My latest maker obsession: A low-cost, open-source robot helper backpack.

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Watch the robot helper backpack in action!:

Note the pen dropped because I’m really bad at controlling the robot arms. I accidentally opened the gripper. It’s not the fault of the system.

Completely controlled with your Android phone and smartwatch! There’s an app for the world of robotic helpers!

System Specs:

  • 2 Dagu 6DOF Arms
  • SSC32 Servo Controller w/ custom enclosure
  • Raspberry Pi B w/ portable USB battery and Adafruit Case
  • 2 Ultrasonic sensors on the sides of the backpack serve to detect obstacles and your phone beeps if you get close to something. This helps you protect the extra arms from damage.
  • 2 web cams allow you to see behind you.
  • Tekkeon External Battery for powering the servo controller and rasp pi

The Cyborg Distro is open source: https://github.com/prateekt/CyborgDistro. Feel free to contribute to the codebase! We hope many more humans will join the bistro. You can join the community at cyborgdistro.com!

Custom SSC32 Servo Controller Enclosure keeps the controller safe inside of the backpack but still easy to use:

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Also, there are many more arms from where this came from: