Roboweek Day Two - Technological Overkill

I’m not sure if you’re subscribed to Robot Magazine (if you’re not, you should be), but if so then you’ll recognize our second Roboweek #robotofnote - DARwIn OP. The OP in this little humanoids name stands for Open Platform, meaning everything about him is available to the public. The code, the parts, and even instructions on how to make one yourself. So if you have tens of thousands of dollars of machinery, you can make a lil’Darwin yourself...Although I doubt most people have the tools/materials to do so.

What makes Darwin so amazing though is the amount of technology packed into such a little bot. He has multiple speakers, mics, an HD camera, built in wi-fi, a mini SD card slot, a 3 axis accelerometer, an ethernet port, 2 USB ports, HDMI out, and many more ridiculous features (I think that list is sufficiently jaw-dropping). The only thing that Darwin is missing are lasers - but I think everything currently crammed in there is sufficient for a little humanoid that stands just under a foot and a half tall. Darwin was made at Virginia Tech, and according to the video below, the project started in 2004, and has had many versions until their success (maybe my school should start something soon, so that by the time i graduate I’ll have a cool little robot to play with). To find out more information about Darwin-OP click HERE.



Are you celebrating #roboweek? What are you doing to celebrate? A good idea would be to download the RoboTechEd Chrome App! Check it out, and tweet @roboteched or @roboweek with any #robotofnote!