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The name Sparky is based on an acronym for Self Portrait Artifact Roving Chassis I an awkward title for an art project begun in the early 90s. S...
Chassis and Drive Train: Vex is popular educational robotic kit. Its a lot like a traditional Erector set, with the added inclusion of sophisticat...
Power: A compact 12v, 7Ah hobby battery. Coupled with a run-of-the-mill, DC to AC power inverter, it provides enough juice to run the robot for a fe...
Brain: A first-gen Mac Mini is cheap and offers great power and functionality in a tiny package including WiFi, Bluetooth, and enough ports to hook ev...
Nervous System: To bridge the gap between the computer and the servo motors, Sparky uses a MAKE Controller board.
Software: Sparky uses Skype, the popular free VoIP and vide-chat software as the basis for the current telepresence set-up, but we have augmented its...
Other Components: LCD monitor, mouse, keyboard Webcam Cables - USB, Firewire, Ethernet, power, video, audio Adjustable power supply for boosti...
Tools: Allen wrench for Vex Screwdriver Snips Assorted zip ties
Past versions of Sparkys chassis have been based on different materials, including welded steel, legos and more. The current version of Sparky takes...
The VEX kit includes many great parts, including standard servos with a limited 180* range of motion, but also two full-rotation motors servos which...
The VEX servos are not very powerful, but by using the enclosed gears, they can still provide enough torque to the wheels although with the sacrific...
Quite a bit of time has been spent reworking the VEX chassis to keep it as light as possible and still have all the parts fit. Particularly challengi...
One reason why the current Sparky is so small is due the inspirational size of the Mac Mini. It was a remarkable realization that the computing power...
A controller board is required to make a physical connection between the Mac and the servo motors. The board receives commands from the computer and ...
Sparky actually uses requires two computers - the onboard Mac Mini, and some other computer that is web-enabled and video-chat ready. Think of this s...
Driving Sparky is a unique experience, a blend of Martian rover sim and live social networking peppered with frequent technical fire drills. It makes...
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Nov 4, 2008
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