Subject:
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Re: Future Mindstorm Releases?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Wed, 1 Sep 2004 20:47:57 GMT
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Original-From:
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Mr S <szinn_the1@yahoo.comSTOPSPAM>
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Viewed:
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3429 times
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--- Joe Strout <joe@strout.net> wrote:
{{ SNIP }}
>
> It's the extensibility part that's sticking in my
> craw. Yes, structurally, LEGO is very extensible.
> But that makes a mechanized gadget, not a robot --
> a robot requires sensors and effectors. And the RCX
> limits you to three of each. That's not very
> extensible.
I have to say that if you are concerned with the MPU
and I/O, there is the option of using two RCX bricks,
as I do. I am running three outputs just to make my
robot move along the floor! The gripper and arm are
another matter altogether! I'm considering using the
outputs from the RCX to drive an external h-bridge due
to the amount of power required. I have some concern
that I might burnout the internal h-bridges on the
RCX, plus using an external battery box for the four
wheels on the ground would indeed improve battery life
performance. This is not necessarily something that
most people would worry about.
Whenever it becomes public, my robot is at:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=96749
I don't think that there is any rule that says for
your personal robot, you have to stick only to the RIS
kit parts list. Some contests do have this rule, but
most clubs really don't care how much of your robot is
purist LEGO.
> Now, if you took something like the OOPic (or
> similar) controller, and the cheap and plentiful
> sensors and effectors that the MarkIII folks have,
> and used them to control a LEGO-built robot, it
> seems to me that you would have the best of both
> worlds.
I'm in this very process now for my robot. It is my
intent that the 5DOF arm be manipulated with spacial
coordinate commands rather than the MPU synchronizing
the movement of all the involved motors, and that this
command interface be IR so the RCX has little or NO
trouble talking with the arm. The PIC I am using for
this will also manage the motion limit switches, power
management, IR sensing on the arm etc... so that it is
a complete system on its own, slaved to the RCX. A
coprocessor to the RCX if you will.
> As it is, I'm reluctant to sink $100 or more into a
> Mindstorms set when I could spend the same money on
> a PIC-based platform, and not hit any I/O limits for
> a very long time (if ever).
Rock on with your bad self, grab a PIC, shove it
inside a regular LEGO brick (not the RCX brick) or
group of bricks and let us know how it comes out :)
That is indeed part of the development slowdown on my
robot... learning the PIC and the AVR mpu programming.
For myself, though this wouldn't naturally apply to a
classroom situation, overcoming some of these system
design issues is part of the reason for getting into
robotics... About 60% of the cost of a RIS 2.0 is for
the parts, not the RCX. Those parts are a big part of
what makes it so usable.
> So why am I posting this? Two reasons: one, I have
> some hope that LEGO is listening and will consider
> beefing up the next-generation RCX;
I also hope they are listening
> and two, I'd like to hear about other LEGO robotics
> projects using PIC controllers. Though I suppose
> that should be a different thread!
BTW, on another post, someone enquired as to the power
supply for the RCX? Only version 1 RCX bricks are
capable of external power. Its on the website under
the heading of HARDWARE about 80% of the way down the
page. (BTW, I will provide a good home to anyone that
needs to send their version 1.0 w/ext power plug RCX
away without need of much in return)
http://www.crynwr.com/lego-robotics/
Cheers
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Future Mindstorm Releases?
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| (...) Quite understandable (and understood). (...) I wish they would, too -- I'd love to see it! (...) Agreed. For structural work -- especially, the sort of tinkery rapid-prototyping structural work we all love -- LEGO can't be beaten. However... (...) (21 years ago, 1-Sep-04, to lugnet.robotics)
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