Subject:
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Re: The Scout brick: smart or dumb? (was: Robotics Discovery Set)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Tue, 7 Sep 1999 14:14:53 GMT
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Viewed:
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654 times
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Todd Lehman wrote:
> I have to wonder: How dumbed down *is* the blue Scout brick compared to the
> yellow RCX brick? (I don't mean the shipping software, I mean the brick
> itself at the hardware/firmware level.) Is the Scout 80% as capable as the
> RCX? 60%? 20%? What has the Scout got for guts?
Of course there is no doubt that the RCX is far more versatile than the
Scout but it still has it's advantages. Sometimes I just want to build a
robot that rolls around, avoids objects when a touch sensor is hit, and
makes funny little noises. This type of robot can be thrown together
with the Scout in about 15 minutes tops. In that respect the Scout is at
least 80% of the RCX and MUCH faster at making functioning robots.
> "ENTER THE WORLD OF ROBOTICS.
> The Robotics Discovery Set provides everything needed to bring your
> smart LEGO® creations to life. Using the Scout's hands-on Command
> Center, create over 3000 different behaviors — all at the touch of
> a button."
The "3000 different behaviors" is a bit misleading. The Scout has four
preset actions each for motion, touch, and light (listed below). The
different combinations of theses is what they mean by behaviors.
-MOTION- | -TOUCH- | -LIGHT-
forward | reverse | seek
zigzag | avoid | avoid
circle | waitfor | waitfor
loop | brake | brake
> "BUILD ROBOTS THAT WORK TOGETHER
> The Scout can communicate with robots from the Robotics Invention
> System™."
The Scout documentation says that the RCX can send a number value
between 1-12 to the Scout via IR. It is not said what this does but I
can assume this controls the 12 preset actions. I will have to test this
to find out.
> What might this possibly mean? That a year from now, the Scout will have
> functionality similar to the RCX where you can download your own programs?
I'm sure that you will at least be able to recreate the actions you
punch into the Scout brick with the software that will be released
later. The Robotics Discovery Set does NOT include any software at this
time.
> What I wanna know is: On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest), how
> likely is it that the Scout brick (currently crippled by the default
> firmware) is actually a general-purpose brick much like the RCX? It sure
> sounds to me like it's -almost- as cool as the RCX, but just crippled until
> someone figures out how to uncripple it.
I can only assume that the same processor was used in the Scout as in
the RCX. As far as the amount of RAM, I don't know. It just seems to me
that the Scout is ripe for hacking and once the techies here get a hold
of it, we will be amazed at what it can be made to do. Just as was the
case with the RCX.
Robert
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