July 16, 2015

Know How... 152: Megabot, Grow Bacteria and Flying the KH250

1 hour 2 minutes

MegaBots are coming and it's going to be the U.S. vs. Japan, find out what kind of bacteria is living on your phone, and flying the KH250. If you were at Maker Faire in San Mateo, you probably saw the MegaBot.

A 12-ton machine with dual cannons and dual pilots. (One controls the movement of the robot, the other controls the weapons.)

The MegaBot is the brainchild of Matt Oehrlein & Gui Cavalcanti

They originally tried to kickstart the project -- It was about to fail, but then Autodesk stepped in and financed the remainder of the project

They had the first prototype at Maker Faire in San Mateo (We just missed it by a day because of TNSS)

They call it "America's first fully functional piloted robot"

And of course, they added really big guns They want to perfect the design, then open source it

They want others to build robots that will eventually form a MegaBot sports league!

They'd battle with paint guns.

Of course... what good is a ass-whooping robot, if it doesn't have something to whoop? They called out the Kuratas Team

In a video they posted on YouTube the MegaBot team challenged the Japanese "Kuratas" team, led by CEO Kogoro Kurata to a fight.

In their word, "We have a giant robot, you have a giant robot... you know what has to happen!"

Specs:

It's Powered by a 24 HP gas engine that drives a 2500psi Hydraulic System

20 Actuators

13 Joints

Rides on two sets of treads

Can hunker down to 11-1/2 feet, but then rise to 15 feet

Can fire 3 lb paint cannon balls at 100mph

100 days of construction

35 People

$175,000

In a response video the creator of the Kuratas (Kogoro Kurata) said, "It's interesting, but come on guys, make it cooler"

They actually accepted the challenge

He said it was "Very American" because they just built something big and put guns on it.

He also said that THEY must win it because "Giant robots are Japanese culture"

However, he sent a challenge of his own... that they should stick to Melee Combat instead of just mounting a bunch of guns.

The MegaBot Mark II is 15 feet and 12 tons -- and uses tracks

The Kuratas is 12 feet tall and 9 tons -- and uses wheels

Bacteria Growth Experiment

If you want a RELIABLE way to know how much and what kind of bacteria is growing on the surfaces in your home/office/car/etc. then you want to perform a Bacterial Growth Experiment

Basically, you place a sample of the bacteria into a sterile growth medium in order to promote the formation of bacterial colonies.

The "Morphology" (size, shape, pigmentation) of the colonies that form will tell you what kind of bacteria is growing

To do this experiment, we need to use Plates, or "Petri Dishes" If you're going to make your own plates (fun experiment) then you'll need a few things

Sterile Petri Dishes $10.95 http://www.amazon.com/Petri-Dish-100-15Mm-20/dp/B0015T0LZO/ref=sr_1_1

Nutrient Agar $9.50 http://www.amazon.com/Nutrient-Agar-Bottle-200-Ml/dp/B004YL3O0E/ref=sr_1_4

Sterile Cotton Tipped Applicators $6.75 http://www.amazon.com/MDS202000Z-Sterile-Cotton-Tipped-Applicators/dp/B000TVM43G/ref=sr_1_1

Hotplate $15.08 http://www.amazon.com/MaxiMatic-ESB-301F-Cuisine-Single-1000-Watt/dp/B000B2WOWE/ref=sr_1_6

Pyrex Flask (1L) $11.99 http://www.amazon.com/PYREX-Narrow-Mouth-Erlenmeyer-Flasks/dp/B004XR5VMI/ref=sr_1_1

70% Isopropyl Alcohol $6.00 http:

These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/know-how/episodes/152

Hosts: Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ and Bryan Burnett

Technical Director: Alex Gumpel

Sponsors:

ifixit.com/twit enter code KNOWHOW

Ring.com/KNOWHOW

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