Name: Paul Hayslett
Member since: 2002-02-04 14:42:36
Last Login: 2005-12-12 04:14:31

Notes: Pre-history (1985-86): Worked as a tech in robotics research at AT&T Bell Labs (now Lucent). My work was menial: wire-wrapping boards, testing electronics, writing test code, building wiring harnesses. But I got to work on projects in trajectory planning, proprioception, direct- drive motor control, and even nanotech. History (1997-98): Picked it up again as a hobby. Built some kits from Solarbotics (BEAM) and Lynxmotion (Basic Stamp). Also built a few Lego Mindstorms robots. Current (2001-): Building Mindstorms bots with my son reawakened the urge. Slowly adding to my BEAM menagerie. Improving my Carpet Rover with more sensors and planning an upgrade to a bigger CPU. Building a Bigfoot biped walker kit which will get hacked as well. And I'm still "helping" my son with Mindstorms ("Dad, can I have my Legos back now?"). Building BEAM critters is fun because I can breadboard and freeform an entire bot in an evening or two. But for larger bots I am less interested in the basic platform than in incorporating new feedback and planning modules, so I'm happy to start with platform kits or R/C trucks and hack them. Although I enjoy both the programming and the electronics, breadboarding makes a nicer break from my day job (programming) than writing feedback loops or (worse) building simulations. I want to build a bot that moves like an inchworm to test its effectiveness over rough terrain.

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