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New Guest Writer - Eric D. Burdo - Who Am I?

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My name is Eric Burdo. Some of you may know me from Brick Labs. http://www.brick-labs.com/ I was talking to Jim the other day to see if he wanted to reprint any of my articles from Brick Labs (since Brick Labs will be retired on or about the 10th of April). Instead, Jim offered me a position as a guest writer.

I will be moving some of the articles from Brick Labs over to this site, and any future LEGO contributions will be made here, for your reading enjoyment. If there are any particular articles on Brick Labs that you want, please post a link in the comments. I’ll migrate them over, and possible update them if I can.

I have been an avid LEGO collector since I was about 7. That gives me about 23 years of collecting. :) I started into the Mindstorms world about 3 or 4 years ago with the RCX. I tried to get into the LEGO beta program for the NXT, but alas, fate smiled on others… so, I had to wait. My wife bought me a NXT kit for my birthday back in September. My son and I have been dabbling with robots since then.

My Interests:

  • LEGO building
  • Robotics - all forms
  • Computer Programmign
  • Reading - mostly technical materials now.
  • Very beggining bass player (4 string electric)
  • Apprentice-level juggler.

My Robotic Creations:

  • Various tank-bots
  • Several 3 and 4 wheeled bots.
  • I created a RC-style car for my son (using the RCX remote and a rack-n-pinion steering). I learned a lot about differentials and slipper clutches with that project).
  • I built a yarn-winder once based off of a few pictures I found online. I think that was my wife’s favorite project.

Future Projects:

  • Mostly just learning the ins-and-outs of the sensors.
  • I am working on a series of articles on the Ultrasonic Sensor.
  • I want to try and build a room-mapping robot. I’ll keep y’all posted!

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