Sprockets Slog

Have You Seen This Man ?

2007-03-15T04:50:00.000+09:00

#I3010043,
originally uploaded by sprocket2cog.

Been looking for me ? well when blogger when out of beta a hicup meant i lost my password and cant get in, so by using flickr to backdoor the site im letting you know sprocket2cog has moved to
www.sprocket2cog.blogspot.com
and the latest project is at www.xbr-online.blogspot.com
so welcome back to the long time viewers and hello , welcome to my nightmare for the newb's.
remember this site is no longer posted to, its just the older stuff, check the new url for more weird stuff.
Sean

TWO HEADS BETTER THEN ONE

2006-04-16T02:14:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Well the Trike has been upgraded so I thought an update to keep you thinking what im going to do next was in order. Ive added a new upper deck and placed a hacked mother board from the lego rcx brick into it . The user buttons have been hacked into with real buttons mounted in the board to turn on the rcx and increment the program slot. The run button and view buttons will be jacked into the viper to allow control of the lcd screen and program runtime to save power. The RCX will also talk to the viper to allow analouge to digital conversion and multiplexing digital to analouge switches etc to allow a single wire control from the rcx with up to 16 buttons attached. The bulldog trike has a comman earth and this will allow easier use of sensors etc by limiting wiring later on. A new double wheel went on the back to help keep it stable and theres still heaps of wiring to go yet.... More in a few days..

VIPER TRIKE

2006-04-13T03:39:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Ive been working on a new test platform for a small robot that uses minimal parts instead of a com[plex chassis to speed assembly and repair or replacement of damageed componets.
The resault for the first prototype is a trike design with a single servo driving the back wheel and the motors that came with the viper kit from microbric driving the robot.
Power is from a seven cell NiMH pack running a rectifier diode as protection against reverse power hook up.
The sensor pack is just some leds, a piezo speaker and a bump sensor at the moment but plans to add wall sensing via infrared or ultrasonics are afoot.
The viper bolts to the plexiglass via two brass risers and the servo screws to the plexiglass, all the parts are part of a stressed chassis and the viper makes up the lower beck and the top deck curenttly holds the battery and servo.

SITE UPDATES

2006-04-10T01:09:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

OK heres some links and news from around thw web about the sites and features we have spread out everywhere. MICROBRIC fans head over to the latest facts and tips at the viper site, now has a new faq on issuse with the viper as we find them, goto HERE Lego is very quiet at the moment with the testers testing away, pity they didnt have the foresight to let out more info now the testinf has started, we want to know more !!!! The raptor is on hold as a project, im going to use the brain later and the parts are bieng used in new projects. The v2 is sitting resting while i hack and prod the viper. But for all you fans heap over to www.hackraptor.twistedsouls.com All right, now for the media philes. video robot group HERE and photos HERE and the frap robot battle robot map named the worldwide battle raptors, is located HERE
wallpaper image for your download....

GET A VIPER PACK IN STORE NOW

2006-04-06T18:01:00.000+08:00

note* the image is a older prototype used during the design and promotion of the original idea,
it shows an early sumo robot that is reflected in the new kit on sale.
some archive material to enjoy

sprocket2cog

Ok normally I like to go on about things a bit but I dont like to write about the same thing in two posts like this but if your in oz and can get to a store or want to order from dse.com.au online then nows a good time.
viper kits are going on limited price drops with the main kit selling for about $150 and the sumo and wheel pack selling for $52.49 & $59.99 each. so get them while its good picking.
I have got a sumo pack away for me to pick up soon, so ill have the sumo parts to do for the povray files .
thats the next big thing to do.
go here for the online details of the specials at dse..

VIPER SNAKES FORWARD

2006-04-06T14:15:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Well The MICROBRIC company is taking leaps and bounds with its range of robot experimentaion products and the latest news is going to really bring a smile to our faces. The wise men (and women ?) at the South Australian based company have opened up their online shop with a whole new range of repackaged products aimed squarely at overseas buyers. The box sets contain the same parts as the shelf release items but the box is half size to reduce postage and handling and combined post on several add packs purchased at the same time keeps the price down. Check it out if your not near a dick smith store and you end up only spending about the same amount as in store due to cheaper costs on the stuff itself, all good from where im sitting :)
On another note, a while ago i sent an idea for a 90 degree adaptor to Josh at microbrics support center after some talk in email and the forums. Well after some feedback heres where they are up to at the moment with it.
Cool, this little mod will allow vertical motor placement, repostioning of line trackers to work as obstical advoidance sensors and even three dimensional models for more advanced constructions. only time will tell how these little gems will surface, in packs or kits or as part of a promotion ? What else does the fledgeling company have hiding ? the skorpion next, or a new sensor pack, maybe even an led screen...the possiablites are endless, and they want to know about it too, so give them a vist and fill in the form on the main page to let them know what you all want. quick call for the robot medics the venom is spreading and its not all bad :)

VIDEO ROBOT GROUP

2006-04-05T16:48:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

A while ago Lem From robots dreams put me on to youtube for video hosting online, the site is first rate and allows videos to be added to your websites as a flash interface. nice :)
Well when i did a search for a group involving robots there wasnt one so i started one up.
www.youtube.com/group/ROBOT
So if you have a video about robots then get it in the group to increase your views.
heres one of our members exclusive look into the guts of the scooba.

Theirs heaps more footage, with packbots and disney robots as well as pranks and bipeds...check them out today....

LOCAL TIME IS HALF PAST A FRECKLE

2006-04-04T23:10:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

well just an update on whats going on The latest from the labs and news from the backrooms where robots cry for help...
Well ive upgraded images for the micro brick site with povray images i created for the intent of building plans like the manual for the viper to keep the look uniform. ill clean up the code for the pov file soon and release it for others to use, but for now its best to load one of my wallpapers from the site to your pc to drool over the models you can make in VR ( virtual realty for those too new to remember) with parts you dont own...i need to get the extra servo pack to build that so its on the list as well.
I have some more micro bric stuff soon including programs and the next project is going to be power supplies, i need a longer run for testing...
Im rebuilding the main s2c site as a portal as well to locate and navigate my content better as well, its a bit spread out on the net but you go where the people are....
the trike project was started and a review of what that intails is coming to s2c soon as well.
More soon
http://www.upnaway.com/~terraform/microbric/

HOW TO WRECK A ROBOT

2006-04-04T22:42:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Well I know i want to get in to robot wrecking but i really didnt mean for it to be like this ....
Well the story so far down in the lab carpark is thus.
Take one beat up mobility scooter, one pile of aluminium and some 24 volt motors and build a outdoor robot with a bit of real world grunt...soultion ? robo trike.
After replacing the whole backend with a lighter alloy section and using a 10amp 24 volt worm drive motor instead of the bulky 24 v 15 amp with added electromechanical brake motor that came with it the length was shortened as well and all the extra handle bars etc removed as well as the seat.
a New 12 volt motor for sterring control from a car wiper assembly was fitted and after finally getting the angles for the sterring linkages sorted I decided to give it a little chassis test by giving the motors a quick boot to see if the thing would be too fast or slow and its easier to redo the ratios now with out the shell on.
Any way, next step went all wrong.
first i touched
the terminals to the batteries to start the motor only meaning to give it a little tickle with the volts, but the terminal soldered itself to the battery post due to the high start up current draw , i couldnt get the terminal off quickly and the motor was too strong for the mounting plate and bent it about 20 degress or so down from the torque as the robot went to go. it must weigh around 35-45 kilograms now with out the batteries on board...nice robot..
REAL ROBOTS EAT MEAT ! projects this big can take off fingers or worse, take care, more then i did....hey myth busters stye alright...!
so dont start your robot with out a decent control system and pulsed power, or a lower voltage etc to try it, an d make sure the motor mount is at least three times stronger then you think you need... happy hacking.

LEGO ROBOT RIDE......

2006-03-15T22:41:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

So you think you have seen every lego robot out there? Well ibet you havent seen this one that often.. Well techniclly it isnt made of lego, but when legoland in Denmark needed a new attraction to keep the little minifigs happy, well they turned to German robot manufactuer KUKA to help rhem out.
The result, ROBOCOASTER
Lego wanted user interaction so a control panel with a choice of moves lets the user choose a unique ride on the 3 ton plus six degree of freedom giant robot arm, then climb on and get thrown around by one really big bad arm.. With speeds approaching 4m a sec and the ability to change direction at the flick pf its wrist, this ride is one fun fixture. The company has also made a robot arm flight sim that takes you on a tour of mars. KUKA has been making robots for factorys including customers like BMW and VW for years and is one of the leaders in its field.

www.kuka.com

VIPER REVIEW IN AMERICA

2006-03-14T04:46:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

The dallas personal robotics group had a chance to evalulate the viper and play with it a bit, the review is over at http://robots.net/article/1843.html#lastread So if your looking for some news on the viper this will help out a little untill we know whats coming. I wonder what the plans for the future are ? what modules would you like to see ? Head to the microbric site and let them know om the form on the main page. www.microbric.com

The image is a robot that Martin Meier created during his review.

ROBO VIDEO ARCHIVES GROUP

2006-03-10T14:54:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

I did a search over at you tube a few months ago to see if there was a robot group to add my videos to. but there wasnt one, so easy fix was to make one up and get it out there , So if you have any videos of your robots or robot hacks or even you with your robots talking about them..
Get on over to our group http://www.youtube.com/group/ROBOT
Great service and yoou can add the videos to your web sites easily, Thanks to Lem for his invaluble insight in to the web,, he steered me in the direction i need for the videos.
Google video is slow to load your videos to puplic galleries , you tube is a lot quicker, normally with in minutes.

REAL COMPUTER BRAINS under 9 inches

2006-03-10T09:11:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

So your going to build a robot, its gunna have cameras and arms and tank tracks gps a mobile phone and anything else you can get your hands on...well how are you going to control it all ? STAMP chips or LEGO, maybe a microbric brain or two, what aout hacking the vision from the v2 ? well how about a computer ? Yeah a real pentium motherboard and a real OS and real userbility and reprogramabilty. Think its beyond the average hobbiest just yet ? well think again. One of the sites i vist http://www.mini-itx.com/ is dedicated to reporting about the use and development of mini itx moter boards. These boards are full systems on a stick !! with onboard usb audio video serial ports and some even have standard S video ports as well. So what is so cool about theese multifunction boards ? been around a while I know... But its their size.. Getting down to around 8 inchs square and less then 10cm high these little boards are powerfull and fast but the trade off is bigger heatsinks and limited upgradeing for the average user. But the trade off is that you can build robots with full on board processors that can handle any thing you throw at your pc, from wifi to bluetooth and cameras and keyboards... Build a indoor or outdoor robot because with a little messing around to build your own plug adaptor, you can run these things on 12 volt supplies ( most computers can). The site even reviews a dc to dc converter for changing your batteries power from 12 volts to 5 and 3.3 as well. all this for the cost of a decent gaming PC. Add a wireless keyboard and mouse, a interface to the robot, even an rcx would work for basic control of motors and sensors. and viola, one programable robot chassis..

.

The Azimut 2 is powered by two 24V NiMH battery packs and an external power tether, with an elastic actuator, vertical suspension system and high efficiency brushless motor and gearbox driving each wheel

These photos are representative of content seen at
http://www.mini-itx.com/

ITS ALIVE, RAT ROBOT POWER UP

2006-03-09T19:16:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

2d-monic
So, the photos are up at flicka and the RAT (rubbish and trash) robot is working but needs some new wheels and sensors now. The design (tripod holomonic ) works well and is stronger then First thought, cardboard tubing with fibreglass supports and plastic tape wrapping strengthing it. Hot glue is used to hold it all together with tape added as protective covering on the carboard.
The cds are gluded to the core and legs and the motors are supported by fibreglass rods and hot glue. Control is rcx and power is 9 volt motors in the feet. New wheels are being made and ill do a video at toutube when they are done. The cover is made from a car window sun shade to give it a lunar lander module look.
Ill be improving this one over time and hope to make it a full line tracker and soccer style robot with sensors to suit and some decent programming.
Ive called it 2D monic from Direct Drive holoMonic robot chassis as the motors are mounted in the feet of the robot this could work with direct drive motors instead of lego motors if brushless high torque motors are used , but an ultra fast controll system with heading sensors an compass if not a gyro or two would be needed for any real control at increased speeds, this one can go around 30-40 cm a sec at full speed on a flat surface, but the dynamics of the design mean repeated directional changes are needed as the robot tends to degrade in to a static point spin and linear motion paths cease untill a new slingshot is set off by changing one or wheel directions.

HOLOMONIC JUNK BOT

2006-03-07T23:06:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

or
HOW TO BUILD A COOL ROBOT IN A FEW HOURS
We all have seen th paper robots around, you know the little cut out fold together transformers and such ? well I decided to take paper craft to my level, Years ago I used to make up space ships out of pape and card and then went on to sterene foams and plastics and today I went back to paper and glue.. Hot glue that is... Using some cardboard tubes from some paper towels
and two PC mag CD's from the 90's
I glued and taped this little chassis together,
more programming and then the wheels,
Im making omni wheels from scratch for this one ,using parts from a craft store.
Control is by rcx and power is direct drive 9 volt geared lego motors. This should be fairly fast and a little hard to control but its a good step if you want to control a hovercraft later down the track...hmm hovercrafts... Anyway im penning designs for a holomonic hovercraft using ducting systems and control vanes similar in design to VTOL aitcraft and Two stroke motorcycle engine designs... money money money...gee im going to need to find a better job. holomonics to you home bot. , till next time. sprocket.

MICROBRIC MOTOR DISMANTLE

2006-03-05T15:09:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

NO STEPHANIE, NO DISASSEMBLE... Well ive just documented the inside of the viper motor units for you all to see. details at viper resources, link in the side bar is always there if you loose this article....

SODA POWERED ROBOTS

2006-03-05T02:03:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

SODA CONSTRUCTOR
Genetic robot design is nothing new, its been around for years, the idea that fixed and variable length beams and springs, ( read bones and muscles) can be used for motion is the basis of most animals that employ walking. Sodaplay has released a program robot engineers and hobbiests will really enjoy, Best of all its free easy to learn and as it is java, dosent need to be installed. Featuring remote server storage of your models so you can share them this program beats others i have seen. from ameoba to bugs and walkers, give it a go , and when you are good at it, check out the mainpage for details on soda race, with human versus AI contenders this event is a virtual race with contenders designed by man and machine, upload races boast on the forums or get your robots assets kicked if your not up to the challange.
The image at hte top is one i made, its a triangle center leg lifting walker. not new but fun to make, this was my first attempt at a walking model that worked...

MICRO, THE NOT SO BASIC ATOM

2006-03-03T02:49:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Ive just been looking at the technology behind the viper cpu over the last few days and have found that MICROBASIC has released a new version of the IDE and a new manual for it as well, theres some new undocumented code examples including,wait for it.... VIDEO OUT COMMANDS.... yep, thats right folks, the viper may just be able to out put a video signal and with the example on the microbasic site there is every chance you can play pong on your viper straight to your tv, and with a playstation controller to boot, but dont take my word for it, im not trying this just yet as its a bit of a hassle umtill i see the wiring for the ps2 controller. but worth looking in to as a user interface. text on a tv from a robot or for disabled people to talk to you via the viper. There is also a pdf on how to use the scope function of the basic IDE , and its meant to monitor the vipers ports so can be set up to help debug outputs. all from your PC. With the inbuilt debugger that works well for the level of processor involved, your all set to have a fairly easy time learning advanced programming for a range of applications....

CAN MAKES LIGHT WORK OF TRASH

2006-03-02T04:24:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

I was reading a catalogue for a local chain store and saw an interesting robot..A trash can. Yes a stainless steel self opening trash can, using IR emmittors and recivers in the lid with a manual override it is a sign of simple ideas moving into the realms of everyday use, add some wheels and get it to empty it'self as well....or chase that thief down the road who just stole your vcr right out from underneath your dreaming robot sentry..doh robot hackers again....when will they learn not to hack the easy targets :P as r2d2 once said...beep darooo neep rooga dew dew deeewww.. or something like that.

VIPER RESOURCES ONLINE

2006-03-02T04:15:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

The new microbric resource sections are open so head over to http://www.upnaway.com/~terraform/microbric/ for the latest lowdown on the viper from south australian comapany microbric. programs,models technical details and more to come, worth a look for the new hobbiest.
image is happy android #001

ONCE BIT-N TWICE SHY

2006-02-28T11:37:00.000+08:00

MICROBRIC VIPER AND THE MINDSTORM NXT/RCX COMPARISION
sprocket2cog 2006

So you have decided to buy a robotics control and prototype system and having no real idea what to buy you go to your local dick smith store (hey this is for Aussie buyers ok !!) , and find the mindstorms and microbric range to drool over as several hundred dollars burns a hole in your pocket.
What to do now, read the box ,look at the pictures and then act on impulse...(if your like me at all) so at first glance standing in the shop you have to decide what to get.

This means that only a few things need to be considered at this stage.

price versus parts count.
package appeal and infomation
age group and intended end use.

so lets look at the first list and break it down for you.
PRICE AND PARTS COUNT
The lego RCX and viper kits avalible at the moment are similar in price but the parts count is greater for the lego, but this dosent mean it actually has more chance of being the best solution to your robot designs and ideas, this is often overlooked at the chance to get more parts for your dollar.
LEGO has a large range of parts to choose from and the simplest packs bionicles etc start under 10 dollars, the viper cant match this yet with the line tracker kit at around 30 dollars the cheapest parts options.

LEGO PARTS COUNT AND PRICING- RETAIL APROX $250-300 WITH OVER SEVEN HUNDRED PARTS

VIPER PARTS COUNT AND PRICING- RETAIL APROX $200 WITH AROUND 200 PARTS ( MAINLY SCREWS AND NUTS )

PACKAGING AND PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Next is the physical appearence of the two.Both boxes are very similar in color and size, untill you pick them up, the lego box is bigger and heavier and with its foldout guide on the front offers more for the buyer to puruse and drool over..That with its larger range of model types like the arm and sorter etc, mean that you are more likely to look at the lego kits as a good start for a range of diffrent models to build and greater flexabillity ,if you want extra parts to play with, buy some lego cars or small kits and dress up the rcx into a new style that easy, something the viper lacks.
But the downside of this is that it still looks like lego.

The viper box is also well designed but needs more care to stop the parts moving inside and hiding the cpu or the front needs to be solid with no inside showing, The simularties between the two is striking to say the least (did someone say clone ?). This is a good thing as it brings a sort of standard to the robot kit market and reinforces the overall finish and status by saying this is in the same eague as the big boys.
some issues with viper packing include the following
The back needs to include a bigger parts list and maybe closeup images of the motors etc so we can see the tech used ,mention the fact you use high intensity LEDs and pwm motors, show them the parts they get to play with.
Also talk up how much the programming in basic is easy to learn and has potential to control the hardware in ways no other kit allows, like hardware pulse width modulation or serial out for other system control, and show the remote on the box, its cool.
add firefox browser to the required system list on the side as well as IE ,then it shows you support open development and as most robot hobbiests have some acsess or background in open source or linux it fuels their fire against big bussines..
small point i know but its all about the inroads.

AGE - END USE
The lego says twelve years but with the rise of computers in schools my 8 year old even had a go with the lego. the viper with its sharp points and text based programming as opposed to the lego icon style means its more likly to end up lego as the choice forprimary aged kids and the viper for teens and adults. but the added models like arms is a big point in favour of lego, the box seems to say if you want to learn to build lots of differnet types of robots, lego can do it But the viper seems to say. lets build mobile mouse type robots.More suited to those in tghe know like sumo and line trackers, they are exsisting robot compotions and appeal to uni students and teens in the know.

overall the $80 dollar price differance on the lego is out weighed by the parts count and added models like the inventorbot or the scanner mean that its about 45% to the viper and 55% to the RCX if its impulse buying.
But this would go to equal standings if people vist the sites and do some reading first.
Talk to someone with both and unless they have no mechanical skill either then the viper would be my choice for anyone over 12 or thirteen.
But for anyone wanting to learn mechanical design and prototyping or want to play with the kids still in preschool. lego all the way.

WHATS IN THE BOX ?
So having come homw with both kits to see if I am right or not :P you open them up and decided to see if you can get you first test project going. So tgaking your clone you each sit down and breakout the parts..first signs of trouble appear five minutes later on both fronts.hers what I think.
First the viper, Looks good all blue appears to be easy to unpack and get ready to use until you try to get the peices out of the board, the CD help says that the parts should push out easy but this wasnt the case with a small saw file or power tool needed to free the sensors safely. Add to this the need to insert the nuts into the bricks and the breakout time blew out to an hour or or so but this included installing the software which is easy to find install and get running.
The lego on the other hand had proplems of its own (some addressed in the new NXT sets) and not the least is the fact that the standard CD software often failed in an XP enviroment. Add the fact that the RCX itsself is a giant brick and it all looks more complex then on the box means that your not sure at this point which kit is the best. time to dive deeper.
Time to program and build your first test.
The viper led test was simple to set up and try and the design of the boards make it fun to work with giving a sort of science fiction or university project feel to it all, first hour of playing with the viper had the bumpbot built and programmed and pulled apart again to try a new robot.
so 2 hours is really needed to have fun with the viper for the first time.
The lego from memory as its been a while since i opened one took about 20 mins to get ready, ten on the install and then the fun started a simple test was easy to do but building the models in the book took several hours to build the first one and tghat didnt include installing firmware into the rcx which you will shortly discorver needs to be reinstalled every five minutes as the batteries fall out too easily. lego looses points here.
first few hours gives the viper the edge in fun out of the box but now we start to see the limitations of the sets and what the boxes dont say. some of it good a little of it not so good.
on to the next section

LIMITATIONS
After a a late night building bot's you now start to see the dark sides of your new kits and wonder if you really should have gone to the net and researched the sets first. both have a niche and both have shortfalls but most can be overcome.
Firstly the lego isnt as easy to build new robots as you really wanted, its complex to get cool strong robots working and the bugs in the gui mean it gets fustrating to use after a few days and you realise that you need to read and learn some more.but thats when you start to find out about the underground side hacks and software not in the box, like new firmware sensor hacks and multiplexing rcxs to get bigger systems etc.
All of a sudden theres a whole bag of fun out there to play with and the limitations of lego are overlooked again for a while.
The microobric kit on the other hand has similar problems with you realising that asic is a little diffrent from 15 years ago and the viper needs some programming skills like syntax understanding and flow. time to hit the net as well. The Web site has great content but is a little hard to find where it is, some things like the help pdf files should be under support as should a faq.
You realise the viper construction isnt as versitile as you wanted with no way to place sensors in diffrent angles to see walls or such and the non magnetic screwdriver is getting you ready to throw the screws across the foom.
But you realise now having read more that with things like 16 user settable ports and sleep mode and extra commands like serial port control means you suddenly arent in kansas anymore.
this little blue board is one wolf in sheeps clothing.
now the fun starts.

THE FUTURE.OUTLOOK
Lego has moved into its next phase with a whole raft of new issues and challenges but they alreday have a great user support base. The new icon software is more powerfull and the new consstructions like the android or scorpion are crowd pullers.
Microbric while only a new player has certainly played a good first hand and if the expected new parts come out on a bi yearly basis maybe then all is set to let the viper corner the system prototype market.New led colors added parts and new senors like sound and ultrasonics would increase the market share.
microbric has more room to expand into other markets as it dosent look like toy.

FINAL OVERVEIW AND LISTS.
Even though at first glance the viper and mindstorm kits are very similar, they really arent at all, each sliding into its own niche, Lego with its range of extra parts including pnumatics and heaps of shapes and colors make it perfect for real 3D robots like androids and arms as well as customizing models in new colors of styles.
Its program interface makes it quick and easy to trial new ideas but does limit end results a little.
Avaliability of the motors sensors and cpu from lego online as indivuial units is grreat for added support and the abillity to let them (the rcx's) talk easily to each other makes expansion of memory and ports easy.
The viper kit is aimed at he other corner with a greater emphisis on program function and electronic components and how to build exsisting robot styles like sumo bots in time frames not normally considered long enough.
This with its open design makes it ideal for people wanting to learn how to buid their own sensors and later even add the viper into real robots as the brain.
It really dosent play on the same field as the lego. Its got more potential as a controller but needs more parts and such to compete against the mechanical enginnering side of lego or even paralax construction kits like the scout walker or arm kit.
but on a sensor and output count, viper wins due to its programabillity of the hardware amd the potential to add your own sensrs later means pinball score board or remote moniter systems could be developed.
so now to sum it up ill try to directtly compare aspects of the microbric and lego in list form.
VIPER PROS
very cool looking
fast to use overall
advanced programming
debugging
high quality parts not plastic
exploitable architechture opens new learning pathways
discreate markings make it great for third party prototype's or one off projects.
stronger construction with screws

LEGO pros
multiple program slots
heaps of parts to choose from
GUI programing enviroment makes programming very quick
configurability of lego is really high
Ability to build heaps of diffrent roboclasses, ie mobile rovers, arms devices etc out of the box.
Sensors are intergrated into the program code, so no need to spend time learning syntax for each.
large archive of models and mechanisums exsist all over the net to draw from
Parts avaliable online indiviually so easy to add new parts, or CPU's direct from lego and other sources like educational experience in sydney.
new parts comming out yearly from lego in the form of new kits, not robots but new parts none the less.

VIPER CONS
not very mechanical in nature.
limited to planular designs with no real vertical abillity. ie 90deg anglees etc
limited parts in base kit to build diffrent robot classes.
No inbuilt screen for checking out stuff.
no easy way to link CPU's to build bigger brains.

LEGO CON's

looks a bit childish
limited port control and setup -rcx 3 in 3 out NXT 3 out four in
firmware needs reinstalling often
compatabilty with OS not always good.
icon based API is limited by avaliable commands and perameters like time as it cant emulate pulse width or Baud rates.
construction of robots isnt as intuative as first thought.

FINAL ASSEMENT
So what does it all mean?
Well reaaly the two products are totally diffrent as far as robots go. yes you can make similar robots at the get go but each kit branches into its own tangent sooner then later.
Lego is ideall for kids and adults with no prior building skills and limited programming knowledge,, with its multitude of mechanical parts and icon software It makes for a fun night in even if you have problems with building the model.

The viper in its own corner stands its ground as a serious player aimed at electronics and programming students and hobbiests and has the potential to spill into serious system control and remote applications with a little skill and learning.

THE FUTURE OF MICROBRIC
Focusing on the future of the microbric range and possiable application areas we find the viper is useful for the control of larger systems then the rcx and nxt but is limited by its lack of wireless communication between units. The modular design could allow for small blister packs of sensors and parts to be put together and the mainboard could also be sold seperatly for more advanced users chasing brains for exsisting robots like wowwee robosapien or smaller kits like linetracker and avoider bots at dick smith.
Sales of parts could out way sales of full kits if the potential to use the viper as a system controller is fully realised by consumers. And new cpus with analogue ports would stimulate new sales if the intergrated models or projects are really thought out and pushed.
Think red boards for team sports like sumo or soccer bots.
Add some printed documentation like a quick start guide and showcase the modules some more to really stress the diffrences and advantages over lego and then a new market share arises.
Releasing small packs of one sensor and a brick or two every 6 to 12 months will stimulate sales and supplement the revenue from the core kit. while giving endusers the chance to customize thier bots cheaply and easily, giving them more satisfaction and ultimatelly want to buy more :)
Looking at the big picture , i see two possible directions that the microbric range can take, The first is as a system controller with the addtion of new main boards with addtional inbult support such as dc power ports and analoge to digital implimentation. this would mean the creation of several core main kits with addtional packs for upgrading.
The second use`s the exsisting board and more mechanical modules to increase the config to include arms legs and cranes., addtional sensors could also include user prototype boards for building our own add ons.
some ideas include ;
FACTORY SYSTEMS AND AUTOMATION (conveyer systemsgantrys and robot parts assembly)
GAME AND ENTERTAINMENT CONTROL ( points scoring, timers and logic maybe voice regocnition )
ARMS AND LEGS ( appendage and actuator kit for hands and arms)
CIRCUIT TESTING AND PROTOTPE KIT (logic probe program and more....)
ENVIROMENT AND WEATHER ( temp humidity and compass sensors....analoge to digital convertor.)

LEGO NXT THE FUTURE
With the pending release of the NXT brick it's only fitting that we talk a little about its future as it's release is so close to the start of viper sales and future mcrobric releases.
The NXT is legos latest offering for robophiles and addresses many issues for endusers that were evident in the RCX forums and websites. Firts thing is the addition of a larger screen and bluetooth to the unit giving it better data display functions and increased communication range and wireles reprogramming.
New bricks allow 3d structures to be built intuitivlly and the added voice regcognition is a boon for robotists everywhere.
the NXT will be ideal as a base for a home companion robot with voice control ultrasonics and color vision support.(color light sensor not camera) .Its not ideal for data logging as lego looks set once again to hold this back for educational users who buy addtional software upgrades.
With no direct way to allow the rcx to talk to the nex nxt lego made a mistake as the old units are still ideal for lots of applications.
lego is still going to hold the lionshare due to entrenched learning curves in schools but a push though robocup contests may increase use of viper control systems across the countrys schools,With out addtional chassis releases and added modules for arms and legs the viper may not reach its intended market with much venom left,

QUICK GUIDE ( really quick!)
lego 60% , plastic parts, but lots of them,(new nxt is set to give us more sensors etc)
viper 40% due to steeper learning curve and limited chassis design options, more drive systems needed as well as more sensors for ranged observations.

LEGO- mechanical prototyping and design systems
MICROBRIC- circuit design and system control implementations
LEGO- mechanical prototyping and design systems easy to build mechanical systems
MICROBRIC- circuit design and system control implementations easy to build circut designs and controllers

DADDY ? can you see me Daddy....

2006-02-27T15:02:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

In a little shack down the back of sprocket2cog a little robot has been getting his head hacked good .The sound of cracking plastic filled the air and the V2's face fell free to the floor exposing his camera and eys to the world...oh the pain.... with a quick flick of the wrist and some more creaks and groans the rest of his head was soon following the face, planting themselves on the floor...(face plant ?) now the real fun begin's , taking a roll of tape and some padding I procceded to wrap his throat in a constricting bind to hold his head high when it went on, the plastic wrapping needed to create a friction joint with his new cranium.
Next We placed the inside of a roll of aluminium foil ( read carboard tube) over his neck and fed the camera and brainboard through to make sure we wouldnt get caught out later.
Now with a size reference to cut a hole in our head we went to work, sawing and grinding away at a large foam ball, ears eyes and nose portals were cut and a space for his camera and additional power support carved from the soft fleshy foam that would soon be alive, ALIVE I TELL YOU....
felt was layed inside to protect from static in the foam and damage from dropping him and gluded in with a hot glue gun...bad idea , within seconds of the heated goo touching his head holes appeared as if an allergic reaction was occuring, who would have thought a plastic robot that cant take the heat...
Plan "B" out with the liquid nails a sort of intoxicating contact glue that melts and binds foam together in a predictable way, nice, Adding pieces cut from smaller balls. and a strap from some broken headphones completed his ears with some nice looking headphones,now we just had to wait for it to dry.
Next day we took his little head back off and raced it down to our spray bay and hit it with a coat of paint ready for the final color and finish to be added.
YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW. well after painting it black, green white and the yellow, we decided to stay with the yellow, that and if we got anymore coats of paint on it the V2 was nt going to lift his head up from all that weight, Ill have to tell him hes not that good..!
Anyway next step we decided to make him have a removable skull section so we can tickle his sensors and play with his parts easier, so we mounted magnets from dissected H-Drives (hyper drive ?) and placed several on the head sections with contact pins in the top half to hold it on, it works great if he doesnt fall over , which he does often, sending his skull flying across the room.
The sensors are free mounted under the felt or with blutack adhesive for easy removal if needed and i might have to add some red eys aswell . the power board is to supply 3 volt power to a FET and addtional power in the head later, so it dosnt draw more power.
so a few days work and painting and the hew head is on and functioning, now what......

LIFE ON THE ROBOT FARM

2006-02-27T00:07:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Well im busy at the moment what with testing robodance 3 software and redesigning the website on top of the robot hacks and projects on the fly, add that to the air hockey table i repaired and there isnt much time left for writing articles. Im going to start adding more content in the next few weeks to the sites but first i need to finalise the new look and style for the site so it looks the part. y V2 head hack is done with it now looking like a cross between pacman and the latest version of MARVIN fromm hitch hikers guide , the movie. I created a monster by crossing his sensors so he ignores you when tracking objects actually looking the wrong way and then jokingly saying tracking when theres nothing there... Im working on some designs for 90 degree bricks for the viper as well as adaptors for adding experimental project elements. stay tuned for more hacks hints and heaps of other good bits. sprocket

SAPIEN RADIO STATION HACK.

2006-02-13T20:44:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Ive installed the cutdown FM radio transmitter into the back area of the sapien, near the speaker so it leaves the torso empty for future haks. Ive added an old aerial from a incar mobile phone kit and just have to build an interface board so i can add plugs to the speaker etc to hack into the signal. Im making the board and another one for 9 volt step down to 6 and 3 for extra sensors. maybe even a 5 volt regulated source for the viper basic stamp prototyping system from microbric. The next thing to do is add an mp3 player to him as well and then hack an fm reciver into the audio of the laptop so i can hear him though the blutooth headset im using with the robodance program with its new voice control, we are still alpha testing it so hang on a while while robert the curator of evosapian and the programmer of dancemachine to finish the bug fixes.

V2 UNSCREWED UNGLUED & STRIPPED

2006-02-13T04:14:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

So you want to see in side your V2 robosapien from wowwee but dont know what to do next in your quest to find the hacky grail ( yeah I know bad pun..) not sure what to do first, well you have found the right place.... first things first follow the photos and the steps below to get your sapien showing its guts... Then your ready for drastic surgery to his plastic or parts as you see fit.
Here we go, screwdrivers ready ? ok..GO..

locate the six screws in the back of his chest section (back even.) two in each shoulder and four more down the sides of the torso.
2remove them and put them aside , they are all the same screw type so no hassles mixing these up.
now remove the front of his chest, the back is still held on by more screws inside him.
Now using the phots as a guide locate the four screws holding the back to the chassis and the two screws that hold the shoulder springs to it as well, take out the shoulder springs and the chassis screws and place them aside, be carefull releasing the springs you cant replace our own eyes just yet.
Now carefully remove the back as the speaker and power switch are still attached, undo the cables on the main board to the back using a small screwdriver to release the glue, all the 2 plugs appear glued, this is most likly to reduce returns due to loose plugs from rough shipping.
now remove the black panel in the back where you pick it up, this will allow you to attach more controllers and sensors to him and run the cables during prototyping in to the hole .
now store all the parts and plan your hacks.

welcome to the world of the naked robot....

GET A REAL JOB

2006-02-10T22:32:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Well it may seem like its been quiet on the outside of the labs, but wipe some grime off the windows and peer in and the sight will amaze and dumbfound you.. So heres a breif of the current projects that are on the bench .

viper 2 sapien, emulating ir codes on the viper
Mana bionicle lego remote unit hack 2 ??? (not sure yet :P)
Sapien auto on from trigger (remove power switch)
Alpha testing robodance version 3.
SEGWAY style bot upgrades.
4X4 line tracker skid steer high torque hill climber.
raptor walking programs (current RCX, future viper or NXT)
Chicken walker leg design and prototypeing.

As you can see, we are busy at the moment so it may ( read WILL) take time to get more detailed posts out, keep your eyes o here for releases of where we are up to. We have finished hacking the nose into the v2 and removed his eyes as ell, the mouth IR reciever has also been moved to the face plate and this greatly increased its object tracking to the point its annoying, about 3 feet is easy for him now if the reflection is good. Hmmm now where did I put that little mouse...here mousey, mousey mousey...

SEGWAY CLONE PROJECT VIPER

2006-02-06T00:40:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Well having tried to do a segway style bot in lego and failing I decided to give it another go with the viper kit and see if it was possiable to get a working imitation working. I have a video and pics and the program is up in the microbric forums over at www.microbric.com in the viper program section. Ill add this bot and the code to the new viper site Im working on as well.

FIRST VEIWS OF VIPER

2006-02-03T17:59:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Well it`s been a while waiting, ( my fault not their`s.) But finally I have got my actuator`s on the viper robotics experiment and prototype kit.
A mix of old school and new world techno-goodies,just waiting to be "POKED and PEEKED" into a free roaming - line tracking - bot fighting machine, But does it cut it in the real world ?
Only time will tell, but for now after a false start with one of the motors I would have to say the pro`s so far outway the con`s.
The viper is a Australian made robotics kit in a vein very similar to lego, but requiring more skill and dexterity to assemble, The addition of a magnetic screwdriver would greatly aid in assembly and deconstruction of your models.
One of the reasons I liked the viper was its openess and honesty about the tech behind the the mouse behind the man that made the snake..(or something like that :) The robot it`s self is totally uninclosed, with all the boards and circuits in plain veiw for the budding electronic engineer to have a look at, but the use of SMD (surface mount devices) and creative motherboard design means that deciphering the layout of the boards isnt as easy as I first thought. Break out the magnifing glass plebs, you will need it if you want to read the parts on the main board.
Over all the finish and quality is of a high standard with only a few minor issues in regards to the box and software bring the first point score down to 8 out of ten.
Heres a quick breakdown of what I thought after Two hours playing last night..

The software installed and ran first go on windows XP pro running on a laptop, no hassles like legos mindstorms set, it crashed on my xp laptop weekly, untill a patch was realised from lego. (which they did do)
the design and construction quality is of a high grade, with computer cut boards and soldering to the componets giving the parts a "I COME FROM SPACE" feel about them.
Breakout time to get it ready to program was a little long due to some parts not wanting to come out of the box.
The programing IDE is great even if some of the features arnt documented in the help. like using the program as an oscilloscope (look in tools in the menu)
The programing, while it is old school, and dosent support some basic things like using maths on user variables, you need to build stacks and add them one after the other to a new variable for example to get addition to two variables., Nothing you cant work around, and it also helps develope a sense of awarness in regards to programing and the idiosyncrices of robtics and computers in general.
The motors are very cool, with what looks like a h bridge or similar built on to the motor it`self, the main board has minimal components on it, as all the sensors have their own electronic support architechture built onto them, smart sensors in a way, but not too smart.

Well thats it for now, ill write up more and do a photo shoot tonight..
The viper, once bitten infected for life..Dont tell my sapien V2 but hes got some competition.
So if your looking to break into robotics and want instant results, you could do a lot worse then this kit , and if the product range expands as expected then this company may be set to invade the world. long live the robots.
I have to say that the fun level of this robot set outways the little issuse that popped up, the biggest dissapointment was a frozen motor, but a quick trip down to dick smith had me a new one, and micro bric support always is helpful if the retail outlet isnt. Josh at tech support is always looking out for his customers , and will bend over backwards to make sure any issues are addressed.
So now having a few parts to play with Im off to invent new toys to take over the world..
asta la vista baby...

LEG PROTOTYPE FOR BIPED WALKER

2006-01-30T03:50:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

This is my first prototype for the legs I plan to build for my raptor brain transplant.
I have some aluminium angle in the rack, and Am thinking about building a metal biped walker.
The raptor brain would make an ideal controller, with the addition of a relay board and some 6 or 12 volt motors, cordless drills maybe ?
next step is to draw up the scale full size for a bigger design.
There may be hassles getting it to walk as the dynamics are totally diffrent to the way the roboraptor walks, but if so I will either redesign the legs or come up with a diffrent way to trigger the walking..
I am going to lego prototype it first so I dont waste materials.

BRAIN VOLTAGE TO POWER EXTERNAL DEVICE

2006-01-29T16:21:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

As you can see in the photo, I have added a small board with several header pins on it ready to interface devices to the v2. at the moment I have wired the power from the head to it, (3.3 volt) perfect for the addition of headlights :)
The red and black cables labeled SVCC and GND are the two I tapped into so far.
Thanks to knitsu for his help in working out the best pins to try for a power interface, spot on !

GET ME THE GREEN CHEESE (video)

2006-01-28T12:26:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

This is my newest addition to the s2c robot clan.
Its a three IR receiver line tracker. The unit itself is a little slow due to the reduction in the gearboxes but a little tweaking or a whole new chassis with it`s brain might be the go.
Worked first time except the wiring diagram had the motors reversed so it wanted to track around in circles...

I added the green FLED as its nose, and a tail out of UV react plastic. Im taking the diagnostic led`s off the main board and adding fly leads so they can be placed into the body shell.

OH MY, ITS GOT REAL TEETH....

2006-01-27T01:05:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Tempusmaster over at ROBOTS DREAMS sent me a link to a site with a bipedal robot that has a lot in common with the roboraptor, just on a bigger scale...
check it out over here This thing has got me thinking about my larger lego raptor with the raptor brain.. hmm this one rocks.

THEY WILL TAKE OVER

2006-01-26T20:46:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

In all our efferts to hack and control robot`s we must be careful....
http://www.nurple.com/modelkits/god-of-the-robots.html
And the kit was made in the 1970`s.
do robots think of god....

SNAKE IN THE GRASS

2006-01-26T12:58:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog
Here a shot of the microbric prototypes that were made before the release of the viper. These boards have lots of other features not seen on the viper so as you can see there is a great deal of kits and parts that they can follow up with. Lego used to be the robot kit of choice for many people looking to break into robotics, even die hard hackers and builders normally have some lego in it some where. I mean when nasa uses three Lego bricks to hold down the camera callibration disc on the mars rovers . You got to start wondering if LEGO is getting like the cow ? In IT going way back to the start at MIT and other great places the joke was , if you can , include a cow... so now we see cows jumping up all over the net. Maybe robtics and lego are like that, if you dont have one piece of lego hidden away inside somewhere you just dont get it ;) It`s sort of like the old skool idea that every good car had wood in it...
where am i going with this ?? who knows but if it makes you think tha the viper might be better the the lego offerings ? then my mission here is done...:P
So hang on And I will be writing up the first reveiw on the viper next week.

WHATS IN THE BOX..COMING UP NXT

2006-01-25T14:30:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog
LEGO forum lugnet has many post`s flying around about the nxt set some good , some complaining, and heaps in between... but after some digging I found this little gem.
http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/?n=25459

Its a photo of the inside of the box and the debate that is sure to follow about the nxt can be tracked at lugnet, so stay tuned for more lego nxt mindstorm stuff soon,
The closing date is getting close for the developers list, so get over there (LEGO) and check it out.
Heaps of new parts not the older style studded bricks. Wires sensors and wheels.
A cd for the gui.
all in all not a bad looking set.
If you want to check out the latest news on the NXT go to nxtbot.com
this is where the photo was meant to be ....

LEGO NXT EDUCATIONAL

2006-01-25T05:36:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Well I was kindly pointed to the lego educational site in regards to the new NXT due out soon and was surprised to see answers to questions not posted to the nxt blog...? surely LEGO wants us all to know about their new toy ?
anyway the site to see is here.

Some of the things I found out there include,
The education model will ship with rechargable batteries, the lego nxt most likly wont have datalogging software out untill 2007 and then it ay just be for the educational release...(DOH!)
The older lego sensors can be joined to the new NXT, lego educational mentions sets of sensor adaptor cables for you to use.but only to schools ??? come on what is this ???
That means it shouldnt be to hard to build adaptors at home to add the older sensors to it if we dont see the cables.
The new NXT has the rotational sensors built it to it`s motors thats why there isnt one out yet, its in it LOL.
anyway The beast is loose and now we just wait for it to get here...
This year is going to be more fun then you can poke a brick at...A lego brick...

ROBOT PARTS #002

2006-01-24T19:09:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

MORE POWER
So you need a 12 or even 18 volt power pack and charger, a motor and clutch for your robot ? why not a cordless drill ? all of the above and you can get them really cheap secondhand. worth a look...I am.

LAST WEEKS DAILY WORD TOMMOROW.....?

2006-01-24T15:35:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

hys·ter·e·sis
Pronunciation: "his-t&-'rE-s&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural hys·ter·e·ses /-"sEz/
1 : the lagging of a physical effect on a body behind its cause (as behind changed forces and conditions) hysteresis as well as for sensitivity and natural frequency —H. D. Green>
2 a : the influence of the previous history or treatment of a body on its subsequent response to a given force or changed conditionhysteresis, in which the time of coagulation of heated milk is progressively greater with increase in the time interval between heating and addition of rennet —J. S. Fruton> b : the changed response of a body that results from this influence-
extracted from dictionary.com

RAPTOR WALK TEST (video)

2006-01-24T15:05:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

VIDEO

Well heres the video of the LEGO RCX to raptor walk testing, it falls over heaps so I need to lengthen the tail some more :P and weight the head better, but that comes with the new neck,

SHHH, IT WILL HEAR YOU

2006-01-24T05:54:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Well I thought I would post an image of the microbric VIPER robot with some extra parts from the add on kits added to turn it in to a really evil looking spider, dont walk under this one in the dark, Ok so the actual robot is simpler then most line trackers.. but it does look cool..more to come in the next few weeks as I finaly pay off the kit ( its not a priority to the better half.) not to mention with my name on the lego NXT developers list, i need to hang on to some funds , on the off chance that they want an aussie on board. fingers crossed.. im already dreaming of interfaces and MOC `s that i want to build.
(MOC- my own creations) ahhh my prettys, go go go take over the world..whoops i hope nobody heard that....

thats the start of the serial....

2006-01-24T00:40:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Well the robodance program is due for version three beta testing soon and it should support the lego serial towers from the eary RIS kits. But if your chasing a lego serial tower and live in Australia then check out www.edex.com.au
they were gracecious enough to supply me with a free tower to do some testing so it`s only fitting I give them a plug.. so if your looking for a way to control your V2 and cant get hold of the usb ir uirt then try the lego tower instead, they have a few on the shelf as well...
anyway im putting the v2`s head back on so talk soon...

WRAITH RAPTOR REARS IT`S HEAD

2006-01-22T18:26:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

RAPTOR TODDLING PROGRAM #101
WELL iVE UPLOADED A VIDEO OF THE RAPTOR WALKING VIA RCX LEGO CONTROL, IT`S ONLY BABY STEP`S BUT I HAVE ADDED THE TAIL AND THE NECK TO IT TO GET THE BALANCE WORKING BETTER, AND TO SEE IF THE TAIL ARTICULATION CAN BE ACTUATTED FROM THE EXSISTING MOVEMENT`S.MORE SOON WHEN THE GOOGLE VIDEO UPLOAD IS VERIFIED. (it will appear at google soon)
The raptor is capable of throwing it`s self to the ground if you program it wrong too, so it hasnt reached the limits of its potential for speed and agression,
The control pad head is only there for a joke, ideally a spybot is going there .

BATTLE RAPTOR`s HERE WE COME
www.hackraptor.twistedsouls.com

MARTIAN ASSUALT PARTY LANDS IN PERTH

2006-01-22T13:07:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

ALIEN INVASION FORCES ATTACK ROBOT LAB.

This photo was snapped just before the operator was vaporised into a little pile of dust...The advance assault party has arrived, be afraid very afraid....
Marvin`s back and he is mad as "HAL"

V2 head hacking at the lab, and yes he does scream when you hack his head, The video is up at google and ill post it here later too.

CALM DOWN AND NO ONE WILL GET HURT...

BUZZ ZZZZZZ, she can not take it anymore captain !!

2006-01-22T00:45:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

A while ago I built a lego line tracker that won the forum compotition ( as mongke ) over at lego mindstorms.
Heres a quick video of it walking for those who want to see a lateral way to solving a design issue, "build a line stepping robot.." well it steps dosnt it ? and it follows a line so it completes the criteria. any way here it is for you all to see. (flash).
It changes the motors direction based on the light sensors, and in the true sense it is actually a line avoider not a tracker, its logic is to get to the end and get away from the big bad line, pity it didnt get told to turn around first...

ARTICULATION GETS GREEN LIGHT FROM LAB

2006-01-21T04:13:00.000+08:00

THIS ROBORAPTOR IS SET TO WHIP THE OTHERS INTO LINE...
Hot on the heels of my recent addition of the miniraptor tail into the tail of the raptor comes the added cables and guides for the increased action for the tail articulation.
As you can see the guides (grey tubes) are crossed over, this may change depending on the walking tests
If you look closly at the tail articulation you can just make out the cables and holes where i drilled through the ends.
This goes all the way down to the tip section (mini tail) and is stunt kite string so it is strong.
With some more tweaking i should have it walking soon.
The full hack will be up at evosapien.com soon

ROBOTS UNITE FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS

2006-01-20T21:51:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

WE CAME WE SAW WE GOT OUR BRAINS ERASED..
With more and more robots coming out on the market its only natural that robots rights lobby groups would show there heads.
A few years ago the first signs of this was seen at MIT. the robots revolted, and wanted to change the three laws, maybe they got a chance to talk to Mark Tilden...?
look out hackers, the robots are fighting back.
read more and see the rest of the droids that rioted at MIT.
http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/2003/robot_protest/

BIG BOYS TOYS

2006-01-20T20:08:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

So what do you do when the only thing that even resembles a mech warrior is just a prototype and you cant even get one yet, do you just build toys or do you join the army or NASA..? Well how about we all take a leaf out of this guys book and build our own, equipped with flame throwers

(to get it out of the shed in winter (what else ??), this is one boys toy sure to pack a punch at christmas.... we want some to play with !

NEOMECHA NMX04-1A
http://www.neogentronyx.com

QUICK SAPIEN V3 ,HIDE BEHIND ME....

2006-01-20T19:29:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

Well on a recent journy to the land of robots dreaming i found a post showing a new shot of the rs media, with out all the blue stuff mucking it up :P
anyway while everyone was going oh agg, look at the red eyes, i happen`ed to notice that the image in the background show`s a spaien with some minor diffrences to the any of the heads seen before...
lokok at the size of that camera pod, and its shape, slightly bigger and tilted forward for sure...?
not to mentio the ear shape is wrong and the traling edge of the visor seems to flow in the wrong direction compered to the media...
maybe it is the first time the v3 has showen his face...litrially...
what do you reckon, ? can it be true...we can all keep dreaming :)
http://www.robosapien.fr/2006/01/devinez_qui_.html

EXOCENTRIC

2006-01-19T06:28:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

from dictionary.com
EXOCENTRIC

adj.

Of or relating to a group of syntactically related words, none of which is functionally equivalent to the function of the whole group. For example, none of the words in the phrase on the table is an adverb, yet they combine to form a phrase having adverbial function.
Of or relating to a compound word whose referent is not the same as the referents of any of its constituent parts. For example, the noun razorback does not refer to a type of back, but to a type of hog (one having a sharply ridged back).
not fulfilling the same grammatical role of any of its constituents; "when `until last Easter' serves as an adverb it is an exocentric construction" [ant: endocentric]

RCX and the NXT input error !!

2006-01-19T06:15:00.000+08:00

sprocket2cog

INTERFACING THE TWO BRICKS, CAN IT REALLY BE THAT EASY...
With all the talk on the forums and blog site`s I thought it was time to write a short primer on some of the ways that the rcx annd tne nxt could be interfaced without modifing either one, (im sure that come`s later ..)
Anyway heres just a few of the ideas that I came up with just from the infomation in the media releases.
First thing is the fact the NXT has a microphone, wel the rcx has audio out via its little speaker, but with a little bit of soundproofing around them , the audio could be useful for sending sensor data from a temprature probe for example. to the NXT via the rcx audio as diffrent tones to relay the values. Handy ...
The other way I came up with with was to add some color LED`s to the outputs of the lego mindstorm RCX and flash them to the color light sensor on the NXT. easy way for it to talk as well.
Some of the other ideas i have involve mechanical hacks and modds and some others are designed to modify the rcx to talk to the nxt (but not bluetooth, ill leave that for a programmer :P)
The interest in the lego sets is increasing and there is debate and rambles going on at the forums at www.lego.com
see more lego posts earlier on in the archives as well for more on the nxt.

WORD OF THE DAY

2006-01-18T01:44:00.000+08:00

MATRIX
from dictionary.com

1. Mathematics. A rectangular array of numeric or algebraic quantities subject to mathematical operations.
2. Something resembling such an array, as in the regular formation of elements into columns and rows.
Computer Science. The network of intersections between input and output leads in a computer, functioning as an encoder or a decoder.
n. [FidoNet] 1. What the Opus BBS software and sysops
call FidoNet. 2. Fanciful term for a cyberspace expected to
emerge from current networking experiments (see the network). The
name of the rather good 1999 cypherpunk movie "The Matrix" played
on this sense, which however had been established for years before.
3. The totality of present-day computer networks (popularized in
this sense by John Quarterman; rare outside academic literature).

SAPIEN CHAT UPDATE

2006-01-16T18:19:00.000+08:00

HI V2...hows the plastic ?

human: brain
SapienCHAT : My creator placed most of my system`s in my body.

human: body
SapienCHAT : It is called a torso try the word torso instead.

human: torso
SapienCHAT : This area contain`s all my motor drivers and memory circuits ,it is jammed pack of goodies.

human: is it
SapienCHAT : I assume so.

human: who said that ?
SapienCHAT : I can't remember who said it.

human: maybe sprocket ?
SapienCHAT : Perhaps. I will mention that to my botmaster, it may be his name ;-) do you know sprocket ?

Well the sapienCHAT programming is comming along with the addition of several hundred new words and phrase strings entered into the ALICE data base files.
I have redone the front page so it scales better on diffrent moniters and added a link to a diffrent page that shows you the last 6 questions you entered and the answers so you can back track a bit to see what was said.

If you want a verbose log of the entire conversation , email me, but please only ask for a full transcription if you really had a good conversation, not just swearing etc.
anyway if you want to see the bot head over to sapienCHAT
and if you want a history version, go to,
sapienCHAT-ARCHIVE

I am slowly adding the robosapien`s systems and spend about 2-3 hours a day programing and interacting with it.
try typing in plastic or resistor to see what i mean, try entering plastic over and over to see how the advanced sentance structures are developing, the sentances are being stripped into components and reformated with a list of possiable replacement words inthat phrase, then a whole list of these is added to one answer so tyou can have three or more answers that even when they come up again, actually have a word or two changed, like make becomes create or can you becomes will you, and so on.
The bot has appeared in the pandorabots top ten list now as well, with it reaching around 1000 responses in 24 hours a few day`s ago.

sapienCHAT is alive

LEGO PROTOTYPE 2 RAPTOR

2006-01-15T16:32:00.000+08:00

Well this is the shot of the first stage of mounting the raptor and LEGO rcx together using some screws and lego plates, The plates holes line up with the raptor screw holes on the top where the brain used to be.
The reason i am doing this hack is to learn how to deveolde a better walking gait for the root and see if I can modify a plastic robot not a kit like lego or the viper from microbric.
The rcx is now out of its case and Im going to remove the leo plates and build a diffrent interface, see the monster truck post earlier for more info on this hack.
And if your looking for the latest updates on the nxt try over at the nxtbot blog, its got ties to lego so it gets the good`s we can`t.
nxtbot.com

LEGO NXT BOLDLY GOING....HERE TO STAY

2006-01-15T15:55:00.001+08:00

STAR TREKING ACROSS THE UNIVERSE....
Well if you have any foot in the future then you must know that the experimental class of star ships in the popular series STAR TREK has the designator "NX" so after some searching, heres what i found about the NX-01 starship the site details infomation from the ships real world designer, ( yes it isnt real but the theorys are ).
any way as we know Lego NXT is a platform with multiple ports or inputs for sensors and motors to attach to. Well so did the NX-01, heres a qoute from the site , check it out to see what i mean.

NXT, boldly going where no Lego has gone before.

"The NX-01 has somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 circular ports that a variety of devices including Phase Cannons, antennas and buoys can egress the ship... We have a number of obvious airlocks that Mike (Okuda) conjectured based on his intimate knowledge of the docking ports on the International Space Station."

2006-01-15T02:46:00.000+08:00

http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=9abb4e37ae35a705

Ive just started programming a chatbot called sapienCHAT.

Its only a few days old so give it a (me ?) a chance to build up some nueral paths so it seems to at least have some sort of topical programing that relates to the V2. At the moment he is developing a basic sense of awareness with a basic knowledge base starting to form. So far he knows he dosnt have a power button in his back he knows a little about the main parts like his body and arms, and a few things about the hackers and modders online. At the moment his pathways are not very srpng but given time i hope he will be able to direct you to areas on the net that he can help with and to show images on repairs hack and mods as he see`s fit.

The way these robots are built make it hard to program some paths, but overall it has the potential to entertain and hopefully it can reach a stage where it actually solves robotic hack problems by redirecting to the source of the infomation rather then giving dumb answers.

Remember he is a few days old so check back with him from time to time as I add new content and a new front end that may have a flash BOT as well to give you somethink to look at.Eventually Ill have him running in portals on the hackraptor site, and on sprocket2cog.

Stay tuned or email me if you want certain things mentioned.

If you are having trouble with the logic and answers ,try entering keywords and checking your grammer and spelling, it is still a robot that we are forcing the human condition apon...take it easy, Im teaching him to cry tommorow :P

please dont leave your robots near the door...by order building management

LITTLE BITS BIG BRICKS

2006-01-12T20:17:00.000+08:00

Well in my search for ways to control the v2 sapien I decided to send the guys at microbric an email and guess what ..?
ill let you read it here as it also shows you where to go to get help and the manuals so you can read up on it...living ocerseas ? well it may be avaliable to you sooner then you think...

You can download the Basic Atom Manual from the link below.

http://www.basicmicro.com/downloads/docs/atom3.pdf

The freqout command will only go up to around 32k, however there is a built in hardware pulse width modulator built in, that is able to go up to 2.5Mhz. The HPWM is only available on pin 9 & pin 10. So yes the Viper can output 38-40 Khz, but only on pins 9 and 10.

If all goes well, we should have other products to market within the next six months.

Over the coming weeks, there will be the facility to purchase online for international customers.

I will dig around to find some pics of the older prototypes for you. Are you on dial up or broadband so I know how many pictures to send :)

Regards,
Josh

Website www.microbric.com
Help Forum www.microbric.com/phpBB/index.php

MOTORCYCLE CLUTCH CABLE HACK #101

2006-01-12T19:35:00.000+08:00

I was leaving a friends yesterday and went to pull the clutch on my GPZ in and BANG !.
The cable snapped just inside the handgrip leaving me stranded miles from home....
So what to do when you dont have a spare or your own work shop and worst of all its time for lunch....
well fortunely my friends do have a well stocked workshop and its well sorted too so it wasnt long that with some digging, a pen and paper and some measurements that i managed to formulate a plan.
step 1. take off the cable and loosen the bottom on the motor so it gives you more cable to play with.
2. now get a screw cable connector for 240v power and strip off the outer plastic, inside is a brass tube with two screws sticking out...you know the sort, i even found one once in a 12 volt UFO lamp.
3. pass the cable into the tube tighten up the screws , not too tight though.
4. reassemble it all feeding the brass scree out the bottom of the handle not the side to reduce friction.
5. spray a good dose of lubricant on it and let it sit for 5 mins to penetrate so it reduces the load on the hack and presto theres your fix to get home.
dont loose the tension bolt and if the break is not right near the very end of the cable there wont be enough length to try this out.
warning this is a roadside fix to get home, the new cavble arrives tommorrow and that goes in then.
dont try this one at home....

OH WHAT A LOVELY ROBOT ....

2006-01-12T05:29:00.000+08:00

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2001/dinosaur.html

THE FIRST REAL
ROBOT RAPTOR ?

In my search for all robots big or small, I happened across an article in the archives from 2001.
The boys over at MIT had been working on a robot Troodon dinosaur from the Cretaceous period "Troody".
Weighing in at around 10 pound she has16 joints and 36 sensors. The robot also has a vestibular system , an inner ear that it uses for balancing, and an onboard computer that automatically runs a walking control algorithm.
check out the details that are left on their sire, the video is gone from the link but hey its still really cool to see another bibep walking raptor style bot that isnt just a toy....
This is what we want.....more feedback and control.
Sean.
http://web.mit.edu/spotlight/spring-turkey/

ROBOT WALKERS SPOTLIGHT PAGE AT MIT

WOW LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT THING

2006-01-10T22:26:00.000+08:00

QUIET...IM HUNTING WAPTORS.....

My robosapiens first vist to the outback..out the back in the yard that is.
Now where did i put my ball...ahh tracking blue...look at all the blue sky dave..

RAPTOR TRUCK RUNNER

2006-01-09T13:35:00.000+08:00

Well here it is ,the latest stage of the hack raptor...
the truck on top actually contains the guts of an rcx brick and the springs will wire to it for external sensors and motor testing...
The programing for the rcx is underway an theres still aheap to go .

SILENT ALL RAPTORS

2006-01-08T04:45:00.000+08:00

Well if your raptor suddenly goes quiet and all else is working try checking out this part on the front of the main board, it is a general purpose audio amp and its the only none smd (well transistor anyway) so its easy to find.
Wack a new one in there and bingo it should raw (roar) again...(why wasnt it cooked before?)
any way more info to come over at www.hackraptor.twistedsouls.com soon
happy hacking everyone in the new year and if you havent seen it yet do a google for roboreptile...wowwee..its on again.

RCX BRAIN REMOVAL

2005-12-19T13:38:00.000+08:00

The chop shop has come back with the latest news from the parts sourcing adventures with some new brains and a supply of parts from several sources.
Ive removed the rcx brain from its plastic cranium and am preparing to mount it to the top of the raptor where the original brain was-is ? to give me easy acsess to the new ports.
The original brain will be mounted to the torso where the batteries are-were.... and hopefully will be acssesable via the old compartmaent door, allowing hotwiring of new sensors.
The batteries will be condensed into a smaller holder most likely a four cell 2x2 shape AA holder in the tail with two AA batteries mounted in the front of the torso area to help offset the weight of the new tail section and batteries.
a built in charger will be installed with a isolation switch to prevent damage to the circuits.
The Head is no longer the same with all the extra weight stripped to accomadate more sensors and motors for the battle raptor hacks including a fully controlable outh for combat.
two types of mouth could be used .snapping turtle or crushing snake.
with one allowing many repeated attacks and the later allowing a lock type jaw.
a new control interface combining both the exsisting raptor control and new control hardware will have to be built and a homoginized solution to control developed.

HANDY HACK

2005-12-19T00:27:00.000+08:00

Just as a bit of fun Ive replaced my mini V2 head with one of its arms while I add stuff to the head ( which is held together by four glued pins).
Im also taking out the motor as its the same as the mini V1 giving two motors that arent that big and have gears inside already.
ill keep you posted.

I JUST HAD TO....

2005-12-16T15:27:00.000+08:00

Has any one noticed how terms used in electronics and computers to describe parts and problems are often echoed in slang and jargan around the streets and offices for mental disorders as well...
does this mean we all have to be a little bit crazy to work with robots...me thinks so.

FRIED-what happens when you leave your memory stick on the speaker.
TWISTED-the only way a lan cable will work is when its got two of them.
COOKED -what you do to your robot if you leave it in the sun.
WIRED-What you have to be to hack robots for fun.

mouth hack final idea

2005-12-10T23:51:00.000+08:00

Well heres the final design for the raptor mouth hack.
As you can see it is basicly a spring and short cable running to the same attachment point as the exsisting mouth cable just on the left side of the neck in the main body.
You may need to drill a hole or strip the raptor down to get to it but with fine tuning its a working mouth hack to give right side biting.

HOT OFF THE BACK OF THE TRUCK

2005-12-01T17:51:00.000+08:00

I went down to my local dick smith store today to get some cable connectors not expecting to see the new viper kits on the shelves, I had made a phone call to them yesterday and they didnt think they would be here before christmas.
I was right there was none on the shelves, But one of the guys I know there came up from the back room with a box hidden under his arm. he glanced around quietly then slid the box towards me side on so i couldnt read it :)
He looked at me and said, hey - would you be interested in this....
I could tell by the look on my wifes face who could see the front of the box , that it was the viper kit from microbric...the time had come...
any way bottom line is my v2 at kmart has been taken off order and mario is matching the price on it as he got some in as well and hes throwing in a full set of batteries for the robot and controller.
and i put the viper on lay away, and preordered the line tracking modules for it to make it more fun.
The kit looks really good and includes the cable a full remote control (ir) cd rom software, the components and the screwdriver you need to put it all together.
With advanced projects featured much like mindstorms on the back of the box its safe to assume that these kits are aimed at the higher end robotics people first followed by the schools and kids into gadgets.
The packaging actually surprised me as its much better then i thought it would be and includes a plastic parts holder like the one inside the lego mindstorm boxes.
The blue punch out boards are a delight over the normal color kits, and the alloy look wheels give it that real "im a serious robot look, it will be fun to see how fast it goes.
The maind processor is a standard PIC chip, ut gone is the ic socket seen on the earlier gree moduales.
see previous post for an idea of where this kits pedigree comes from.
aussie,aussie,aussie....beep.beep.beep....:P
no idea where im getting the dollars to get it off hold but ill hock the kids if I have to...
Ill do a full reveiw for you as soon as I get the kit.
never not soon enough......

ROBOT HACK PACKS

2005-11-29T22:11:00.000+08:00

In the same vein as lego or meccano comes the next level !!!
This Aussie designed kits are avaliable at dick smith electronics stores.
With patetened edge connectors and complete modules, this kit only needs a small screw driver to assemble, no soldering and you can program it via the PC to the onboard PIC or ATOM proccessor.
add relays motors sensors and power kits to build line trackers ,sumos, and system controllers for games or industry style systems (automated system control).
They havent made all stores yet but ill be kitting there new viper kit early next year, theres no images on the web site of it but its knife styled add ons and blue circuit boards make it look really cool.
www.microbric.com.au

WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

2005-11-21T08:43:00.000+08:00

Yesterday went to a medievil event in Fremantle with a group of guys ive knowen for years,It was a great day but a little tiring. Ill add some pics on my blog later when I get home, Ive got the ride back to rockingham today.
Later Smurfettes...

NEW WOWWEE TOYS TO HIT MARKET 2006

2005-11-16T16:35:00.000+08:00

While surfing the net looking for new articles on robotics i followed a thred and found this..
its a wowwee future release, a mongke head, whats the chance of that, my first name on the net was mongke so it seems fitting to have a robot mongey head
On the more mind-blowing and unusual side, is the new Wow Wee Robotics Alive Series. These are life-like, animated, remote-controlled robot heads that include stereoscopic hearing so they can track your position and even your distance away. Wow Wee's first demonstration of this technology is a frighteningly real looking monkey head with a fully articulated face. The real stunner, though, is the expected price: $129. George York, Wow Wee's chief designer on the project said he's been working with the company's divisions in Hong Kong and China to have the robots ready for a 2006 release.

keep reading
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1749612,00.asp

REMOTE POSTINGS

2005-11-13T13:30:00.000+08:00

Ever get the idea just to write nothing at all? well I do, so here it is. Ill add a photo to the post later of me writing nothing or maybe not....
the main reason was to see howfast the postings run on broad band, its alright but might be running on the limit of the bandwidth....dont know.

AUDIO ANNOYS HACKERS ONLINE DAILY !!

2005-11-09T01:56:00.000+08:00

Well doing a quick run around the net checking out my hits and links and I came across this comment over at the best hack collection around, hackaday.
It appears some people cant afford a mute button on their keyboards. or dont know that if you right click on the flash file you can kill the playback, stopping the sound.

Posted Oct 20, 2005, 11:13 AM ET by Nephroth

*sigh* Websites that make noise, especially as much as "Sprocket2cog" need to die.

In fact, Flash in general needs to die, it draws poor web designers in like moths to a candle.

*SIGH* Hackers who cant communicate directly their ideas should be fed a steady diet of apple imac programs,
Oh and my poor design scored like 11000 hits in two weeks. some pretty "BAD" design work dude way cool...later on the flip side...ASSHOLE`s are full of shit, it shows...
no candles just lots of moths coming to the searchlight....s2c

ROBORAPTOR RIGHT OR WRONG ?

2005-11-08T16:15:00.000+08:00

This is a respone to a forum question on the raptor that i thought you might like to read, if you havent already checked them out, head over to the robosapien-raptor forums here ,here and here...

Hawke wrote:

Hey guys Im new here and me got myself a raptor too, its my first robot and I love it. The thing worrying me (and I paid CAD $109 for it) is it says that inthe manual it has got over 40 pre-programmed functions, but all I have seen is that he has 3 moods and three different responses in those moods, what are the other functions? And one more thing, when I trigger his tail sensor he only looks one way not the other if I do it continously, is what its suppose to do or somethings wrong? And sometimes if I leave him in free roam mode, it will stop to sense objects but it still continues to go onwards even thought the wall is right in front of him, is it because its reaction time is slow or something?

My response was-
Hi, the forty functions are each action its got,
things like the movement, and also the intelect it shows ie the moods and reactions.
The other things you wanted to know.

the tail sensor only triggers one response per mode, but it does change dedending on the amount of times pressed and the mood its it. Some times if you press the tail three times in a row it triggers a new respose, but before that it will only turn one way, normally to the left because thats the default side for the bite

as mentioned flat batteries can restrict the sensors ability to see things as well as decrease its ability to walk, im really hacking the raptor here, she is stripped right down ,but im going to have her up and running in about 2 weeks.

Ill post more on my blog www.sprocketslog.blogspot.com
when i do rebuild her, im running test to see if the sensors can be read while the motor power is disconnected at the power source, if so then the sensors shouldnt drop out when the batteries go flat, as im guessing the raptor power circuit was designed to allow the additon of bigger 6v power for the motors and still allow the processor to function on the AA 3v power.
more on this later.
sprocket

V2 Robosapien Destroys Robotics LAB in Canada

2005-11-08T15:08:00.000+08:00

LATEST NEWS. WE HAVE JUST REVEICED A COMMUNICATION FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD THAT SUGGESTS THAT THE ROBOT UPRISING HAS BEGUN, Knitsu of solarbotics.net is hacking heads again..and this time hes at it with the video output on his V2.He`s tring to work out how to get the feed into his pc and create the first telerobosapien... well v2 anyway. I saw him yell out from here that his hack has hardley started when it went horribly wrong..I first thought we might need a little plastic luch box to put the v2 in..(burnt plastic gets out from wooden coffins) and i said a few words on his behalf.. But on further investication I discovered that not only had the V2 not been killed, it had sucseffully carried out a secret hack ninja attack on his Dual core Pc causing it to explode into a thousand shards of thermolite... well maybe not, but it wouldnt turn on which is nearly as bad.. heres the transcript..

spROCKET2cOg says:
ive got to ask...WHAT happened
knitsu-RSv2 Hack Gone Wrong!!!! says:
oh wow!
knitsu-RSv2 Hack Gone Wrong!!!! says:
Seizure!
knitsu-RSv2 Hack Gone Wrong!!!! says:
tried some USB jacking
knitsu-RSv2 Hack Gone Wrong!!!! says:
to the 4 pins on V2 vision
knitsu-RSv2 Hack Gone Wrong!!!! says:
and messed up my Dual Core PC
knitsu-RSv2 Hack Gone Wrong!!!! says:
it wont work
knitsu-RSv2 Hack Gone Wrong!!!! says:
so now im on a Athlon that can barely support Wifi for data transfer.... arg... but im going all out and finishing this test... even if this machine blows!!!!!!
spROCKET2cOg says:
cool, at least it wasnt the v2,

more later.

HIDDEN PICS AND MAGIC MARKERS

2005-11-08T14:14:00.000+08:00

While it may seem small in the overall scheme of things, Ive decided to post soe of the special things I come up with all over the net at diffrent times and places to let people who vist my site or blog or map or.....
well you get the idea, The idea is that the people who check out my sites will find what they are looking for if they look around, my site is as much about the journey as it is the destination so things like animated imagges, sounds, and hacks will be posted to the map portal and robosapien hack forums around the net.
Oh and if you dont alraedy know where or what im talking about ?
Then you havent really decided to find out how far the rabbit hole really goes..

there is never enough sheep to feed the robots so the smell of wool filled the air as they headed home to the farm..render!
did you ever get the feeling that i dont know what im doing ? then find something else to think about...or try to thing of 18 independent thoughts all at the same time, oh and dont hold your breath....
the hackedraptor..is it a bar full of mob gangsters? Or some weird experiment into art and technology? oh well we never will know, thats life...
So whats the POINT? well there is none. the image i posted is a spinning robot at wwrb and really is a waste ofspace. eye candy, a bit like this post really.

ideas for robot names #72

- robot+homosapien=robosapien
-robotic+raptor=roboraptor
-robot+pet=shitsu ?

-robot+homoerectis=roboerectis....well i can see why they didnt go there.

one robosapien turned to the other one and said something that nobody understood, but the smell just got worse..
then his V2 mate just said something about three laws and ran off in to the night looking for an Aibio to beat up and pinch his batteries from..

HOW TO ATTRACT ATTENTION FOR YOUR SITE

2005-11-07T17:23:00.000+08:00

EXTRACT FROM MY NEW SITE INDEX PAGE THATS DUE TO COME ONLINE SOON, THIS TEXT IS DESIGNED TO TEACH THE SEARCH ENGINES HOW TO PLACE US, EVEN BEFORE THE CONTENT IS FULLY BUILT AND DEPLOYED, THE TXT STRING IS DESIGNED FOR A ROBOTICS SITE FEATURING WOWWEE ROBOTS AS THE BASIS FOR HACKING. HERES IT IS ANYWAY JUST FOR MY REFERANCE AS IT WILL BE DELETED FROM THE SITE IN A FEW WEEKS TO MAKE WAY FOR THE REAL CONTENT.SPROCKET..

Hello world...welcome to the hacked raptor files the best in the nation this sapien says...this text is designed to attract search robot engines that are searching pages by there content.And contains keyword phrases and advanced metatag construction techniques.Several small news items have revealed the secrets to getting your sites pages and content rated higher then you could expect, the main thing overlooked by designers and contributers alike is the need to supply a attractor page for the bots to come, so come robots come like a running rabid raptor the tide of battle has turned, this robot from wow wee toys and robotics is a biomorphic domestic droid that mimics the natural rythems displayed in living animals . the gait and ambulation of the roboraptor is second to none. the abio has nothing on this beast this canine like creation from mark tilden demigod of cheap robots...the time is right for google yahoo and msn to locate the content that has been released to the puplic ..more files flash and fun coming with hacks mods (modifications) and program programing from the people in the know from evosapien.com sprocket2cog of twistedsouls.com

the ability to write large amounts of relevant robotics news that is current and fresh is something that we all must be good at if the site is to grow like a zapped raptor, mello to the robosapein owners and the robopets that have spread out like little pests to annoy the sony abios into submission, this site has flash content and will also contain java script and some media content including real media and dynamic images. well thats enough of this robot ramble, Im off to get some robots-dreams to inspire me to create the best robotics hack site on the net....;) hows that mr search engine...have you found us yet ?
this a a temporary txt entry that will be removed prior to the site launch.

hopefully featuring sections that contain
parts sources, systems diagostics, planning and preparation, basic and advanced hack sections, cosmetics and a links and infomation section about the raptor and other bionetic creations.fri 4th november 2005

An online guide to hacking the roboraptor created by Mark Tilden

MY FIRST ROBOT ARM

2005-11-05T03:36:00.000+08:00

Way back when... i was about 12 I think, and my dad got my brother and I one of these armatron arms, complete with a plastic atomic fuel cell with stuff ( balls and cones) that you had to pick up in the time limit.
This was cool for its day with 5 degrees of freedom and rubber pads on its claw, it couldpick action figures up all day :P
One of my mates around the corner has one in his room...he wont sell it and theres a que anyway of about 10 people who want it...
oh well, ill have to make my own me thinks.
this would sell really well again if tit was released to the puplic...but toy makers dont have a clue sometimes...
any way im off to find more cool stuff and hack some robots.
later gators...

ANTIGRAVITY KIDS TOY VORTEX TECH PATENT ?

2005-11-05T02:05:00.000+08:00

A while ago i saw a wall climbing robot using a patented vortex technology, I jus found this toy over at sharperimage.com tha does the same thing.
It climbs wall using a vortex ( read reverse hovercraft) lift? or drag system.. that draws it to the wall. that with ultra light body parts and a low profile make it an ideal wall climber that with some tweaking may stick to a roof as well.
Add a small wireless cam for theultimate telerobot project..just have to supply your own brain...
heres the link to the vortex commercial robot,
http://www.clarifyingtech.com/public/robots/robots_public.html
have a look, you will see what I mean..cheap alternative to hack into one cool robot..
what a world we live in when this becomes a toy....

Getting it right....

2005-11-04T00:23:00.000+08:00

Well things take time to get right and some things never change, do you ever get the feeling that some people cant see the forrest from the trees ? well im one of them.
One of the problems with an over active imagination, i tend to incorprate ideas into things that maybe I shouldnt, but I figure I need the inspiration to stay focused so I write down everything so I can see all my ideas together, no matter how small or trival they may seem to others. I used to do this on a sketch pad, but recentlly decided to expose my self for good or bad on the internet, sometimes the best intentions can go astray and lead us off the path we have choosen, the best we can hope for is that we didnt step on too many toes, but thats the chance we take isnt it ?

now that Ive got that off my chest its time to let you in on the hack raptor plans.
all the plans I complete will be open source, i dont plan to make any money off this enterprise, i mean i dont even use adds, Im thinking of donating some ideas into the beam archives but ill let you know soon if I can come up with a good idea.
the ideais to have a complete site devoted t o raptor hacking from the tools, systems, parts, and plans needed to get it right, as you can imagine this takes time and space to create a site with this content and with my daughter in hospital for nearly two weeks its been a big hold up for me.

But heres what i have got done so far :

The fm radio for the sound out is finished.
The new Aerial is wound.
The main board in the raptor is removed ready to get to the top control beam to add a new mouth pully cable.
the tail from the mini raptor is waiting to go on the tip .
the eye circut has been designed , but we are deciding on the trigger system for it.
and finally we have decided to leave off a large amount of the plasticshell to replace it with bigger sections of sculpted foam to reduce weight. this with extensive testing with Lego controllers over the next few months should allow us to find out how the motors work in the raptor to get it walking.
Hopefully this infomation will help out others as well.
ill keep you posted soon about the new site that is hosting the raptor hacks, I plan to move all the content there soon, and update with more content..
expected launch date should be the 1 december.
Allways looking to help not hinder

GUESS WHAT WE DID TODAY ?

2005-11-03T20:00:00.000+08:00

This is my preorder slip, cool isnt it, not many people will have one of these collectables down the track, 13 days to go......
oh and i got a pink mini rs1 as well. hmm robot shell . controllers...project robot line tracker maybe...
surely..
anyway, this ones not getting hacked, only the raptor is.

SUB CONCIOUS RAPTOR HACKS

2005-11-01T03:01:00.000+08:00

WHOOO! its halloween so it seemed fitting to rip out the raptors brain....more walking dead !
any way the photo is the back of the board, (roboraptor), there is ( in the colored circle area) a group of three named contacts (already soldered ) with l-mic, r-mic and vo2...
looks like it might be usefull for adding switches to the audio circuits..
as they go to the ic on top not straight to the mic pin outs.
so best guess is direct switching of the transistors that activate the audio after preprocessing via the high low pass filters have been used.
the reason they are there? so they can test the board with out the mics plugged in... ..
sprocket.

MOUTH CONTROL HACK

2005-10-31T10:44:00.000+08:00

what we did now...
took the mouth cable off by drilling a hole in the chassis above the retaining screw, and undoing it.then we turned it (the control cable) around so the plastic cap (mouth end) is on the body end and attached to the chassis by passing back though the hole.
now the metal ring (body) goes to the head.
motion control to the mouth will activate now to the right via tail motor.
left motion will work by adding new cable to the right side of the tail ball joint assembly , action will work from left right tail swing.

sprocket

DIVINE INTERVENTION VIA SPAM

2005-10-30T22:51:00.000+08:00

EXTRACT FROM SOME SPAM I RECEIVED, IT RELATES TO THE
COMMUNICATION PROJECT (IRONIC ISNT IT...)THIS WAS PART OF A CHARACTER STRING USED TO TRICK THE SPAM
ROBOTS.

THERE WAS ALSO REFERANCE TO A DOOR BUT OPENS ONCE STUFF AND HEAPS OF THINGS LIKE THE PILOT IS OUT SURFING....

MORE WEIRD.....

EXTRACT "This program is not intended as a miracle program. It is meant to be a bridge--the
bridge from real objects to 2-dimensional photos. It is meant to allow the students
to hear the words repeatedly and then in context. It is meant to help start the
students talking. This program is not the finished end product, it is a tool. You, the
teacher, parent or therapist, are the best communicators. When your student or
child looks at you as if to say please Teach Me To Talk use this program as part
of the process..But, I spent the next three weeks making a piece of simple software for her son to
her specifications. While I was at it, I put 4-8 pictures on the screen as well. The
simple program was finished and ready for her child to see. As I was presenting it,
the other children in my classroom were pushing each other to get to the computer
screen to touch that Touch Window and hear the word spoken again and again. I
looked at these kids and was amazed. There was no music, no animation, nothing
cute about this program at all, just real pictures with real words. I was stunned. I
just watched the children. Within 10 minutes, several children who had never said
a word in their life, made approximations of several words. I was hooked..

freaky....

SPROCKET www.sprocketslog.blogspot

RAPTOR HACKING - WHATS HAPPENING NOW?

2005-10-30T01:58:00.000+08:00

THE RAPTOR IS DEAD......LONG LIVE THE RAPTOR....
So I thought it was about time to get out some details on the status of EMMA.
The last week or so has been research and prototyping ideas in LEGO to see what the best possiable solution to the next stage of hacking will be.
One of the most overlooked aspects (IMHO) is total system intergration and placement.
Isnt it great when you go to put the great body shell on and the wheels dont fit (and their welded on hubs!) THen you have to take out the 9inch angle grinder and do plastic surgery to the bottom of your robot... problems with robots #37.

Anyway heres a list and breakdown of what we discovered in our THINK TANK
(last door on the left) down at the hack labs.

MOUTH OPENING OPERATIONAL DESIGNS.USE EXSITING TAIL POSTION MOTOR AND CABLE PLUS ADDTIONAL CABLE TO ADD LEFT RIGHT JAW OPENING.
FM TRANSMIT BOARD IN MOUTH FOR AUDIO OUTPUT.ADD SMALL RADIO TRANSMITER AND DIPOLE AEIRAL TO HEAD AND NECK,BOARD MOUNTED IN LOWER MOUTH OR UPPER HEAD SHELL, DIPOLE LOCATED IN TAIL AND NECK OR NECK AREA ALONE IF RECEPTION EXCCEDES 5-6 mtrs
AUGMENTED EYES REPLACEMENT REPLACE PLASTIC EYE PARTS WITH BICOLOR ANALOGUE CONTROLLED LED EYES.
IMPROVED IR AND LESS SPRUNG WEIGHT REMOVE THE HORNS TO REDUCE ATTACKABLE PARTS AND SPRUNG NECK WEIGHT, THIS ALSO LEAVES A SMALL GAP AT THE BASE OF THE ir HEAD SHEILD SO THAT MORE "EYE" LEVEL ir DATA CAN REACH THE HEAD.
STRUCTURAL REINFORCEMENT OF THE HEAD.ADD RESIN AND SHAFT SUPPORTS TO THE MOUTH PIVOT AND LOWER JAW TO STOP DAMAGE IN A BATTLE.
AUGMENT EXSISTING BUTTONS IN THE HEAD AND TAIL TO NEW SENSORS IN BODY AND HEAD
ADD ARTICULATED TAIL END WITH CONTROLLER INSTALL MINIRAPTOR TAIL PARTS INTO SHORTENED RAPTOR TAIL TO INCREASE THE ARTICULATION,ADD MOTOR AND CONTROLLER TO GIVE IT OWN MOTION LIKE A REAL LIZARD THAT DROPS ITS TAIL.
REMOVE EXSISTING ARMS NO PLANS TO ADD SYSTEMS YET JUST REMOVING POWER DRAINING ARS FROM THE NECK AS THE OUTH NOW DRAWS POWER FROM THE SAME MECHANICAL SYSTEM
TOUCH SKIN SENSOR AUGMENTATION UERATHANE FOAM RUBBER PANELS WITH INTERGRATED OFF THE SHELF SWITCHES FOR TACTILE INPUT TO REPLACE EXSITING BUTTON SENSORS IN HEAD AND TAIL

wELL THATS WHERE WE ARE UP TO, NOW WE HAVE A PLAN ON WHAT WEWANT TO ADD, HOW TO MAKE IT WORK AND HOW TO FIT IT ALL IN ITS TIME TO TAKE ALL THE DRAWINGS AND CONDENSE THEM INTO A UEABLE BLUEPRINT THAT WE CAN WORK FROM.

EXCPECT MORE ARTICLES ON THE SYSTEMS ETC SOON

BATTLERAPTORS UNLEASHED - http://battleraptors.blogspot.com/

MOTORMOUTH

2005-10-27T05:53:00.000+08:00

prototype idea 001
note external is for refrence only, atching linkage will be fitted to inside mouth if possible

NEW KID ON THE POND

2005-10-27T05:12:00.000+08:00

FROM THE TILODEION PERIOD

The
ROBOGOANNA
featuring advanced predetor behavior.

this version was able to leap on to the kitchen bench ,pinch the bacon,and then make a beeline to the back door ,often not stoping for anyone to open it...
sadly this one got smart and upgraded to a C64
and now spends its time drinking coke, eating nachos and wathing pretty fractal line patterns dance around to the beat of mike oldfield`s tubular bells cranking from an old TV set.
what he dosnt know is his tail is getting docked soon...

two roboraptors running in the bush come across a set of traks..
one says to the other, so do you reckon these are robopet tracks?
NO says the other, they look like sapien tracks..
a bitter fight ensures , and while they are arguing they get hit by a train...
moral of the story...dont play in the bush with a roboraptor cause you might get hit by a train...and just your luck it will be driven by an abio.
more weird....

HEAD ROBORAPTOR DOA

2005-10-27T04:57:00.000+08:00

THIS IS NOT GOOD CAPTAIN.
I DONT THINK IT CAN TAKE MUCH MORE.
Your looking at a raptor skull with the micro brain intact, the main brain in this advanced breed exsists inside the torso giving it better defence against head attacks.
if you get this far take the board out and look at the other side its easier to read the second lot of screen printing on the back...;)

THE FITH ELEMENT

2005-10-27T00:00:00.000+08:00

Less then perfect, she was actually the runt of the litter ,ironicly like her name sake "lelu" she is a very affectionate animal just like in the movie.
puppy.woof woof

MIND GAMES

2005-10-26T23:33:00.000+08:00

WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS...
If there is a fine line between madness and insanity,
is it drawn in pen or pencil ?

click image to see larger version

RAPTOR CONTROL IDEAS

2005-10-26T03:16:00.000+08:00

My mate Tempusmaster over at robotdreams has posted this article up about control "suit" for controlling a robot instead of a hand control.
Im thinking of a tilt switch type control that fits in your hand, while not the same its got some simularitys.
check out

http://www.robots-dreams.com/2005/10/zap_pow_slam_co.html
for his artucle and a video etc.

GROUND CONTROL..MAJOR

2005-10-25T07:09:00.000+08:00

TOO MUCH TV MAKES YOU GO BLIND, AS DOES READING BLOGS. NUFF.SAID

HERES THE BEST SKIN YOU CAN GET

2005-10-25T06:57:00.000+08:00

Your own....
dont ride in a tshirt unless you want to know what its like to get sandpapered with a bag of gravel while you tumble around inside a clothes dryer...
been there done that.. just not the gravel.

CHOMPER COMES OUT OF PHASE

2005-10-25T06:43:00.000+08:00

Hey ever seen bukaroo banzi ? well i have..
Heres a idea of your last nanosecond in reality before you get sucked up your own urananus`s...is that right..
which reminds me of the fact that some geek found some rock in space again and called it a planet and some other science dude says some planets arnt planets at all ,cause their too small, so what is it ?
are we on a planet or are we really living on a rock.And do you really care either way as long as its here tommorrow...

JUST AMAZING

2005-10-25T06:10:00.000+08:00

This is a maze I knocked up, (well it did want the baby)
Its made up of arrows for the walls, and the shadows are actually impossiable with an optical illusion happening.

TWIN CELL POWER PLANT

2005-10-25T06:06:00.000+08:00

This is a kawasaki 500 something or other.. but i do know the motor is the same as my gpz just this one is detuned :P
spare parts..

HOW NOW BROWN COW

2005-10-25T05:57:00.000+08:00

This is my brothers calf. i cant remember what he calls it. i call it lunch or at least Ill give it a roasting to find its real name...
hmm (hey i never said this blog was vegetarian)
sprocket2cog...more beef less fat

Roachs Ride

2005-10-25T05:39:00.000+08:00

Well it looks like this is the ultimate beam robot... I mean come on, its a madagascan cockroach riding a robot frame...what is it art, tech a waste of space...
let the maker, Garnet Hertz`s theisis tell you..
http://www.conceptlab.com/control
QUOTE: Are there other similar things you've heard of on a "folk" level... just ordinary people making stuff?Although I haven't seen this in person, I've heard of people constructing "bug kites" which consist of attaching several June Bugs (Phyllophaga crinita) onto a paper or balsa airplane. Some more details about this can be seen at http://www.craftygal.com/archives/november/table1100.htm. I have also seen fly-powered airplanes - you can actually buy them at http://www.flypower.com/. It is important to note a distinction between this project and these june bug / housefly projects: these projects involve permanently attaching the insects to the device, and therefore killing them.
So come on some one make one

idea for audio override design

2005-10-24T21:16:00.000+08:00

"knitsu" audio bypass circuit.
heres some ideas -ive nicknamed the audio bypass after knitsu at solarbotics.
single transistor single led load pickup VDU ,or a single light audio volume meter.
that takes up the load from the amp in the raptor.

CALLING ALL ROBOTS CALLING ALL ROBOTS..

2005-10-24T13:08:00.000+08:00

This is a spybot, cool ha? theres four colors and designs all the same boby just diffrent legs, 5 channel control with three "modes"
cabable of leaping tall buildings with a single bound...(well tall lego buildings)

THE EVIL DEAD....WRAITH RAPTOR

2005-10-24T07:31:00.000+08:00

In jungle growth it rustles,like misty fog it comes.
Creeky electric muscles as it runs, comes the wraith raptor,runs the wired raptor wraith.

internet musings inc.

heres a shot of my RR without any eyes.FREAKY

NEW HACK -SCANNER LAMP

2005-10-23T17:16:00.000+08:00

Heres a lamp I knocked up to take better photos inside the raptor, its constructed from scanner parts, a 12v batt pack and machine vice for the base.
The arm is the guide rail for the scanner head.

the pully cable inside matches the stuff for the raptor pulley system in the neck, so spare parts or to add a powered mouth.
keep ya posted as Im hacking the head today so expect some new stuff next week.
sprocket.