September Update - A New Base

OSR2.1 base
Hi Guys,

This is a quick update to let you know what I've been up to and what to expect this month.

It seems to me that the OSR2 has been very popular, with probably a several hundred of them out in the wild now.

I am excited by the potential of using this simple homebuild robotics to create machines that can reproduce a wider range of movements and sensations that you can see on screen or in VR. Therefore over the last few months I have been exploring ways of adding extra movement axes to the basic OSR2 design. With some add-on modules you can now get 4-degrees of movement: thrust, pitch, roll, and twist.

This month, however, I have been working on a concept for a totally new machine. I think I can take the Stroker Robot experience to a whole new level, whilst at the same time simplifying the design. I have a working prototype, and I'm very excited about how well it's working, but it will be a little while before I'm ready to show it off.

In the meantime, I have a $8 tier hardware release coming up in a few days. The OSR2 has come a long way, but I have taken the opportunity to re-visit it and improve the design of the base. When I designed the original I only had the subtle movements of applications like Virt-a-Mate in mind. Since then it has found a large following amongst the scripted video community, and users who have wanted faster movements and more powerful servos.

This new base is significantly tougher than the old one, with much thicker walls where it counts. It also features a few other improvements, such as a shorter support arm stud, relocated power bus switch hole, a better lid attachment clip, and the option to add an active cooling fan. Oh, and if you want you can now easily screw the lid into place.

I will be releasing the part files in a few days, once I am happy with the trial prints.

See you in a few days!