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Wackiness and STEM-stimulation at MakerFaire

By Frank Tobe | May 21, 2012

MakerFaire 2012 was a glorious success. A fire-breathing dragon; the audience pedal-powering the electronics for a concert; a dozen R2-D2s; lectures on everything from laser cutting to DARPA’s new STEM outreach program; 3D printers; turkey legs and corn-on-the-cob; and people dressed for the occasion. Click to see 44 pics.

MakerFaire, besides being fun and wacky, is a mecca for hands-on, interactive demos of STEM-stimulating software and devices. Topobo (center pic) is the perfect example. A snap-together robotic toy with the ability to record and playback physical motion, invented at the MIT Media Lab, had kids, parents and teachers enthralled.

Don’t pass up the next MakerFaire — in New York, September 29-30. It’s an inspiring experience.

About The Author

Frank Tobe

Frank Tobe is the founder of The Robot Report and co-founder of ROBO Global which has developed a tracking index for the robotics industry, the ROBO Global™ Robotics & Automation Index. The index of ~90 companies in 13 sub-sectors tracks and captures the entire economic value of this global opportunity in robotics, automation and enabling technologies.

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  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
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