Re:Google Acquires Boston Dynamics
by mikepurvis on Saturday December 14, 2013 @01:16PM
(#6906457)
> Right now, buy some motors, buy some metal stock, bearings, shaft, pulleys, etc. and start designing a machine around them. Long before you get to the algorithms of running a robot, there are the physics of it, the basic electronics knowledge, and the design and machining.
This is very much a need. The Turtlebot is a low-cost ($1300) way to get a lot of functionality out of the box, though the lack of manipulator does limit what you can accomplish.
If you (or your lab/company) does have a five-figure budget for hardware, there are a number of very attractive off-the-shelf options which exist to prototype on: http://wiki.ros.org/Robots/#Portals
(Disclosure: I work for Clearpath Robotics, which design and manufacture several of the machines on that page.)
This is very much a need. The Turtlebot is a low-cost ($1300) way to get a lot of functionality out of the box, though the lack of manipulator does limit what you can accomplish.
If you (or your lab/company) does have a five-figure budget for hardware, there are a number of very attractive off-the-shelf options which exist to prototype on: http://wiki.ros.org/Robots/#Portals
(Disclosure: I work for Clearpath Robotics, which design and manufacture several of the machines on that page.)