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Building a robot dog and uploading every second of it to YouTube (Part 1) [video] (opens in new tab)

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26 pointsgeepytee1y ago22 comments

22 comments

18 comments · 5 top-level

geepyteeOP1y ago· 7 in thread

Not entirely sure that there's interest for this type of long form content, but this is HN after all so if there's any chance of anyone being interested it's gotta be here!

I'm building a robot 'dog' (quadruped with a tail and a head) and documenting every second of it on video. This first part is lots of CADing. I'm being brutally honest and not hiding any of my mistakes.

I also have a background in mechanical engineering so I'm not completely clueless but this project is a first for me. My inspiration was watching George Hotz programming videos (hours long) which I really enjoy and thought there should be a hardware equivalent

pinbender1y ago

Thank you so much for this project. I've been trying to learn more about building "stuff that moves", and 99% of what's out there teaches either beginner-level fundamentals or how to assemble something that's already designed. The whole process is exactly what I wanted.

geepyteeOP1y ago

This is so encouraging :)

I just posted part 2 just now - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGFMXu0In7w

At this point i'm starting to get into programming the servos and figuring out leg kinematics. Unfortunately i'm not an expert but I left in all of my mistakes (no video edits) so hopefully others can learn from them. Or do you think I should just edit mistakes and only show the path that worked?

nhggfu1y ago

really interesting. keep it coming, imo.

geepyteeOP1y ago

Here's part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGFMXu0In7w as promised :)

geepyteeOP1y ago

Appreciate it, will keep it coming!

jvwww1y ago

Genuine question, how do you juggle doing something like plus building your own company (I can see you're the founder of Double Bot)? Have subscribed, I quite like content like this. Good luck.

geepyteeOP1y ago

Good question. Don't see it as something to juggle along with building a company, but rather a creative outlet that helps keep burnout at bay. Does that make sense?

dyauspitr1y ago· 2 in thread

Just an opinion but I feel like these announcements should be made when you’re 2-3 videos in, that way it gives people a chance to binge and get hooked.

geepyteeOP1y ago

It's a good point on the binge / getting hooked part. Building a 'library of content' definitely helps.

I just posted part 2 today - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGFMXu0In7w

This is now 5 hours of content total on just the dog alone, plus my channel has some other random hardware hacking.

Curious, for sharing this on HN, do you think I should be doing Show HN posts instead?

bongodongobob1y ago

Nah, this is a common mistake people make. "I can't start X until I have every social media account, a website, an LLC, plenty of content, etc". Just make a thing and start somewhere.

stuckkeys1y ago· 2 in thread

Followed and subbed. Good luck. 3d is a hobby of mine. sE by trade. I love to watch projects from zero evolve back to full circle. Thank you for sharing.

geepyteeOP1y ago

Thank you for subbing, i'll try to make this worth your time :)

I also enjoy watching projects from zero, and somehow I'm a fan of long, unedited content. Have you watched George Hotz streams? That's what inspired me in part.

Btw posted part 2 just now - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGFMXu0In7w

stuckkeys1y ago

I watched him grow out of the jailbreak scene, to other interesting topics. Sometimes his act is puzzling. I like what he is trying to do with the whole portable compute idea. But yeah, he is a smart cookie but his ego is somewhat deplorable. =)

sholladay1y ago· 1 in thread

Awesome project!

I always wanted an AIBO ever since I first heard about it as a kid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIBO

geepyteeOP1y ago

That's very interesting, I had a ERS-111 and I also mentioned on another video that I'm a huge fan of the Furby (also had one growing up, it was less smart but through emotional cues it felt so 'alive').

Give me a couple of years and I'll bring back AI toys. Also AIBO is an amazing name, Japan always comes up with such good names man

moi23881y ago· 1 in thread

That’s awesome! I’ll be watching some of this for sure!

geepyteeOP1y ago

Really appreciate the support! Any feedback on what type of content / rants are actually entertaining?

I just posted part 2 just now - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGFMXu0In7w

Somehow each new video keeps getting longer, curious to hear if you think that's an issue or it's more like 'as long as the quality is there'

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