GUI. Awesome! Thanks, Michael!

If you’re into Python and Drawbot development, please join the forums and introduce yourself. I’d love to see some collaboration happening.

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Sent in

A two-layer image? Interesting….

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FabLearn 2012 at Stanford

Stanford was beautiful and warm, the people were beautiful and warm, the food was… I think you know where this is going. I had a great time on campus listening to the informative talks and participating in strange workshops. I got a good reminder about keeping an open mind.

I had two whole minutes to talk to a room full of teachers, easily my biggest opportunity this year. How well did I do? That’s a tough call. I think what I’ve learned is that marketing in the states is not worth it for me because I can’t make an on-the-spot sale, even when people are waving their wallets at me. I just hope they visit the shop and place an order.

In any case, here’s some photos of things I saw on my trip.