things that are flexible, not rigid, so their shape isn’t
predictable.”
In operation, the robot “picks one up and turns it
slowly, first with one arm and then with the other. It uses a
pair of high resolution cameras to scan the towel to
estimate its shape. Once it finds two adjacent corners, it
can start folding. On a flat surface, it completes the folds —
smoothing the towel after each fold and making a neat
stack.” I’m still not ready to bring out the hats and horns,
but I have to admit that folding towels neatly seems to be
beyond my own capabilities. If you want details, you can
download the full report at www.jkeckert.com/free
downloads/towels.pdf.
“Snookie,” the robotic blind
Mexican cave fish.
UAV Navigates Murky Water
Also designed for navigating difficult aquatic
environments is “Snookie,” developed by researchers at the
Technische Universität München within the framework of
the Co TeSys (Cognition for Technical Systems) organization
( www.cotesys.de). The Plexiglas and aluminum AUV —
measuring 80 x 30 cm and driven by six propeller gondolas
— employs sensors that are based on a blind Mexican cave
fish (called
Astyanax), which
navigates via a
“lateral-line”
organ found only
in fish and some
amphibians.
Introducing Pololu’s new line of
Maestro USB Servo Controllers
Conduct a symphony of servos.
Three control methods: USB, TTL serial, and internal scripting
Free configuration and control application with motion sequencer
Channels can be used for digital I/O or up to 12 analog inputs
Individual servo speed and acceleration control for each channel
Up to 8 KB of internal scripting memory (~3000 servo positions)
0.25 us servo pulse resolution with pulse rate up to 333 Hz
Pololu's 6-channel Micro Maestro and new 12-, 18-, and
24-channel Mini Maestros take serial servo controllers to
the next level by incorporating native USB control for
easy connection to a PC and programmability via a
simple scripting language for self-contained, host
controller-free applications. Whether you want the best
servo controller available or a versatile, general-purpose
I/O control board, these compact devices will deliver.
#1356
Mini Maestro
24-Channel
$49.95
#1354
Mini Maestro
18-Channel
$39.95
#1352
Mini Maestro
12-Channel
$29.95
#1350
Micro Maestro
6-Channel
$19.95
SERVO 06.2010 9
more information at www.pololu.com/maestro