Hello Robo/KickstarterA Georgia-based company called Hello Robo has a dream, a dream where everyone who owns a 3D printer can have a robot of their own, a dream that—I’ll stop that now.
Maki is a robot that you can build for under $600—it’d apparently set you back anywhere between $450 to $525—with the help of “readily available electronics, easy to print designs, and open source software,” according to Hello Robo’s Kickstarter page.
The Maki itself is made from six AX-12 Dynamixel Actuators from Robotis, an Arbotix Robocontroller from Vanadium labs, a ZigBee wireless board, and a Microsoft USB Webcam. Maki is compatible with the Arduino IDE and software like ROS (Robot Operating System), Pypose, and RoboRealm machine vision software.
Cool, eh? And it’s rather adorable-looking, too. Unfortunately, the Kickstarter funding campaign for Maki is within its last legs. With only about $1900 out of its $30000 goal raised, it’s looking a little bleak for the sad-eyed robot. However, there are still 9 days left and, well, hope springs eternal, right? Let’s see if MAKI is the little robot that could.
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