Solarbotics and the Useless Box have been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article "Looking for Something Useful to Do With Your Time? Don't Try This"! It is dedicated to the historical overview of the uselessness starting with its invention in the 1950s to nowadays. The useless box can take many guises, names and materials […]
Back from PDXBot04
Dave Hrynkiw
June 8, 2004
Grant and I are back from Portland. Nice damp city, that one...reminds me of where I grew up in B.C.
We had a great time under the hospices of Monty Goodson and the rest of the PDXBot crew. We had a good time seeing cool new custom robots by Josh Triska (1st place Advanced Mini-Sumo with "Lo-Bot") and Daryl Sandberg ("Slik", who was out for StrongBad blood this year!). 2Strong2Bad was a bit outclassed this year by really, really fast robots, although it was still the only 4WD mini-sumo there.
We were a bit ambitious with the sheer number of robots we entered:
- 4 Mini-Sumo (2Strong2Bad, StrongBad, Sumovoracious, Ender's Wraith)
- 1 Micro-Sumo (Microvore)
- 2 Nano-Sumo (Princess Becky and BittyBad)
- 2 Walkers (Servocore and ScoutWalker2)
- 2 Line Followers (Herbie and Atmel Sumovore)
- A Family (8?) of Herbies for the Robot Talent Show
How'd we do?
- 1st and 2nd in Nano
- 2nd in Mini-Sumo (Grant's own "Ender's Wraith" - Yaaaay Grant!)
- 3rd in Robot Talent Show
- An unnofficial 2nd in Beginner Line Follower (we just demo'd a Line Follower Herbie)
- 3rd in Micro-Sumo (Grrr...We'll get you Mouse-Trap!)
- 3rd in the Walker Race
Not only that, but Sumovores placed 1st (Kris Miles) and 3rd (Leif Bowlin) in Amateur Mini-Sumo!
In other news, the Calgary Flames fought the honourable fight, but Cinderella was finally handed back her broom by Tampa Bay. Nice work guys! Not many teams can go from last place to almost first place in one season!
MORE POSTS
New Inexpensive Gearmotors!
Woohoo! We're thrilled to announce that Solarbotics is the exclusive importer for these Mark Tilden-designed gearmotors. 224:1 ratio, lots of torque, modifiable - these are idea for high-torque applications like walkers and turbots. Check the "New Items" listing on the left side for details, or view them directly here: GM2 (offset) or GM3 (90 degree) […]
Maker Faire, Nunchucky, PumLantern
WOW! What a week! Most of us have returned from Maker Faire, where we had a fantastic time. We met a lot of great people, saw loads of neat projects and displays, and got a chance to take in some beautiful California weather. We're absolutely exhausted after an insanely long and busy weekend, but we're […]
Solarbotics at PDXBot04
Grant and I have been back from PDXBot a few weeks now, and I put together a wee movie showing off some of the (limited) video I shot. You get to see Grant winning 2nd place in Mini-sumo, me NOT using a camera correctly (I got record on/off reversed during a Grant/me match), and some […]
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!
Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.
Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.