Subject:
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RE: Exploration Mars Availalble?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Mon, 6 Dec 1999 18:18:16 GMT
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Original-From:
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Tilman Sporkert <tilman@activesw#NoMoreSpam#.com>
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Viewed:
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1027 times
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Hmmm... there are two entirely different pictures in the catalog. One shows
a vehicle with large linked threads. The other shows a base station and a
rover with 6 wheels. That picture has all kinds of extra parts - the yellow
worm gear boxes on the vehicle, the little camera with the Lego studs, the
legs of the base station etc. There doesn't seem to be an overlap between
the new pieces in the two pictures.
Yes, little Webcams can be had for as low as $20 in your favorite computer
super store. But I would think Lego has more overhead, and additional cost.
Given the contents of previous expanision packs, I find it hard to believe
that you will get the camera and all the extra pieces in an expansion set
for $50.
And then it will be interesting to see what kind of computer interface it
uses. USB? Parallel? Serial? Share a port with the IR transmitter?
I suspect the rover is driven from the PC. You use your joystick, mouse, or
cursor keys to explore your room by watching a little B&W 160x120 image on
your computer screen.
We'll just have to wait and see...
Tilman
> Tom Boucher wrote:
>
> > Hmmm - For the First time I've seen this in the Online Lego Catalog.
> >
> > Exploration Mars is supposed to be available 11/99. It's 12/99. Anyone
> > found it yet?
>
> The Exploration Mars pack appears to be out in Europe. There is a
> picture at
>
> http://www.lego.com/catalog/eur/productzoom.asp?number=9736 .
> Interestingly,
> it is available from Lego Service in Europe, but I couldn't find it at the
> WorldShop site as of this writing.
>
> Looks as though the RCX is built into a (static?) "lander", and there is a
> little "rover" (two motors, six wheels, and maybe two of the worm
> gear cases
> that you can't get in the US anymore). It isn't clear whether the
> "rover" is
> supposed to be tethered to the RCX by the three electrical cables (two for
> the motors and one for the thingy on the front whatever it is) that trail
> behind the "rover" in the picture. If so, it would be ever-so-slightly
> reminiscent of the remote sub in the alternate model for the Technic Space
> Shuttle set. Also looks like the "rover" is meant to drive up on
> top of the
> RCX-lander.
>
> The picture isn't good enough for me to see what the thingy on
> the front of
> the "rover" is -- I somehow doubt that it is a video camera
> (would probably
> make the set waaaay more expensive than the $54 figure being tossed around
> here), but it doesn't look much like anything I've seen before.
>
> There was *supposed* to be a video camera as a separate release. What
> follows is from a Lego press release dated Feb 1999, and things have
> obviously changed a bit since then…
>
> "…On 1st May, LEGO MINDSTORMS is extending its starter kit with
> two exciting
> new models. One of them is the "Exploration Mars" set; the other is a
> brand-new digital camera. Two fabulous products that lift the Robotics
> Invention System to an entirely new level.
> "The camera is part of a completely new LEGO brick. When it is
> attached to a
> four-metre-long cable, it can transmit pictures from the Mars exploration
> vehicle direct to a PC, where the pictures can be saved and edited for
> later use. And children can also use the camera to send pictures to their
> friends all over the world via the Internet. The Exploration Mars set has
> various Mars vehicles that can be sent out on no fewer than 12 different
> missions."
>
> Has the camera been included with the Exploration Mars pack? Or
> is the photo
> indicating "if you had the camera, you could put it on the front of the
> vehicle like this..."
>
> Cheers
>
> JP
>
>
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Exploration Mars Availalble?
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| (...) The Exploration Mars pack appears to be out in Europe. There is a picture at (URL) . Interestingly, it is available from Lego Service in Europe, but I couldn't find it at the WorldShop site as of this writing. Looks as though the RCX is built (...) (25 years ago, 5-Dec-99, to lugnet.robotics)
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