A get well gift for robots

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By Marc de Vinck
Posted 2009/08/30 @ 5:52 pm
Category Arduino

A few weeks ago I made this get well gift for a good friend of mine, Gareth Branwyn. I took a few pictures, and a quick video, just to document it prior to shipping it off. I wasn’t sure if I should blog it, but then I talked with Gareth today and he asked me to post it up on MAKE. So here it is! I hope you all like it as much as I liked making it.

In the Maker Shed

Gift Certificate

BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black

Tux Case for Raspberry Pi

MAKE Rovera 4WD Arduino Robot Kit

6 Responses to A get well gift for robots

TheCaptain on August 31st, 2009 at 2:00 am said:

Nice… but i wonder how many times that got flagged for security checks during the shipping process.

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Marc de Vinck on August 31st, 2009 at 8:07 am said:

Not sure, sent it via USPS and it made it unscathed.

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Steve on August 31st, 2009 at 9:05 am said:

Hey I was wondering if you had any documentation about that led segment board you are using in this project. I found one that is just like it but couldn’t find any information on how to use it. Thanks, looks like a pretty awesome project.

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- Marc de Vinck on August 31st, 2009 at 9:14 am said:
  
  Yep! All you need to know can be found here:
  
  http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/12/howto_tuesday_hacking_a_make_gift_subscription_card.html
  
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jeff-o on August 31st, 2009 at 7:53 pm said:

Very cool gift. The Arduino is overkill though.

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- Marc de Vinck on September 1st, 2009 at 7:30 am said:
  
  @Jeff-o-
  
  That is a really interesting, and valid, point. The Arduino is overkill, but it is also the perfect solution. I have very limited time, as my work and home life keep me very busy.
  
  I was able to wire up and program the Arduino in less that 5 minutes. (that’s no exaggeration thanks to all the awesome libraries) I can’t say that about any other system.
  
  The cost can be a factor, but when you consider it costs about $50+ to send a get well gift of flowers, candy, etc, the Arduino looks like a nice, and less costly, solution…..never mind he can hack/modify/destroy later!
  
  Flowers != Arduino
  
  One thing that is rarely taken into consideration is the value of time. Time is very valuable to me, and that is a big reason I choose to use the Arduino for so many of my projects.
  
  I would love to hear other peoples thoughts on this topic, as I find it really interesting.
  
  Reply ↓