High school senior builds walking robot, the VSR-2: Talos FG (video)
By Sean Hollister 
posted May 14th 2010 7:45AM
posted May 14th 2010 7:45AM
These days, you don't have to be a whiz kid to build robots in your basement: off-the-shelf microcontrollers, Arduino boards and Lego Mindstorms can take care of the hard work. Adam Halverson, however, is the real deal -- he built his first robot at the age of twelve, and after six years of failed attempts, he's crafted a full-size humanoid that can walk. Filed with pistons, servos and an assimilated laptop, the VSR-2:Talos FG cost the South Dakota high school senior $10,000 to build with fellow student Anthony Winterton; he claims he could reconstruct it for half now that he's done. The hulking metal machine won him an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2010 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, where he's competing for up to $75,000 in prize money. We'll be watching to see if he recoups his investment -- awards will be announced this afternoon. See how the Talos FG's gears mesh in our gallery, or watch the bot take its first steps after the break.
Update: The awards are in, and though Talos FG's grippers didn't manage to pull down that $75,000 grand prize, they did manage to net Halverson $5,500 in cash and savings bonds from Intel, the Cade Museum Foundation and the U.S. Army.
Update: The awards are in, and though Talos FG's grippers didn't manage to pull down that $75,000 grand prize, they did manage to net Halverson $5,500 in cash and savings bonds from Intel, the Cade Museum Foundation and the U.S. Army.
Thats pretty impressive. Good-luck to the guy.
@Daveiops
I remember those documentaries about robotics, where armies of scientists with a muli-million dollar budget worked for decades to make a robot walk. And then it still fell down after two steps.
And this kid builds one his garage. WOW.
@SeeKo This has inspired me to work on an android. The concept of getting a robot to walk has always been simple in my mind; I don't see how they failed unless they were focusing on getting it to run.
I see quite a few places where this kid could have made the robot better but it is still great. I think he has a very bright future.
@Daveiops
I see a one way ticket to MIT here.
The good ol' Science Fairs. I should judge one again.
Fun to come across these kinds of little brainiacs.
@Evolyptic "I see quite a few places where this kid could have made the robot better"
Funny, I don't see pictures or videos of YOUR robot flooding the Internet.
@Daveiops
That's one hell of a case-mod
@Khris I think he means stuff like lasers and a fleshlight.
@Khris ^.^ Didn't say you did. Don't get so defensive, I tend to see ways of improving everything. I'm just to lazy to do any of it. Which is why I said 'he inspired me' to build an android. :D
@zargon No, I actually mean the design. I can see ways to make it thinner and faster. More humanoid than it currently is. But that is exactly how science and inventions should work. People building on top of things until something extremely awesome comes out of it.
@Evolyptic the kid who made it also sees where he can improve, but unlike cheap commentary he has deadlines and has to deal with actual resource issues.
so dont be an ass.
@zargon Unless this is going to be a sex robot, I don't think a Fleshlight would be appropriate! :P
@Daveiops
this robot is 100x more impressive. swear to god you wont be disappointed by this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67CUudkjEG4
@leemahi
shit same robot different video but this one is walking 4.4 miles per hour. soon they are gonna get these things running. man i cant wait
@leemahi
http://www.youtube.com/user/BostonDynamics#p/a/u/0/ja_UsmXVPVk
@leemahi It isn't the point that he just made a walking robot - obviously a gigantic firm with research grants out the wazoo from the government and other contractors will craft something more advanced than two high schoolers in their basement - but that as a high school senior, he finally made what he's been working toward for however many years. Plus, he's a high school senior; I don't think I could have saved up the cash ($10,000 for a high schooler is a lot!) to cover the resource cost for this thing. And *that's* why it's so impressive, not because it just walks or is a functioning robot (which is still awesome).
@Daveiops
I bet he has a Pod Racer in his other garage...
@Killing Time I apologize to the kid; Wasn't trying to be an ass. I just have a habit of pointing out where things can be improved. I get yelled at for being an ass all the time because I'll come in right after someone does something and tell them how they could do it better. So, again I apologize to the kid and commenters. I just can't stand the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" type thinking.
I'm glad to see he'll be improving [After I left this I researched him a little bit]. I'm even searching to see if he'd like to do a little collaboration because I have a few ideas that I was about to implant in my robot and I think it would be better in a team effort.
@Evolyptic
I like to improve things too: if you get yelled at for being an ass all the time maybe you should stfu more often?
@Evolyptic There's nothing wrong with offering ways to improve something, but HOW you offer those suggestions is probably what gets you into trouble. See example above!
@TRAFFICBLOWS Aww, but I so deeply enjoy being an ass. It is part of who I am. To change that would change my very core. Psychologically speaking we all have to have a flaws to balance us out. My main two are 'sarcastic bitter assholeness' and 'arrogance'. So, thank you for the compliment.
@Both Of You I thank you though, because I am working on presenting my ideas in a more understable way without being yelled at, which causes a lose in work. So I thank everyone who was involved in pointing out where I went wrong. Especially you Khris. :D I'll name my first robot after you.
@Khris first working* robot
@BMills "I see a one-way ticket to MIT here."
One way? o_O
This guy gonna get on the wrong side of Steve Jobs too?
Gonna be killed with Artificial Intelligence?
(@Nilay Patel - podcast reference)
@SeeKo This reminds me of the "Iron Man". I really enjoyed that movie, and when Downing made the original Iron Man suit inside the cave was my favorite part.
@TRAFFICBLOWS
Or maybe you should mtfu, and quit crying for being told to stfu?
And then get out more, because it seems that you cba 2 spell out words properly, because of the indoor fbook and txt 'social' 'life'
NB: Please take careful note of the inverted commas around "social", and "life".
@TRAFFICBLOWS
next year T-101
then in 2012 T-1000 and T-X...
That's unbelievable. Good work, dude, and good luck at the competition. Bring home the gold.
Did someone say "gold?"
O my! Homemade droids . . . ? What a travesty!
@SeeThreepio. You are aware that i built you at the age of 9? Aren't you?
@Lord Vader
Actually, no, he's not. His memory was wiped when he was given to Captain Antilles, remember?
@Smart People Play Tuba. Captain Antilles? You mean the person I choked to death in the Tantive IV? I was unaware he was even in possession of the droids. Erase my droid's memory will he? Rebel Scum
He did not fail for six years; He just figured out 6 years worth of ways not to make a humanoid walking robot.
This + http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/14/boeings-unmanned-phantom-ray-makes-dramatic-video-debut-set-to/ , shits getting realer each day.
@Bud92 Realistically, we'll have terminators before zombies... I prefer zombies.
cue southpark:
ITS COMING RIGHT FOR US
boom.
The picture says "Unlike the miniature robot, X-Species, the new full size X-Species 2 experienced very little success"
amazing job!! good luck!! keep it up!
He's not gonna set a speedrecord tho..
Does it run android yet?
@keanu096
no but more importantly it dreams of electric sheep.
At least it would need a really long extension cord to take over the world.
Great give it a power-cell, the military decision making system they design for drones, A gun and you've got yourself a T100....
Going to buy food supply now...
Woah, congratulations to Adam! Never forget your beginner's enthusiasm no matter how far you go!
Pure. Awesome.
I praise him for choosing the name Talos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talos
Did we just witness the next TONY STARK?!
Now he just needs to write an app showing Talos how to build and program more Talos' and we'll have a paradox on our hands... until, of course, they run out of laptops
“4 years, 4 years, but its done?” How anticlimactic.
What ever happen to “IT’S ALIVE, IT’S ALIIEEEEVE!”?
robot apocalypse... RUN FOR YOUR LIVES
I wonder who would win in a race between the robot and a sloth!
Awesome though.
jesus
go kid go