Clik here to view.
His First Robot
We just finished this project so a created a page just for it. This is a 5 hours project with my son Gérémy (7 years old at the time) who showed interest in doing some robotic using our old LEGO...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jumping on board
Here his a 'how-to' for running two low voltage (3.3V) micro controllers on a breadboard. The first one is the chip(s) used with the TI LaunchPad. I've tested this setup with the MSP430G2211 and the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LEGOtiny
After my last Mini RC Car project I knew I wanted to make a smaller better one. Some months later and this is the result: The reason why this one is in a LEGO body is because of this question on LEGO...
View ArticleClik here to view.
RoboTank #1 / The base
This is the first post about this new project using the TAMIYA Tracked Vehicle Kit as a base for building a robotic tank vehicle. This will be an ongoing project and you should expect many posts about...
View ArticleClik here to view.
RoboTank #2 / homemade PCB
This was my first attempt at making a PCB at home. I follow this awesome tutorial explaining how to make PCB using a laser printer. The first step was to design the board. For this I used ExpressPCB...
View ArticleClik here to view.
RoboTank #3 / motor driver version 2
Here is the second version of the programmable motor driver. It uses a L239D chip to drive two DC motors and modulate their speed individually. The board can be controlled with only two input wires....
View ArticleClik here to view.
DIY desk
This is our homemade studio desk. It's a large U-shaped desk built of plywood that is laminated with a nice wood layer. The desk (including an integrated back-shelf) is built onto the walls and has no...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LEGO's magic number is 37,112
Have you ever asked yourself this question: "How many times can I assemble LEGO bricks before they wear out?" Well... probably never but I did (on LEGO SE). The story would end there if didn't had the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Adventure Time Sword
My son was invited to the birthday party of one of his friend. His friend mentioned to him that he liked the Adventure Time cartoon and would like to have the sword. My son then told him that we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LEGO all worn out
As suggested by Christopher Gaul, I took some macro(ish) pictures of the wear patterns on both the studs of the bottom LEGO brick and the inside walls and tubes of the top LEGO brick. Clear marks are...
View Article3 Great Rockets Moments
Watching the SpaceX March 7th (2013) Grasshopper test, I realized that this was one of the best rocket video moments I had seen. Now, the minimum I could do was to list my [new] top 3. This list is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Test design & LiveTankGame
Well, while I'm working on the design of the new LEGO test rig (see test1), I'm getting back into the tank project. My generic goal for this long term project is to design a table top robotic game...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LEGO Wear Test #2 - Design
I have the basic design for the second LEGO wear test machine. Here is a prototype made with Castilene plastic: The result will be a long rig that will hold all 10 pairs of LEGO bricks to be tested...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Endor Observation Post
The story of a kids playhouse Some years ago, after the pool was wrecked by the weight of a record snow year, we dismantled a part of the deck. Suffering from the common makers sickness that prevents...
View ArticleClik here to view.
When in doubt... TLBRC
Oh yeah, this project is rolling again, thanks to The Little British Robot Company (TLBRC). Like many modern relationships, we met on Twitter. They followed me, I followed them. I complimented their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Inside the box
So close I can almost touch it. Parts for the LEGO Test Machine #2 are coming and I feel like a kid before Christmas. Here's some pictures taken by the guys at The LittleBritish Robot Company while...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Unboxing and Doodle cool
The parts for LEGO Test Machine #2 have made it safely across the Atlantic.Makeblock parts from The Little British Robot Company You can see me open the boxes and give some initial thoughts and ideas...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Once more into the [legotest] breach
Here's a video update about the progress of the LEGOtest machine #2 (#legotest) Here is some extra info and progress starting with something I forgot to mention in the video: the shorter lever beam....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Profiling DC motors
For the second design of the LEGO test machine #2, I stopped using rotary encoders an switched to ACS712 lowcurrent sensors. I initially hooked them to a multimeter and an Arduino to tweak the 2...
View ArticleClik here to view.
HC-05 Bluetooth link of 2 Arduino
In my first Arduino bluetooth experiment, I made an automatic connection between 2 Arduino using BlueSmirf modules. Based on the popularity of that post, it seems that many people are trying to do the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LEGO Test machine #2 is dead after 1 test
Well, that didn't last long. The machine did 1 full test and then died at about 1/3 of the second test. The first test result is 32,066 iterations, supporting the result from the Test Machine #1 which...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Stealth Evolution
I thought I was following the evolution of the stealth technologies but I had to tweak my understanding based on recent events.
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Maker in the Quebec Fortress
A couple of weeks ago I saw a tweet from @hackaday about their new hacker contest. The prize is only a trip to space... an actual trip to space worth around 200k. That evening I was browsing the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
HC-05 Bluetooth link with zero code
So you want to two HC-05 modules to automatically connect together, as soon as they're powered up and with zero code? Well this is your lucky day since this can be done using the AT+BIND command. Let's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Teeny Tiny Build
Bubble display and Femtoduino I just received a bunch of those really cool QDSP-6064 Bubble Displays and I had to build something with them right away. I quickly tried it using the sample code and, as...
View Article