Subject:
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RE: Mindstorms 3.0 Wish List
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Wed, 5 Nov 2003 16:02:23 GMT
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Reply-To:
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<rhempel@bmts.*nospam*com>
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Viewed:
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2422 times
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> In lugnet.robotics, Rand Krakora wrote:
> > I think we're starting to cross the boundary that lego faces, they want this
> > thing to be used by kids ( and I guess adults now also ). If they jam a ton
> > of I/O in the controller, the cost goes up, parents may tend not to buy it
> > for their kids. But if they don't add more I/O, the adults will look
> > elsewhere for a more powerful controller.
As I've pointed out many times in the past, the RCX is faster and has
more memory than the comuter in the LEM that allowed astronauts to
got to the moon and back.
<http://home.wxs.nl/~faase009/Ha_Apollo.html>
The difference is that we are missing I/O expansion - and on top
of that we want it to be easy to use, easy to program, and bulletproof.
Guess what - connecting input and output modules and getting the software
correct is not very easy to do. Some of the people on this list have
spent years studying the black art of embedded systems design and they
STILL have trouble intalling tools.
Imagine how much trouble everyone else will have with things like this.
I agree with Steve and many other participants, the basic RCX has
enough speed and memory to handle everything we are likely to want to
do, except image and sound processing.
I'm convinced that any expansion must have a compromise between battery
use, wire complexity, data throughput, and cost.
The basic RCX is a fine platform for what we need. Using third party
software that supports DCC will give us PLENTY of motor drive capability
with a simple 2 wire interface. A booster box with its own batteries will
make it possible to drive many motors at once without any risk to the RCX.
Sensor inputs are more of a challenge, but again, 3rd party firmware
and some custom hardware on the sensor ports should allow a relatively
high throughput interface to smart sensors.
I guess we need to get over the "pure LEGO" hurdle - like the Meccano
guys have done. LEGO appears to be under financial stress right now, to
the point of layoffs of 257 folks in Denmark.
<http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/apbiz_story.asp?category=1310&slug=Lego%20Job%20Cuts>
We can't really expect them to develop stuff for our small market. So
maybe it's time to agree on a base processor that we all have, and start
designing a sensor and actuator network that can be controlled by the
RCX itself....
Ralph
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Mindstorms 3.0 Wish List
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| (...) Reading this thread, I am struck by one thought: who would actually pay for a souped-up RCX with intelligent sensors and BlueTooth in every sensor? I could see BlueTooth in every RCX, but it would be overkill for talking with sensors. A (...) (21 years ago, 5-Nov-03, to lugnet.robotics)
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