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Domain: robosavvy.com
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Comments · 3
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Pleo not hackerfriendly
There is a nice TED talk about Pleo. Unfortunately the thing comes with proprietary software and you can only customise it using motion profiles and sounds. I am not sure how much this has affected sales, but you can get much more hacker friendly robots from Robosavvy.com. I am still waiting for a walking robot with onboard ARM processor and Linux, actuators with hackable controllers, sensors (resolvers, accelerometer, maybe gyroscope, contact sensors). It doesn't even need to be able to pick up objects. There are several robots listed on Linuxdevices.com (even Pleo although I think Pleo OS is not based on Linux) but they are either not that powerful yet or they are somewhat expensive.
But it is certainly not easy to get your act together and do a proper design including mechanics, electronics, and software. -
Re:Feedback claims dubiousI dont think the RCB-1 controler regurgitates the previous position. The servos really do have a signaling protocol that allows the controler to retrieve the current position.
Check out the PDF called "ICS Servo Special Protocol" here: http://robosavvy.com/Support/2
This will be validated experimentally soon.I know someone who has done a similar project developing interesting gaits that utilize current AND position feedback form the servos. http://www.mundobot.com/projects/melanie/v2/enmel
a nie2.htm -
Microsoft will eventually win
Personal robotics today doesnt exist outside of the hobbist techie and academic realms. But M*ft wont ignore an opportunity once the turnover is worth more then a few hundred million dollars and growing. As they did with the Internet, Java, handhelds, games, phones, settop-boxes etc. they may eventually take over the personal robotics market too.
LS http://robosavvy.com/