Stemiverse 0060 – Daniel Casner discusses Robotics and Makerspaces

In this episode, Dr. Peter Dalmaris talks with Daniel Casner.
Daniel is a robotics systems engineer with an eclectic background, including a BA in Physics and MS in Computer and Systems Engineering.
Over the years, Daniel has spent time building undersea autonomous vehicles, Internet-connected industrial equipment, and aerospace systems.
Of all his projects, the most challenging and rewarding has been creating mass production home robots.
He is presently Senior Hardware Engineer at Anki, a robotics and AI company in San Francisco.
In 2012, Daniel co-founded Robot Garden, a community based, volunteer-run Makerspace and the world’s first robotics focused Makerspace. He is currently doing volunteer STEAM education through 4-H with a constructivist education style.
This is Stemiverse Podcast episode 60.
Stemiverse podcast is brought to you by Tech Explorations, a leading provider of educational resources for Makers, STEM students, and teachers. Go to techexplorations.com to see a complete list of our books and courses covering the Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and electronics.
Show Notes
[0:00:00] Introduction – Introducing Daniel Casner
[0:02:00] Daniel talks about his background as an engineer, his education, and his interest in robots
[0:05:55] Daniel Casner and Andra Keay cofounded Robot Garden
[0:06:58] ANKI
[0:08:15] What is a robot and how it differs from automation and appliances?
[0:19:17] Robots vs robotic platforms
[0:20:54] What is the cutting edge of robotics at the moment?
[0:27:27] What makes ANKI robots different to other robots?
[0:28:53] Vector Robot
[0:32:45] Anki Developer page
[0:33:31] Cozmo Robot
[0:34:01] Amazing things people have done with Cozmo SDK
[0:38:41] ANKI’s roadmap and the next steps in the evolution of Cosmo and Vector
[0:43:03] Robot Garden makerspace
[0:47:03] Robot Garden events and membership
[0:48:30] Daniel’s biggest challenge when starting the Robot Garden makerspace and what he would do differently
[0:50:35] A worldwide directory of hackerspaces and makerspaces
[0:51:21] Daniel’s leisure activities and how much his engineering background spills in other parts of his life
[0:56:56] What app Daniel cannot live without
[0:58:35] Resources for people interested in robotics
[1:01:48] Daniel’s programming language of choice: Python and C
[1:04:15] Daniel’s contact information: Email: daniel.t.casner@ieee.org