{"id":2,"date":"2008-10-07T23:40:21","date_gmt":"2008-10-08T03:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/microtron.nu\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2025-03-05T18:26:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T22:26:23","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.daughterofkrypton.com\/microtron\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About Microtron"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Microtron ready for refit, 2009<\/p><\/div>\n

What is a Microtron Robot<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

\"Microtron<\/a><\/p>\n

I first learned of “Microtron” in an article from the April 1977 issue<\/a> of Interface Age<\/em>. I was inspired to buld a Microtron (or a similar machine) of my own, and later, in 1980, I used Tod Loofbourrow’s book as a guide<\/a> and began construction of my version of the three-wheeled solid aluminum computer-controlled robot.<\/p>\n

Microtron was run by a single-board 6502-based computer (Synertek’s SYM-1<\/a>, as opposed to the KIM-1<\/a> that Todd had used), programmable via a hex keypad. The robot basically moved around in pre-programmed patterns and was smart enough to back up and avoid objects that it had hit.\u00a0 Todd’s book also described how to add ultrasonic detection but I never made it that far.<\/p>\n

From 1984 to 2009, the robot was in storage. I am currently restoring and repairing it, with a plan to update its computer to something current and make some other additions, including adding the long-missing, original ultrasonic detector and circuitry. Eventually, I hope to use the robot as a platform for implementing and exploring some long-standing AI theories that I’ve had.<\/p>\n

This site is a combination historical scrapbook, progress journal, and personal notebook for jotting various notes and thoughts as I continue my work.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Microtron at the state science fair, 1983<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

For the latest updates, visit Microtron’s main page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is a Microtron Robot? I first learned of “Microtron” in an article from the April 1977 issue of Interface Age. I was inspired to buld a Microtron (or a similar machine) of my own, and later, in 1980, I used Tod Loofbourrow’s book as a guide and began construction of my version of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daughterofkrypton.com\/microtron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daughterofkrypton.com\/microtron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daughterofkrypton.com\/microtron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daughterofkrypton.com\/microtron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daughterofkrypton.com\/microtron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/www.daughterofkrypton.com\/microtron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":330,"href":"https:\/\/www.daughterofkrypton.com\/microtron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daughterofkrypton.com\/microtron\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}