A customer who buys his components from Rapid is playing a key role in the development of a transatlantic robotics project.
Russell Pinnington of 1337 Robotics, based in Anglesey, North Wales, has been working on the 'Electric Giraffe' project for the last year. Created by Lindsay Lawlor in California, the electric giraffe is a 17-foot-tall robot simulating the looks and mannerisms of one of the world’s most instantly recognisable animals.
With the ability to walk, see, speak, move its neck, respond to human contact and carry passengers, the self-styled ‘Rave Raffe’ (above) is a popular sight at robotics festivals and technology fairs, where it spreads the gospel about robotics and its coat of LEDs provides a stunning spectacle after dark.
The project is evolving all the time, as Lawlor seeks to build more artificial intelligence into his mechanical beast. Pinnington is responsible for the electronics and programming side – the MAKE controller that powers the robot’s brain. He builds prototype circuits, then sends the code, schematics and prototypes across the pond to Lawlor. The products he buys from Rapid include PIC microcontrollers, oscillators, resistors and capacitor packs. As Pinnington says, ‘just about all the stuff I needed to get started in electronics came from Rapid, even my soldering iron.’
Pinnington and Lawlor’s immediate plans for the giraffe involve adding GPS technology, and modifications to improve the articulation of the head, so ‘Raffe’ can look around and move his jaws when he talks.
Click on the clip above for a feature from the Discovery Channel about the Electric Giraffe.
