Blinky, two-wheeled balancing robot, OzBotz, San Jose, California, USA

[Airicist]

Developer - OzBotz (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?8671)

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/3a3IXVuMUL0

blinkys-first-balance.mp4

Published on Apr 28, 2012


Blinky takes his first balance.

This video was originally uploaded to my ozbotsdotorg channel on March 30, 2011. It was transferred to my new ozbotz channel on Apr 28, 2012.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/synRJMC-wLE

blinky-talking.mp4

Published on Apr 28, 2012


The is the first version of Blinky. He doesn't balance, but he can talk.

This video was originally shot on Nov 19, 2010. It was uploaded to my ozbotsdotorg channel on Sept 7, 2011. It was transferred to my new ozbotz channel on Apr 28, 2012.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/rOqx6FltLPc

Blinky Finds a Friend at Maker Faire 2014

Published on Oct 30, 2014


At Maker Faire 2014 in California, the HomeBrew Robotics Club, of which I am an officer, sponsored a booth. About 20 members from the club, including myself, staffed the booth during the three-day event. I brought Blinky with me. Being so small, Blinky had a difficult time navigating the crowd of giant humans that attended the event. However, he did find a pint-sized friend in a robot that looked like a mini beer keg. I guess robots do take after their makers!

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/C4KGjKWY3QE

Blinky Compete at Robogames Apr 20, 2013

Published on Oct 30, 2014


This year at Robogames I ran the Balancer Race (http://robogames.net/rules/balancer.php). The objective of this competition is for your robot complete the course in the shortest period of time, while staying balanced. The robot has to navigate some simple obstacles and at the end of the course stay within the end zone for 10 seconds. The robot can be autonomous or remote controlled.

My robot Blinky competed in the Balancer Race this year. It's a bit of a conflict of interest to organize the race and compete in it, but there were so few other competitors that if Blinky didn't enter, the race would not have qualified for the medal ceremony. So I don't feel too conflicted. A balancing robot is one of the most challenging types of robots to build, so just having a robot to enter in the race is an accomplishment.

In the end, Blinky completed the course faster than any other robot and was awarded first place. Here is a video of his final run. Yes, I know the video is vertical. I gave my phone to someone who didn't know that video is supposed to be shot horizontally!