Winners of MAKE Volume 27 Robot Contest

Here at headquarters, we just wrapped up the newest issue of MAKE, Volume 27, the Robot issue. Look for it on newsstands on July 26th. While we were working on the issue, we were curious to see what kinds of bots our community members were making and thought it would be fun to host a little contest. The premise of the contest was simple: we were looking for bots with lots of character. To enter, folks contributed their build photos and text into Make: Projects, along with a video of the bot in action. Entries were judged by the editorial staff of MAKE based on the following criteria: (a) Entertainment Value: 50%; (b) Quality of Written Documentation: 25%; and (c) Quality of Documentation Photography/Video: 25%. We got some great entries, and ran images and links to the winners in MAKE Volume 27. It was a tough call, but we tallied up one Top Bot and 3 runners up. And the winners are…

TOP BOT:

Chopsticks the Spider Robot by Russell Cameron won us over with his big eyes, the way he walks, his awesome legs made of chopsticks and polymorph plastic, and Russell’s fabulous project documentation and videos.

RUNNERS UP:

We loved Robobrrd by RobotGrrl, with its nature-inspired design, colorful appearance, eraser lashes, and RobotGrrl’s great project documentation, complete with hand-drawn sketches.

Belvedere the Butler Robot by Andy Wolff was by far the most utilitarian bot, with his ability to deliver food, play music, dance, and tell jokes. Who doesn’t need a butler bot?

And lastly, the Robot Drummer by Tim Laursen was certainly entertaining (and bizarre). We’re not sure we’ve ever seen that many colors incorporated into a bot before.

Thanks to everyone who entered! We loved seeing what you make.

4 Responses to Winners of MAKE Volume 27 Robot Contest

RobotGrrl  on June 24th, 2011 at 3:26 am said:

HEY, Can you take my last name out of the post? (Internet safety!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) O.O;
Also, Congrats OddBot!
Can you reply to my email Goli, or post in the comments what was bad about RoboBrrd?
Thank you! x

Reply ↓
Anonymous on June 24th, 2011 at 3:38 am said:

Hey RobotGrrl, fixed your name in the post. Used RobotGrrl.

And there was nothing bad about your project. We loved it! And I can tell you it was neck-n-neck close. But somebody had to win. In the end, we chose Chopsticks.

Reply ↓
- RobotGrrl  on June 24th, 2011 at 3:42 am said:
  
  If it was *that* close, you would have diverted the contest and chose LetsMakeRobots.com as a winner (since we both hang out there)… So really, what was so negative about RoboBrrd?
  
  Reply ↓
  
  Anonymous on June 24th, 2011 at 3:55 am said:
  
  What? I’m not even sure what you’re talking about. We liked both projects, we talked about it, and on looking at factors of characterfulness, creativity, project complexity, documentation, etc. we decided to choose Chopsticks. It’s as simple as that.
  
  Reply ↓