engineering

Stiquito

Stiquito is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Stiquito rather than just read about it. In short: Stiquito (pronounced sti ke to) is a small, inexpensive hexapod (i.e., six-legged) robot commonly used by universities, high schools, and hobbyists, since 1992. Stiquito's "muscles" are made of nitinol, a shape memory alloy that expands and contracts, roughly emulating the operation of a muscle.

Key takeaways

Stiquito belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Stiquito to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Stiquito from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Stiquito (pronounced sti ke to) is a small, inexpensive hexapod (i.e., six-legged) robot commonly used by universities, high schools, and hobbyists, since 1992.

Stiquito's "muscles" are made of nitinol, a shape memory alloy that expands and contracts, roughly emulating the operation of a muscle. The application of heat causes a crystalline structure change in the wire. Nitinol contracts when heated and returns to its original size and shape when cooled. Stiquito was developed by Jonathan W. Mills of Indiana University as an inexpensive vehicle for his research. He soon found its applications extended to educational uses. It has been used to introduce students to the concepts of analogue electronics, digital electronics, computer control, and robotics. It has also been used for advanced topics such as subsumption architectures, artificial intelligence, and advanced computer architecture.

Further reading These books contain instructions for building the Stiquito robot, instructions for designing and building control circuits, and examples of student projects that use Stiquito. Most importantly, the books contain all the supplies needed to build the robot.

James M. Conrad and Jonathan W. Mills (1997). Stiquito: Advanced Experiments with a Simple and Inexpensive Robot. Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press. ISBN 0-8186-7408-3. This first book contains chapters written by the co-author, their students, and other roboticists. These chapters describe the Stiquito Robots, their applications, and examples of Stiquito's robot cousins. Of note is a chapter by well known robot inventor Mark Tilden. The kit included inside the book is the original Stiquito robot. James M. Conrad and Jonathan W. Mills (1999). Stiquito for Beginners: An Introduction to Robotics. Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press. ISBN 0-8186-7514-4. This second book has more of an educational bent. It includes experiments with electricity, electronics, and nitinol. It also has several examples of computer/microcontroller control of the Stiquito Robot. The kit included inside the book is the original Stiquito robot. James M. Conrad (2005). Stiquito Controlled! Making a Truly Autonomous Robot. Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press. ISBN 0-471-48882-8. This third book includes more educational material on Stiquito Computer/microcontroller control of the Stiquito Robot. The kit included inside the book is the TI MSP430-based controller board and the Stiquito robot, “Stiquito Controlled”. The first book was compiled from material written between 1991 and 1996. The chapter has more of a "research" feel since it shows the base robot and slight variations and applications of it. The second book was compiled from materials written specifically for education. It includes instructions of control using supplemental kits. The third book is also educationally-based. It is a slight departure from the first two books because the third book (and the included kit) are centered around a microcontroller board and its leg actuation electronics.

External links Stiquito home page Audio interview with James Conrad about the history of Stiquito Robots Podcast 8 August 2014

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stiquito

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Stiquito claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Stiquito before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Stiquito ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Stiquito

In research: Stiquito appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Stiquito in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Stiquito is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1992 robots, Hexapod robots, Robot kits, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stiquito outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Stiquito in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Stiquito means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Stiquito out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Stiquito in simple terms?

Stiquito (pronounced sti ke to) is a small, inexpensive hexapod (i.e., six-legged) robot commonly used by universities, high schools, and hobbyists, since 1992. Stiquito's "muscles" are made of nitinol, a shape memory alloy that expands and contracts, roughly emulating the operation of a muscle.

Why does Stiquito matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Stiquito?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Stiquito.