Saturday, April 14, 2012

Robot Fest 2012 pics & vids

This year I went to the annual http://www.robotfest.com/
Description from their website:
Robot Fest is an annual event for anyone interested in the creative use of technology. We welcome all roboticists, hackers, artists, hobbyists and makers of any age who have the unquenchable urge to develop and create new, previously unseen forms from lifeless electronics, fabrics and mechanical parts. Join the fun and excitement with hands-on exhibits, and workshops!
 It was super fun!  If you're a parent or a teacher of any STEM subject, please do whatever you can to attend one of these with your kid(s) and/or students!  There were plenty of opportunities for hands-on interaction ranging from:

  • creating music with a theramin 
  • using a hacked Microsoft Kinect to virtually manipulate a puppet or robotic arm
  • playing battle-bots! (automated or remote-controlled)
  • building and then listening to your own radio
  • building and launching a rocket
  • creating circuits with a play-doh like substance
  • generating electric currents, comparing visible light to infrared, and lots more
There were activities which were suited for children of all ages, from k through college-level and adults!  From simply flipping a switch which causes some lights to blink to elaborate circuit diagrams and manipulating complex machinery, there was something for everyone.  People who enjoy seeing how things work would have a field day here, it was amazing and very enjoyable for yours truly. 

Below are some images and videos (click to enlarge)

cardboard cutout robots

The Enigma machine de-coder

The enigma machine!

Create your own radio!

HAM radio operators (the gentleman on the left was very friendly and informative).

Yours truly in infrared. I guess I have poor circulation in my hands?

Lego Battle-bots!

Makebot makin' a drawing.

No caption needed.  This was a fully functioning R2D2.

A makerbot making a 3d bunny.

Here are some happy robots.

Detailed (and functioning) scale model warships.

More warships.
Makerbot RepRap making a bunny. 


Non-Newtonian fluid in action


Makerbot drawing the robotfest logo.  (very meta)


Kinect demo. Wave your hands to manipulate the puppet.


White house vs. congress. I'm sure this is a metaphor for something.


Four battlebots duke it out!

Some videos I've made in the past month

Hello everyone,

In the past month I've made a few videos related to math and computers. Your comments, criticisms, and even requests for future videos are welcome!

Hope you're having a great weekend,
Joe DiNoto

LaTeX tutorial vid #13 -- common errors and how to correct them. Part of a series (full playlist here)



Happy Pi day! (The juggling of mathematics and why 31416 is a valid 3-ball pattern).



Exploring shifts & translations of an exponential function. y = a + b(1-exp(-cx)) Inspired by a student's question on Open Study.



Math RageComic - my reply to a comic about math confusion that's been making the rounds on the internet.



How to take an effective screenshot on a Windows computer. Many of my students want to know how to do this, so I finally made a video. :)