The Turtlebot is a robot attached to a Microsoft Kinect that can develop a map of its surroundings and learn to function in three dimensional space. Now you can buy one digitally.
It runs on the Robot Operating System, or ROS. It’s also totally open source and one manufacturer of the bots is based in Brooklyn, I Heart Engineering. As of this week, you can buy their Turtlebot kits using Bitcoin.
Not to oversimplify it, but the Turtlebot is, basically, a doubledecker side-table on wheels. Apparently, it’s a good way to begin understanding robot programming, though. According to the company’s website, they intend to use sales of their initial bots to fund future creations.
Based on the silent YouTube video below, I Heart Engineering wants to do more with drones that can respond to human movement and robotic arms.
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