M aker LEFT: Close-up of the MAKE Controller that connects Sparky’s onboard computer to the servomotors. RIGHT: The exposed TV tube. Mounting the monitor without its case is a bit more dangerous, but how cyberpunk!

become a hybrid identity that can have intimate, face-to-face interactions and move freely in a remote location.

At New York’s American International Toy Fair in early 2008, I saw a cheap mobile telepresence toy, clearly not designed for hackability, and that clinched it. I decided to share Sparky 2 as an open source DIY project, based on the MAKE Controller board and the components I had lying around.

DIY Sparky

So here’s the take-away: you can now find a full set of plans for an open source, DIY Sparky at makezine.com/16/sparky, as well as a step-by-step video at gomistyle.com.

I co-developed the DIY version of Sparky 2 with my longtime friend and programmer extraordinaire, John Celenza. It uses the MAKE Controller connected to an onboard Mac Mini, which transmits audio, video, and motor control data over a wi-fi network.

We have several software versions, including a lag-free one that requires a web server to connect robot and controller, and another one that sends the motor-control data through Skype. We’ve also developed a small iPhone patch that allows it to

connect in any location, even without wi-fi. If the “Jesus phone” can connect, so can DIY Sparky.

The DIY Sparky shown here was built using scrap components I had available, including Vex kit components for the chassis and the motors, an old Mac Mini, an unused LCD monitor, an iSight webcam, a 12V scooter battery, and an AC inverter. Your version will be different, based on whatever you have lying around.

The only part I purchased was the MAKE Controller board — I could have gone with the cheaper and better-known Arduino, but the MAKE board offered additional helpful features like the 4 plug-and-play servo connectors. The MAKE board also has numerous digital and analog ins and outs, which give DIY Sparky plenty of room to grow new appendages, like movable gripper arms, sensors, and bumpers.

See more of Sparky at makezine.com/16/sparky.

Marque Cornblatt ( marquecornblatt.com) is a conceptual artist, roboticist, and maker. He is the creator and host of Gomi Style, a green DI Y lifestyle and design series on the web ( gomistyle.com).

52 Make: Volume 16