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Now, before you all laugh about this, I'm actually very serious.
I don't know how many of you have ever played Laser Tag before, but
basically you have a laser enabled gun that fires infrared light at
other people. Completely harmless.
How I got from that to the Mindstorms RCX, I'll never know. However,
what I can tell you is that I have written (in NQC) a program to emulate
the laser tag system, using purely LEGO RCX "intelligent" bricks. It
depends on some software I have written to be usable (unless you use the
Messages window in BricxCC or the NQC command line). This will all be
available under the GNU GPL shortly.
What does anyone think of the idea (other than mad)?
Chris
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In lugnet.robotics, Chris Malton wrote:
> It depends on some software I have written to be
> usable (unless you use the Messages window in
> BricxCC or the NQC command line).
Why? If you need to send an IR message from the RCX, there's a command for that
in NQC (SendMessage, IMS).
> What does anyone think of the idea (other than mad)?
How directed is the pulse? "Laser tag", "flashlight tag", and "broad-beamed
searchlight tag" are very different games, and I'm not sure how you get a
semi-tight "beam" from the RCX without a significant muzzle.
--
Brian Davis
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Brian Davis wrote:
> In lugnet.robotics, Chris Malton wrote:
>
> > It depends on some software I have written to be
> > usable (unless you use the Messages window in
> > BricxCC or the NQC command line).
>
> Why? If you need to send an IR message from the RCX, there's a command for that
> in NQC (SendMessage, IMS).
The software I wrote is for the controlling PC. It uses SendMessage
from the RCX, but the PC software is needed to interpret the messages
from the RCX.
The PC has to act as a base station! The PC can then generate scores
etc. using a somewhat dodgy algorithm.
> > What does anyone think of the idea (other than mad)?
>
> How directed is the pulse? "Laser tag", "flashlight tag", and "broad-beamed
> searchlight tag" are very different games, and I'm not sure how you get a
> semi-tight "beam" from the RCX without a significant muzzle.
The weird thing about the RCX is that on TX power low the beam is weak
and narrow (no further than 2 metres), in TX power high, the beam is
very strong and wide (at least it seems to go around corners!). In other
words it's Laser Tag, just with IR as the "laser". As far as I am
aware, most laser tag systems use IR anyway!
I do need to create some kind of muzzle for the brick though! (Then I
can use long range?)
I'll do some quick tests and report back soon!
Chris
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Chris Malton wrote:
> Brian Davis wrote:
> > In lugnet.robotics, Chris Malton wrote:
> >
> > > It depends on some software I have written to be
> > > usable (unless you use the Messages window in
> > > BricxCC or the NQC command line).
> > Why? If you need to send an IR message from the RCX, there's a command for that
> > in NQC (SendMessage, IMS).
>
>
> The software I wrote is for the controlling PC. It uses SendMessage
> from the RCX, but the PC software is needed to interpret the messages
> from the RCX.
>
> The PC has to act as a base station! The PC can then generate scores
> etc. using a somewhat dodgy algorithm.
>
> > > What does anyone think of the idea (other than mad)?
> > How directed is the pulse? "Laser tag", "flashlight tag", and "broad-beamed
> > searchlight tag" are very different games, and I'm not sure how you get a
> > semi-tight "beam" from the RCX without a significant muzzle.
>
>
> The weird thing about the RCX is that on TX power low the beam is weak
> and narrow (no further than 2 metres), in TX power high, the beam is
> very strong and wide (at least it seems to go around corners!). In other
> words it's Laser Tag, just with IR as the "laser". As far as I am
> aware, most laser tag systems use IR anyway!
>
> I do need to create some kind of muzzle for the brick though! (Then I
> can use long range?)
>
> I'll do some quick tests and report back soon!
>
> Chris
I now have one high power TX brick, which works very well now that I've
fitted it with a not quite central muzzle. This means that IR can still
get in and out (somewhat), but it is very concentrated IR!
Long range + Muzzle works accurately over 10m or so!
Chris
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Bernard Catt wrote:
> Hi Chris,
>
> Have you tried placing one eye piece of a toy binocular in front of the
> RCX IR port but make sure you turn it around, big lens facing RCX -
> little lens facing target? This is a trick I used to do to make an IR
> remote change the channel of my neibours TV (50m away).
>
> You can even use an NXT with a www.mindsensors.com sensor which works in
> RoboLab to communicate NXT-RCX via IR
> http://www.legoengineering.com/content/view/67/128/
>
> Regards,
>
> Bernard
Cross-posting this to lugnet.
Excellent idea, except I don't actually know which brick you're talking
about. Picture/order code anyone? If you're talking about those things
that go over the lego lights and make them stupidly intense, I could
reverse that. Hmm.
BTW - It now has its own website http://cjsoftuk.dyndns.org/LTOAB/
The code is out of date though! Will update soon.
Chris
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