Subject:
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Droid Developer Kit is here
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Fri, 6 Aug 1999 21:50:19 GMT
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Viewed:
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1023 times
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When I read on Internet that it seems everybody else has got his own 8448, I
kind of worried and phoned S@H. The lady said my 8448 was shipped on July 28,
and my 9748 was shipped on August 1.
Guess what? Yesterday when I went home, the Droid Developer Kit was here, but
the 8448 was no where in sight.
So far I have read the instructions and built the "Jedi Knight Droid" (i.e.,
the one with a front claw). I have not tried the R2D2, nor have I inserted the
CD into the computer yet.
The Micro Scout comes with a built-in light sensor (passive, with no light
emitted, unlike the light sensor brick in RIS), a built-in motor, and 7 built-
in programs. Alas, everything mentioned in this forum before about how dumb it
is turn out to be true.
There is a "P" control mode. The instructions say "The P program is designed
to work with future versions of LEGO MINDSTORMS products. See
www.legomindstorms.com/ddk for more information." I went to that page, but
could not find anything there related to this P program.
Here is the list of the 7 built-in programs:
1) One Direction: L-3GO drives backwards.
2) Two Directions: L-3GO first drives backwards, then drives forwards.
3) Seek Light: L-3GO drives backwards first. When it sees a light, it drives
forwards. (Note when L-3GO drives backwards, it also turns around. The result
is a robot that runs backwards in circle, until it sees the light.)
4) Light Control: L-3GO stands still. When it sees a light, it moves. When the
light flashes twice, the Droid changes direction.
5) Keep Alive: L-3GO stands still. It moves when the light flashes. (So you
have to keep flashing the light to keep the Droid alive.)
6) Alarm: L-3GO stands still, until the intensity of the light changes, then
it moves back and forth and makes lots of noise.
7) L-3GO plays a sequence of short and long beeps. You repeat the sequence
with the flashlight. If you got it right, L-3GO drives forwards, else
backwards.
Maybe I am comparing apples to oranges, but I feel the 5 built-in programs of
RCX are more useful than the 7 built-in programs of Micro Scout. (Challenge:
with only one light sensor and one motor, can you come up with a RCX
application that is more interesting or useful than the 7 built-in programs
mentioned above?)
Before the built-in program starts, it spends several seconds playing a tone.
Quite annoying.
My feeling toward Micro Scout so far: It makes an interesting toy that you can
play with a flashlight. That's it. At least until we learn how the P program
works.
There are lots more holes on the sides of Micro Scout, all in full one-stud
depth. This is perhaps its only improvement over RCX.
Inside the box there is an advertisement for the Remote Control. It says the
Remote Control lets you control the Scout or RCX. So far I still cannot make
my Remote Control work with the Micro Scout -- The built-in programs seems to
treat the Remote Control as nothing but a light source. The P program does not
react to the Remote Control at all. I think Micro Scout is not the same as
Scout, and the advertisement is misleading.
I likes the instructions. Like the instructions in RIS (but unlike the regular
Technic sets), it gives you examples then encourage you to modify the
examples, rather than just follow the steps. Also, at the end there is a page
of the pictures of all the parts. (No, I don't have a scanner. :-()
The dome covers only the front half of the head of the R2-D2(tm) Astromech
Droid(tm). (Yap, (tm)'s are everywhere in the instructions.)
In the Jedi Knight Droid(tm), depending on how you place the Micro Scout, it
either moves the droid or operates the claw, but not both. If you use Micro
Scout to move the droid, you can operate the claw manually through a nub.
To imagine the behavior of the claw when powered by the Micro Scout, re-read
the description of the 7 built-in programs above, replacing the words "drives
backwards" with "opening the claw", and "drives forwards" with "closing the
claw". When the claw reaches its limit, the motor stalls. All in all, I like
the simple design of this little grab-and-lift claw.
As I mentioned above, so far I built only the Jedi Knight Droid from the
instructions. Still, my general impression is that, unlike other high-end
Technic sets where we get one or two massive, complex models, here we have a
bunch of little, lovely machines. The designs are simple, elegant, and
modular. For example, from the Jedi Knight Droid, you build this grab-and-lift
claw, as well as this piece of straight-forwards, turning-backwards driving
mechanisms. You can use these little modules independently elsewhere in your
own creations.
There are lots of new parts, both functional and decorative, as well as parts
in new colors. There are four grey tyres (again, after all these years), one
worm gear in grey, ten axle extenders in white and four in blue.
So far my favorite new part is the new worm gear box. It consists of two
pieces, and can fit in either the 24-tooth or the 40-tooth gear.
To sum it up: I like the pieces. I like the models and the mechanisms. As for
the Micro Scout, just relax and enjoy playing with this little toy, and don't
expect too much. Still, I am eager to learn what this P program is all about.
My biggest worry: My 8448 will finally arrive in days, then that soda-can
project will be put on hold again.
Cheers,
Hao-yang Wang
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Droid Developer Kit is here
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| (...) For what it's worth, the Clock on my web page uses one output and one input. I guess it's the most "useful" of my creations. :) TLG could have added an alarm clock mode to the Micro Scout in which a black/white disk rotating near the light (...) (25 years ago, 7-Aug-99, to lugnet.robotics)
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