Source: Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers
I joined a select group of students, makers and educators who didn’t let the ominous Bomb Vortex Blizzard (actual name of the snowstorm that hit Colorado last week) stop us from making our way to Boulder CO for the Sphero RVR Pi Day Hackathon.
10 early supporters of the RVR Kickstarter campaign got hands-on with Sphero engineers and the upcoming Sphero RVR programmable drivable robot.
The hackers were paired with Sphero engineers and tasked with programming the RVR to complete various challenges and obstacles. One such challenge had teams install an anemometer and Raspberry Pi to the RVR and program the vehicle to convert wind speed to drive speed.
While Sphero has always encouraged hacking and customization of their robots, the RVR is the first robot where this is the primary focus. When I asked Sphero founder Adam Wilson what the impetus for the RVR was, he explained that its essentially the same base platform and control system their engineering team starts with when developing their drivable robots, opened up for hackers.
With a universal expansion port and onboard power, you can attach and run third-party hardware like a Raspberry Pi, BBC micro:bit, or Arduino. I particularly like that the RVR platform allows you to have an out of the box…
The post Celebrating Pi Day at the Sphero RVR Hackathon appeared first on FeedBox.