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In lugnet.robotics, Suzanne D. Rich writes:
> I was at TLC's presentation of Spybotics at BF. There, it was described
> as, "the next generation of RCX." Knowing it has 2 sensor inputs and 2
> motor outs,
The Spybot brick has 3 motor outputs. A & B are the two built-in motors.
Output C is the VLL light (pretty much exactly like the Scout brick wrt the
third output). You can also control the LEDs on an individual basis (3 red,
3 green, and 1 yellow).
It has the obvious 2 sensor inputs (1 touch and 1 light). But it also has 3
IR sensors (2 at the front angled outward and 1 at the rear facing straight
back). These allow the Spybot to not only sense IR but tell where it is
coming from with fairly impressive accuracy. This array of sensors can be
read via program control as well.
Additionally, the Spybot brick has two IR transmitters facing forward (and
angled outward).
> I wonder how much it's like the Media Lab's Cricket (their
> next brick after the programmable brick that led to the RCX). And for
> that matter, how it compares to Fred Martin's Handy Cricket (which works
> with some, but not all LEGO sensors and is available for public
> consumption).
IMHO, there is virtually no comparison between the Crickets of MIT and Fred
Martin and the Spybots. The Spybot brick seems to be far more powerful
(albeit less flexible/expandable) than what you get with the Handy Cricket.
The primary downside to the built-in approach of the Spybot brick is that
you can't connect homebrew sensors or use all the sensor inputs as touch
sensors (as you can with the Scout and RCX bricks). And you can't position
the motors wherever you wish. It is certainly possible to use the Spybot
brick in a non-vehicle application with appropriate drive trains and/or
flexible axles. The fixed position of the built-in sensors is probably more
of an issue.
> If one were to invest in either Spybotics or a Handy Cricket, what would
> you advise?
The Handy Cricket board costs $60. No motors, sensors, or other
robot/vehicle building supplies. The Spybot set costs $60. You get 2
motors, 2 sensors, IR transmit/receive, LEDs, and around 200 parts for
building robots. Plus you get a very cool software package for playing
games right out of the box. And within days you get NQC, BricxCC,
MindScript, and LASM programming support.
To me its a no-brainer. Buy the Spybots. I'm saving up for 3 more.
John Hansen
http://members.aol.com/johnbinder/bricxcc.htm
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | RE: Spybotics vs Cricket
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| (...) John, I think you may be confused about the IR detectors. There are only two and they are facing forwards. The 2 white parts facing forward and the white part facing backwards are low power IR emitters.... Cheers, Ralph (22 years ago, 2-Aug-02, to lugnet.robotics.spybotics, lugnet.robotics)
| | | Re: Spybotics vs Cricket
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| > The Handy Cricket board costs $60. No motors, sensors, or other > robot/vehicle building supplies. The Spybot set costs $60. You get 2 > motors, 2 sensors, IR transmit/receive, LEDs, and around 200 parts for > building robots. Plus you get a very (...) (22 years ago, 7-Aug-02, to lugnet.robotics)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Spybotics vs Cricket
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| Forgive me if this has already been discussed.. I haven't followed all messages here. I was at TLC's presentation of Spybotics at BF. There, it was described as, "the next generation of RCX." Knowing it has 2 sensor inputs and 2 motor outs, I wonder (...) (22 years ago, 26-Jul-02, to lugnet.robotics)
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