An Open Source Flat Pack Robot Arm That's As Easy To Build As Ikea Furniture 39
An anonymous reader writes The MeArm is a flat-pack robot arm. It has been developed in a very short time frame as the creators have been able to tap into crowd development by open sourcing all of the designs. Because of this it's exploded around the world with builders on every continent (bar Antarctica) and there are even people manufacturing them to sell in Peru, Taiwan and South Africa. MeArm manufacture them in the UK and export to distributors around the world, including Open Source pioneers like Adafruit and Hackaday in the USA. They're currently running a Kickstarter for a controller to take it out of the 'Hackersphere' and into the living room. They doubled their target in the first week and are still going strong so it's looking like they will be the first consumer flat pack robot kit in the world!
Controller or not, you can download the arm from Thingiverse, and follow the project at Hackaday.
IKEA? (Score:2, Funny)
Hex Key Not Included!
good grief (Score:4, Interesting)
these are 5$ eBay servos with a few plastic sticks.
I'm getting old, I seriously don't understand what people are getting out of this anymore. I'm just jaded I guess, I'm like a Pak Protector now. I can look at something and I know exactly step by step what it is and how to make one. So I just don't care anymore.
Re: (Score:3)
Young people need to learn about things. News at 11.
Re: (Score:2)
Any more of this shit and you will stop eating entirely.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of Slashdotters rushing to post that this is lame and/or they did it 20 years ago.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
uArm (Score:2)
Re:uArm (Score:4, Interesting)
Only in the sense that it is also a striking copy of every robotic arm in existence. The mechanical design is significantly different to the uArm. Compare MeArm [amazonaws.com] versus uArm [amazonaws.com] and look at the design of the support and actuator arms.
Re: (Score:3)
Except, you know, being made out of flimsy printed plastic without even a T-bar for additional strength, and having one less degree of freedom than the uARM, and being smaller than the uARM, yeah, it's just like it...
It fall apart three weeks later under normal use? (Score:1)
Yep, that'd be just like Ikea furniture. Particle board, plastic, flimsy, and cheap.
Re: (Score:3)
Yeah but the upside is you'll find them curbside on garbage day. Free stuff!
Re: It fall apart three weeks later under normal u (Score:1)
Don't just complain about design, components used, list continues... Pitch in; refine the design, recommend better materials and components and otherwise improve on the durability.
This is what open source is about.
low standards for kickstarter (Score:4, Insightful)
seems just about anyone with a decent camera, a half-baked (usually derivative) idea, and 5th grade writing skills can get a kickstarter now.
maybe I should start a kickstarter for my brilliant idea of a pet stone
Re:low standards for kickstarter (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:3)
My idea for a printer-error-messages-to-plain-english translator is better.
Re: (Score:2)
If only it were that difficult...
Re: (Score:2)
Simpsons did it.
Would you... (Score:2)
How about (Score:2)
Re: How about (Score:2)