BorisSxSW
From Simreal
Contents |
Boris at SxSW 2000
All pictures on this page are thumbnails that link to a 1024 by 768 hires image.
South by SouthWest. "film/interactive trade show exhibitor" is what is says on
my badge. They didn't have one that said Mad Scientist.
Here is Boris in the lab, wired, operational, and ready to be loaded into the van. Soon, Boris, soon...
Below are a few pictures of Boris in the booth during the show. Nothing too exciting, just standing there.
 Sitting, alone, in the dark |
 Awake in the Booth |
 Kinda fills the space, don't he? |
 A little lonely here |
 Careful Tom, he bites! |
 Standing on Three Legs |
The show itself put Boris through his paces quite effectively. Though he doesn't walk yet, he can do some other tricks like Stand Up, Sit Down, and Wave. Here are some MPG clips that show this off nicely.
All of this leaping up and down, and pawing at the ground took its toll. The toes,
for example, are just temporary things; cheap steel rod from the hardware store
with golf-balls pounded on the end. Here is what happens when they come loose
and Boris steps on them. I actually had to straighten several toes during the
course of the show.
 Works better with power |
 Hmmm, no wonder the sensor stopped working |
The vibration caused some problems too. I rather expected this, but it shook loose my header's screws causing the occasional power failure. I also lost a handful of set-screws in my sensor couplings! I knew I would need thread-lock on this stuff, but I didn't think it would shake loose so fast.
More seriously, I had some shallow welds on the joint in the front-right leg (Leg 4 is its name). This caused the fitting to become loose in the tube, and I was worried that running it loose like that would break more parts. Never fear, though -- Brooks Coleman, the artist in residence for the group, donated a length of aluminum wire which I was able to use to secure the joint (amazingly enough). I had a great photo of this flaw, but of the 23 some odd disks of photos, I had to lose the disk with that image.
 Going Home |
 Edwin in his Office |
Finally, the show must come to an end and all the robots go back into the van for the short ride home. And, in case you are wondering, this is indeed me.
