RoboFest 2007

Yvonne and I just returned from the magnificent Robofest event at the South Florida Science museum in West Palm Beach Florida. This place was packed with all types of robots and robotic displays as well as robot enthusiasts of all stripes. We met many interesting people and learned a lot.

Unfortunately I pulled out my back while loading the robot crate into my truck and so I walked like a robot the whole event ! The great volunteers at the museum helped us unload and set up so that saved the day. My sidekick (the wife) also came down with a real bad cold that kept her in the hotel room much of the weekend but she's feeling better now.

There were two highlights of the trip. The first were all the kids with their robotic clubs and commaraderie. I spoke with many of the kids and the adult mentors in the clubs and can't say enough about the enthusiasm and positive stuff that was happening with these people. The other highlight was meeting robot genius Sanya Gaskell of Jupiter Cybernetics who created A.D.D.I.E. You can log into the science museum and see ADDIE in action and learn about this IP (internet) controlled robot. You can control the camera and even the motors of the robot remotely from your computer. They have the motion feature turned off now as that could get a little crazy if the public were moving a six foot robot throughout the museum. Here's the URL

http://74.164.81.59:8908/cgi-bin/AddieControl2.cgi
. We also got to meet June Lockhart and I spoke with Bob May (the guy inside the B9 robot during Lost in Space) numerous times throughout the weekend.

I also met a cool guy (Bart) and his sister who is "off the electric grid". He converted his apartment to run on solar energy and is completely off the grid. I thought that was so cool. Someday I would like to invest in some of that technology to cut my dependence on the utility companies.

Thanks a million to Elizabeth, Jennifer and Kathryn for being such gracious hosts of the museum! Them and the high energy staff of volunteers at the museum made this event a tremendous success. If you're in the West Palm beach area be sure to stop by http://www.sfsm.org

Even though we met a lot of nice people and had a good time, it's always nice to be home.