What is a Microtron Robot?
I first learned of “Microtron” in an article from the April 1977 issue of Interface Age. I was inspired to buld a Microtron (or a similar machine), and later, in 1980, I used Tod Loofbourrow’s book as a guide and began construction of my own version of the three-wheeled solid aluminum computer-controlled robot.
Mine was run by a single-board 6502-based computer (Synertek’s SYM-1, as opposed to the KIM-1 that Todd had used), programmable via a hex keypad. The robot basically moved around in pre-programmed patterns and was smart enough to back up and avoid objects that it had hit or that it could detect via ultrasonics.
From 1984 to 2009, the robot was in storage. I am currently restoring and repairing it, with a plan to update its computer to something current. I hope to use the robot as a platform for implementing and exploring some long-standing AI theories that I’ve had.
This site is a combination historical scrapbook, progress journal, and personal notebook for jotting various notes and thoughts as I continue my work.
Microtron at the state science fair, 1983
For the latest updates, visit Microtron’s main page.
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