the first project (the prototype)

Alright, so I have begun work on my first project with Jay. He is my partner in this endeavor and is greatly helping me speed up the process of nearly everything that I have done up until this point. We have created a prototype to a robot that will play pool (8 ball billiards). I have decided to make a prototype of it using an erector set due to an up and coming open house at the FISHBOWL. The robot is mounted with a small battery powered piston arm that will drive the "pool cue" into a "ball" and knock it around/off the table. The erector set prototype itself is sturdy and works like a charm, but is quite boring. So, for the open house that I mentioned above, Jay and I have mounted the erector set prototype to an Arduino robot with a Teensy micro controller that will run the "search and destroy" program embedded within it. With this program the robot can maneuver around a table and knock off objects like empty soda cans and paper bricks using the lowered arm that has been placed to an optimal height. We have tried it out and the open house is today. so wish us luck.

here is a link to the robot making its first violent steps.

The Boxing bot

who I am

Hi, 

I'm Zachary Caplin. I am 17 years old and a current junior at George School. I am currently enrolled in Computer Programing and Robotics and sculpture. I have decided to make a blog to share what i will be doing in these classes, and how I will blend together different aspects of the two. I want to be enrolled at West Point with engineering as my focus. I hope that this class will properly prepare me for what I will do there. I am currently working at the (FISHBOWL) lab at my school and using its resources to build several robots of my own design.