Based on some designs that I developed
in 1976, I started Johnson Robotics in 1980. At the time is was barely
more than a workbench in a garage. Later I was able to put the earnings
from working models I built into funding a lab, complete with test equipment
and a decent inventory of parts and tools. My primary goal is R&D,
but it generates enough revenue to pay for expenses.
| This is where it all begins and ends. A design propels itself through my mental pipes, then eventually takes form. |
In the lab |
SLV-2 (1980) |
A
General purpose test platform for developing and testing sensors,
propulsion and power supply. The latter proved to be a challenge
which blew apart one of these units! |
| This
bot was capable of crawling over uneven terrain, investigating
interesting objects.
Terrain Crawler (1988) |
It
was a very practical design, and a decade later a rover with some
similar features was crawling around on Mars.
|
The idea of a personal robot as a sort of valet or companion is popular in fiction. If you like gadgets they can be interesting, and maybe useful. If you really want a companion though, get yourself a dog.