This is just a short clip of our 2011 FRC Robot control system Proof of Concept. The main idea here is that the user wears a gauntlet, which controls the manipulator arm on the robot. Here we having it controlling a servo driven apparatus at a much smaller scale than will be on the robot, but we were attempting to see how the whole setup would work.
All for Now!
I thought this was appropriate, as today is the first day of build season.
Well, it has begun again. The 2011 Season of FIRST Robotics has begun. As of today, several thousand teams from around the world have begun work on their new robot, which will play the game that has been called Logomotion. The official game animation video can be found below:
This, to me, looks like a fantastic challenge. I'm really excited to see what my team, the Northern Force, and some of the other teams we compete against, have come up with. Throughout the build season, which lasts until the beginning of March, I will periodically post an update on how we're doing, and occasionally even a little video treat!
If you don't know what FIRST robotics is, head on over to their website to find out a little more about the program. (As I am posting this, the website is having some serious bandwidth issues, so you may have to hold on for a little while before the site works)
All for Now!
The launch of the Mac App Store yesterday morning brought with it many things. The long awaited Tweetie 2 (now called Twitter for Mac), and also Angry Birds, the popular iOS and Android game from Rovio.
Well, like any game loving person, the second app I bought from the Mac App Store was Angry Birds. To my dismay, the app wouldn't open. There was an error, where a file was linked incorrectly or something. Well, I made the assumption that there would be an update soon, and sure enough, there was this afternoon. Finally, the app would open. However, to my extreme displeasure, I was presented with the message that my graphics card does not support OpenGL 2.0
Little did I know that I was not the only person displeased with Rovio for doing this. I checked out the angry birds page on the Mac App Store, and saw that the rating had dropped from 5 stars yesterday, to 3 stars today. Rovio has not made any friends with this update.
There are several other games I have downloaded, all of which have run without a problem. The Incident, Chopper 2, and Flight Control HD work just fine. Why can't angry birds?
I suppose the thing that makes me the most angry is that the mac app store has no method for a publisher to post system requirements. What I'd like to see is the app store warn you when you're buying an app that cannot run on your computer, and not allow you to purchase it. That would be an ideal world.
All I really am asking for from Apple and Rovio is either a refund of my $5, or a fix to make the game work on my Mac. For let's face it, I really would rather have a working game than have my $5 back.
All for Now!
