Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories (www.evilmadscientist.com), in collaboration with Bruce Shapiro, Brian Schmalz and Ben Trombley, revealed the latest Egg-Bot – a machine that can draw on spherical or egg-shaped surfaces with incredible precision.
The kit is comprised of a chassis, pen-lifting servo motors, two stepping motors, USB cable, a power supply, a controller board and a Sharpie pen.
The Egg-Bot features a rigid but adjustable chassis, allowing user to mount spherical or ellipsoidal objects of different sizes and rotate them about the axis of symmetry through a computer-controlled stepping motor. Another stepping motor moves the pen about an axis perpendicular to the “egg” axis, while a servo motor lowers or raises the pen above the egg surface.
The software lets the user control the robot using a free illustration program Inkscape, and the user can draw an image directly, import designs or trace a photo from other programs. Whatever image the user chooses, the Egg-Bot will draw onto the surface using a robotically controlled pen.
According to evilmadscientist.com, the Egg-Bot can be used “to personalize Christmas ornaments or impress your friends with masterpiece Easter eggs.”
Since the machine needs to be assembled, it is a good starter kit for Do-it-yourself (DIY) robotics. The user can adapt it for other uses since all software and electronics are designed to be repurposable and hackable. The provider also suggests using the robot in controlling an Etch-a-Sketch.
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