Product that is back in stock - is this considered old or new news? I say it's good, because it's a BrutusBot that has regained its chassis and the rest, came back from vacation and ready to take over the world again:And we got some new stuff as well: Evil Mad Candle Flicker LED Assortment […]
Solarbotics at Calgary Comic Expo 2013
Solar botics
April 30, 2013
Whelp, many moons have passed since we posted last time (er, maybe that's a slight exaggeration), and many a thing have happened. We went to Las Vegas to the Magento conference, lasered some ukuleles, but mostly were in a mad rush preparing for the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo 2013. We teamed up with a wonderful costume designer and artist Angela Dale to produce wearable pieces that merge electronics and costume design.
Here's the first example - joint effort of Graeme Janzen, Angela Dale and Solarbotics. Custom Fosshape molded helmet is fitted perfectly to the wearer, and 3 layers of lasercut acrylic are edge-lit with 24 high-power white LEDs:
Our Voltron Helmet is based on the Black Lion toy design from Defender of the Universe, a popular cartoon in the mid eighties. Voltron consisted of 5 robot lions that joined together to form a Giant Robot that protected the galaxy from evil doers. The Black Lion in particular is special because it formed the head and torso of the combined Robot Voltron. Since the head had two different modes: Robot and Lion, it was intriguing to try to emulate the two modes as best as we could.
We used an Ardweeny, Multipack, TTLy FTDI, 2 Star Controllers, and 2 HXT900 servos to animate our replica and make it come alive with a few electronic bits. Special thanks to Angela Dale and Robyn Ayles (props designer and full-time faculty at the Mount Royal theater program) for their assistance!
This Chameleon Cocktail Ensemble was created by Angela and her assistants as a part of MakeFashion project. It uses 20 meter of addressable LED strips (add 5 meters in the headdress) powered by 3.7V LiPoly batteries, and ArduinoPro Mini to control the lighting sequences.
We also hosted the Arduino workshop at the Expo, with a slight costuming application bend and many blinky lights...
..and did lots of people watching.
Check out our Flickr photostream for details on more projects and photos!
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Shok Circuits
Here's a little something from Grant in the development lab - a very simple pair of circuits based on Mark Tilden's Bicore Shok architecture. This circuit makes for a very simple, effective Photovore robots, or even a photo-head. Take a look - schematics & parts listed included! We've also added a gallery entry for these […]
Solarbotics Toll-Free number
In case if you want to contact us regarding orders, technical information, or questions, please use our new toll-free number: 1-866-276-2687 (1-866-B-ROBOTS). Now, just because it's toll-free for YOU doesn't mean it doesn't cost us nothing, so don't call just to ask me what time it is, ok? Ok. Thanks!
Pummer Flower n' SparkFun Stuff
Ladies and gentlemen, it is with deep regret that I present you with our last news post of August. Next week will become September, which causes uncontrollable weeping for students, parents of students, and anyone who was ever a student. Lots of pain all around. Heck, some of the Calgary trees are already starting to […]
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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.