Play – Page 8 – Journeys 3.1

Unsolicited Gifts

Reviewed our unsolicited holiday gift collection: a “gifting set” from The LEGO Company (wrapping paper, card, stickers, etc.), a face mask from our state representative, and plastic champagne flutes from the Minnesota Orchestra (to be used during their New Year’s Eve broadcast).

Learning in a Time of Covid

In these days of Covid, travel is not an option. Instead, learning new stuff has been fueling our ikigai (getting us out of bed in the morning), and giving us plenty to talk about over dinner. Until one of our dinnertime conversations, I thought grow lights were pretty straightforward. Apparently the cognoscente measure “photosynthetically active…… Continue reading Learning in a Time of Covid

Redesigning a Robot’s Joint

With temperatures dropping to single digits (Fahrenheit), decided to stay inside and rest my joints. Spent much of the day redesigning one of my robot’s six joints.

Globetrotter Martha

Google Photos’ People-and-Pets search feature makes it easy to click a face and go directly to photographs of that person. Here’s an example from our photo collection: My mum, a good friend all the way back to my childhood, my dad, New Orleans brother-in-law, another good friend (we go back 40 years), Fargo sister-in-law, and,…… Continue reading Globetrotter Martha

Understanding Axes

Used a straw constructor toy I just happen to have to help understand the axes (red=x, green=y, blue=z—the rotational axis) for each joint in my current robot according to industry standards. I find it difficult to think spatially, so need to double-check

Robotic Arm

Spent way too much time working on the robotic arm I’m building. Currently it has 8 servo motors, 3 microcomputers, pneumatics, and machine vision. The main challenges, now, are software engineering and redesigning subassemblies as I learn more. Then, I’ll take it all apart.