Your Plastic Pal Who's Fun to Be With

(click for podcast)Wouldn't it be FUN to have a plastic pal - your very own robot - well you CAN!Of course... not all robots are fun...Here's Marvin, everyone's favorite paranoid android, with genuine people personality!http://www.boingboing.net/2007/10/19/boing-boing-tv-tanks.htmlhttps://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/BEAM_roboticsBEAM roboticsThe word "beam" in BEAM robotics is an acronym for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics. This is a term that refers to a style of robotics that primarily uses simple analog circuits, such as comparators, instead of a microprocessor in order to produce an unusually simple design (in comparison to traditional mobile robots) that trades flexibility for robustness and efficiency in performing the task for which it was designed. ...he basic BEAM principles focus on a stimulus-response based ability within a machine. The underlying mechanism was invented by Mark W. Tilden where the circuit (or a Nv net of Nv neurons) is used to simulate biological neuron behaviors. ... Other rules that are included (and to varying degrees applied): Use the lowest number possible of electronic elements ("keep it simple")Recycle and reuse technoscrapUse radiant energy (such as solar power)http://www.streettech.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1618Boing Boing tv: Tanks-A-Lot / Mark's Vibrobot Posted by Xeni Jardin, October 19, 2007 10:21 AM | permalink http://www.boingboing.net/2007/01/15/howto-make-a-vibrobo.htmlhttp://boingboing.net/videos/vibrobot.movPROMO: http://www.spacecasey.com/Music:Title: I played my concertina Performer: Arthur Osmond.