Robots for Christmas


I'm writing a slightly different post today about Robotics.

I grabbed the latest copy of Robot Magazine and I was looking through their Christmas Gift Guide. There are some fun stuff in there. Two things that really popped out is the Sphero BB-8 and Acrobatics Mantis.

BB-8

The BB-8 is an app-enabled Droid. Pretty cool. The most impressive thing is what is described as "an adaptive personality that changes as you play." I'm not exactly sure how well that works but in theory it should "perk up" when you use voice commands. With other products like the Darkside and the Sphero Spark, I'm thinking the BB-8 would be a fun toy to get before the Star Wars Force Awakens.

Mantis

Actobotics has a great robot platform, but what impressed me with this kit is the in the wheel motors. Although they look a little awkward, with the motors hang very low to the ground, I'm wondering how well they do going over obstacles. In their video it seems to do fine, though I think I notice some wear on the motors where it is dragging on the ground.

That point aside, it seems like a very durable and versatile kit. I really enjoy their instructional and product videos.

Speaking about product videos and video ads, Gideon Shalwick has some insight into why video ads are so effective. 

Interesting facts:

Did you know that Facebook will be mostly VIDEO in 2017? And, that 63% of people are more likely to buy a product after watching a VIDEO about it? Epic video stat after epic video stat is storming around the interwebs! His steps include: 1: Define The Purpose of Your Video Ad 2: Script it out 3: Choose Your Video Format 4: Create your video  There are lots more details on his page. A good example of video adds at work is Droneology by PCSedventrues.  They have what looks like a great drone course that they offer for $12.99 teaching drone users through a fun e-course, teaching the safety and responsibility of flying.