Last update: Feb 5, 2006
RoboMontreal is a meeting place for people from the Montreal area who like building robots. The group has just gotten started with the launch of the forum, and this webpage at www.robomontreal.com.
The goal is to collect local resources and expertise into one place, stimulating the robotics community in Montreal, and hopefully (eventually) leading to locally-hosted events and competitions.
Of course, for now, it's just a forum and a couple links. But it's growing daily! So spread the word, and if you haven't already done so, go join the forum and participate in the polls, contribute pictures of your robotics projects, and meet fellow roboticists! Everyone is welcome - beginners, pros, geeks and Klingons alike!
At the writing of the Frequently Anticipated Questions, less than a week old. It was founded at the end of January, 2006.
Right now we're calling it a group. The hope is that by getting enough people together using this web page and the forum, we can catalyse the formation of a full-blown club.
Bien sûr! Montreal is a multilingual city, and RoboMontreal is all about the language of robotics. So yes, french and english are both official languages of RoboMontreal. There will always be enough folks around that speak both languages that communication won't be an issue. If you speak a language other than english or french, you're probably out of luck though. Unless it's Klingon. That might pass.
The guy putting up this web page, Don, writes better in english. So don't be put off by the lack of french! Vous êtes tous bienvenu! If someone wants to volunteer to work on the french versions of web pages and newsletters, drop us a line.
Somehow this argument always seems to come up in robotics groups. Both microcontrollers have their strengths. All we can say is: ATMEL BABY! ATMEL ALL THE WAY! (Atmel hasn't sponsored this site in any way - we swear!). (Atmel, if you're interested in sponsoring this site, just drop us a line...)
Most of the big cities in North America already have robotics clubs - check out the "Other Clubs" link on the main page. They generally got their start by providing a forum for folks to meet online, then later grew into full-blown clubs with regular meetings and events. We at RoboMontreal figured there should really be something like this in Montreal. After all, it sucks to have to drive all the way to Ottawa to meet fellow roboticists, when we know there are plenty right here in Montreal!
Tough call - Data's pretty cool, but if those at-at walkers from Star Wars count as robots those HAVE to be the winner.
Given their physical proximity, and the more-than coincidental similarities between this website and theirs, the ORE is a key candidate to be our Sister Site. It's important to remember though, that while they have Ottawa Robotics Enthusiasts, we have MOntreal Robotics Enthusiasts. That is, while they have ORE, we have MORE!
There have been robotics clubs in Montreal for years, but they're all either institution-specific (open only to students of a certain university, for example), or project-specific (targeting one specific competition or project). RoboMontreal strives to be a resource for all roboticists in Montreal. Everyone is welcome to participate, and the scope of the group will therefore be very large.
RoboMontreal is only a couple days old. Give it some time!
Also, it's pretty hard to advertize, since RoboMontreal is the only forum through which Montreal-area roboticists can be reached. Chicken: egg, egg: chicken. For now, we need to rely on word of mouth to bootstrap this thing, so help spread the word!
Thanks for asking. First and foremost, spread the word! We need to get as many people aware of the group as possible. Second, a lot of folks are already building robots in Montreal - why not show off your creations? Post your links, pictures, and stories in the Forum.
If you want to do more to help get RoboMontreal going, send us an email!
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