I attended the Milwaukee Robotics Club Meeting on May 21st, 2011 at the Milwaukee Makerspace. There were a handful of people in the electronics lab working on various electronics and robotics projects.
David had a quadcopter assembled, and was doing some early testing. He started out with it tied down to a table and after things seemed to be working, he ended up doing a short flight. It looks like getting the hang of flying it may take some time, but it’s a pretty cool looking project.
David also had his “Junkbot” there as well. I think it’s pretty sweet looking, and undeserving of the name “Junkbot” but hey, he can call it what he wants! It sounds like most of David’s robots will eventually have cameras mounted on them. Robot overlord will be watching over us soon…
Jason and his daughter had a LEGO Mindstorms robot that they were controlling with an Android app that they wrote. Also, take note programmers: if you’re thinking of using the word “no” try using the word “false” instead. Great advice from Jason! :)
As for me, I continue to work on Drawbot, mainly the actual programming of it. I got there late and had to leave early, so I didn’t get too much done, but it was fun and inspiring to see what everyone else was working on. Royce also said that he’s willing to help anyone who has a project started, or in mind. He’s sort of the robotics expert around the Makerspace.
I believe meetings will be the third Saturday of each month, from 1pm to 4pm. I’m pretty sure I won’t make it in June since it’s my birthday, but stop by if you can and see what’s happening.