Tech Talk Hub

HOW TO MAKE A ROBOT How to Make a Robot - Lesson 1: Getting Started Lessons Menu: Lesson 1 – Getting Started Lesson 2 - Choosing a Robotic Platform Lesson 3 - Making Sense of Actuators Lesson 4 - Understanding Microcontrollers Lesson 5 - Choosing a Motor Controller Lesson 6 – Controlling your Robot Lesson 7 - Using Sensors Lesson 8 - Getting the Right Tools Lesson 9 - Assembling a Robot Lesson 10 - Programming a Robot Getting Started Welcome to the first instalment of the Grand  RobotShop  Tutorial, a series of 10 lessons that will teach you how to make your own robot. This tutorial is aimed at anybody willing to get started in robotics and have a basic understanding of terms such as “ voltage ”, “ current ”, “ motor ”, and “ sensors ”. Although this might seem pretty basic, even people with previous robot building experience might find useful information...

W e take for it granted that we can fly from one side of the world to the other in a matter of hours, but a century ago this amazing ability to race through the air had only just been discovered. What would the Wright brothers—the pioneers of powered flight—make of an age in which something like 100,000 planes takes to the sky each day in the United States alone? They'd be amazed, of course, and delighted too. Thanks to their successful experiments with powered flight, the aeroplane is rightfully recognized as one of the greatest inventions of all time. Let's take a closer look at how it works! Photo: You need big wings to lift a big plane like this  US Air Force C-17 Globemaster . The wings are 51.75m (169ft) wide—that's just slightly less than the plane's body length of 53m (174ft). The maximum takeoff weight is 265,352kg (585,000lb), about as much as 40 adult elephants! Photo by Jeremy Lock courtesy of US Air Force. How do planes fly? If you've ever wa...

Why Mathematics? Learning math is good for your brain.  Research conducted by Dr. Tanya Evans of Stanford University indicates that children who know math are able to recruit certain brain regions more reliably, and have greater gray matter volume in those regions, than those who perform more poorly in math.  The brain regions involved in higher math skills in high-performing children were associated with various cognitive tasks involving visual attention and decision-making.  While correlation may not imply causation, this study indicates that the same brain regions that help you do math are recruited in decision-making and attentional processes. 2. Math helps you tell time.  “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date.” – White Rabbit from the movie Alice in Wonderland.  Don’t let your ignorance of math make you like the White Rabbit! A recent study indicated that 4 out of 5 children living in Oklahoma City cannot read the hands on an analog clock to...