Heck, for that matter, the XBox (Classic) uses a USB interface for it's controllers, too. There's just an additional 3.3volt line for other purposes like light pens, etc.
The Roomba itself isn't actually programmable. What they have exposed is cool, however. You have access to all of it's sensors and can drive the motors via commands. With that, you can add a small PIC or BasicStamp controller and drive it via serial commands. The BlueTooth adapter simply extends those serial commands to another device.
I have a Roomba Discovery that I have added a BasicStamp computer and BlueTooth. That way, I can issue commands via BlueTooth or download programs that it will execute. The Roomba makes a great little platform... my next project is going to involve a table pc with a camera.
Also, Microsoft Robotics Studio and use and expose "services" from the Roomba so you can extend it even further, like to have a web page that controls what the Roomba is doing. Very cool stuff.
1.) I stand corrected. It does create a small vacuum. However, after investigating it, it is a very small vacuum designed only to keep dust inside the bin, not to actually draw it in. It's more used to offset the high pressure created from the brushes "pushing" debris into the bin than to pick up any dirt. It's a very clever design. The filters are used to prevent dust from escaping.
2.) I do have a lot of first hand knowledge. I've been using and playing with Roomba's since they were first introduced. The latest ones that I have, Scheduler and Discovery, have a small hidden fan (actually in the dust bin at the back) to depressurize the dust bin. That fan is competly hidden and without actually looking carefully, you might miss it, like I did. Anyway, when you pull the dust bin out, you can clearly see the two brushes (actually, one brush and one beater bar) that are the primary dirt removal mechanisms.
3.) Drop the attitude - it's just a discussion. Nothing in my post warranted a personal attack from you.
Interestingly enough, the Roomba DOESN'T "suck alot." In fact, it doesn't use a low pressure area at all, but relies solely on brushes to pick up any unwanted particulate matter on the floor.
Who ever wrote this article sure chose his words to make it sound expensive. He made it sound as if you have to buy that Pioneer robot for $40,000 in order to use it.
That's simply not the case. You can develop for a wide range of robots with this from the Parallax Boe-Bot, Lego Mindstorm NXT and Roomba all the way up to those expensive robots for $40,000 or more. You can even build it for custom robots based on little pics like the BASIC Stamp computer and others similar to it.
The beauty of this package is that you can program it visually (using the Visual Programming Langauage) or in C# or VB - depending on your skill level.
I think you mean that Checkers would be a 3D game (as there is no Z axis used in the game.)
Bill
Re:Gyroscopic stabilizers
on
Rocket Men
·
· Score: 2, Informative
To date, only one VTVL rocket vehicle has demonstrated fully autonomous takeoff, hover, and landing (John Carmack's vehicle over at Armadillo Aerospace).
I'm not sure they've actually conducted a fullly autonomous test. According to their web site, they've only done very limited tethered tests.
However, I know the Delta Clipper (DC-X) and it's follow on (DC-XA) had several sucuessful tests, fully autonomous. But even they had a bunch of development issues that eventually lead to the programs cancellation.
'they NEVER should have been allowed "caveat emptor" wiggle room. No other "industry" gets that'
I'd say you are wrong here. The publishing industry in general has that sort of industry practice. If I buy a book and it has an error in it, I don't take it back to the publisher for them to fix it. In fact, they might (or might not) fix it in their next release. If I buy a newspaper and there is an error in it, they print a correction in a newer paper a few days later - they don't recall or warranty the original paper.
Software does have a distinct difference... Thanks to Mr. Gore, this Internet thingy makes it a lot easier to make those 'modifications' in software more rapidly. (I'm not going to call them corrections, because in some cases, the code was right to begin with, just exploited for bad purposes.)
Have you ever heard of the Scientific Method? Scientific Data - regardless of who collects it, is still scientific data and can be checked and reproduced by anyone. Several other individuals examined her methods and results and determined that it was accurate, hence her winning the four year College scholarship.
Being related to Einstein doesn't invalidate the "Special Theory of Relitivity" does it? It's not biased, it's proven.
Sorry, but that is just not true. My Daughter won a four year scholarship by proving that Ornithopters are actually much more efficient in converting energy into flight then propeller driven airplanes. (Jet's are very inefficient compared to piston engined aircraft, it's just that they fly faster on cheaper fuel and have much lower maintenance costs which make them more "dollar efficient.")
Anyway, the point is, during her analysis (which I might add was very impressive and detailed) she concluded that the flapping motion of birds and insects (which actually have two different flight models) were approximatly 300% more efficient at converting energy into aerodynamic fluid motion. Insects being a slight bit more efficient at it in denser air - which dramatically falls off the larger they get. Birds maintain efficiency to much thinner air - hence their ability to fly with increased sizes - with no known theroetical limit based on her limited science.
What insects and most birds both do very well is use the wings motion in either direction to produces both lift and thrust (which is just lift in the direction of flight.)
The real limit to ornithopters is the physical stresses created by the flapping motion. If you can model a birds wings on that large of a scale, the stress on the materials are tremendous, so careful thought has to go into materials selection as well as energy distribution. In fact, in these guy's earlier models, they were suffering breakages at the hinges (weak points.)
My Daughter is driving now... and she's only 15. Of course, that's with me by her side. But in Indiana, you can get your learners permit when you're only 15. Some people question my wisdom of letting her drive so early. My response... you have to know my Daughter... she's been flying planes since she was 12. Driving a car is nothing. (We just had to figure out how to get her to quit steering with her feet and using her hands for the throttle and break, planes are a little backwards in that respect on the ground.)
"Alcohols are difficult to store and transport because they'll suck water out of anything..."
I've actaully seen this 'feature' used for airplanes. Since Ethanol is becoming so common in auto gas, we need to remove it if it ever happens to get introduced in an airplane. Aviation Gas aka AvGas is 100 Octane Low Lead, but some planes (like mine) have an STC that allows us to use Auto Gas in them. But it must be pure, so having Ethanol in it is not allowed. To remove it, you simply dump water in the gas... which pulls out the ethanol and settles to the bottom. When that happens, you simply sump it out and all you're left with is pure gas.:-)
Now, this is not a recommended technique... but if someone happens to dump E85 or something like that in it, we have a nice easy cure.
How can these gadget's possibly be dangerous? From the article, you can't even find them. I actually think they're all just Duke Nukem Forwever ware. There are stories about them, but no actual links or pictures. Man, I also wish I could stick a Google Ad right in my comment. I'd like, make a killing, wouldn't I?
According to the article, Adobe wants MS to charge it's cutomers for the ability to write PDF documents. Why would Adobe do that? I mean, Office 12 (er, Office 2007) can only create PDFs, it can't read or modify them. To do that, you have to use Adobe's software. Don't they like the fact that Office users are still going to be foreced to use Adobe Acrobat? This makes no sense to me.
the US hasn't entered a hot war with an equivilant (or even close) power for over fifty years (and arguably never)
That's the idea... who want's to enter a fair fight you can possibly loose? Why do you think the US and USSR never fought???
We were trained to never enter a fair fight... only one you are assured to win. Our strategy is to maintain a decisive technical edge over every other nation, period. That way, no matter the enemy, we'll be around to fight another day.
a standard QWERTY Keyboard out of the question! I hate devices that limit me to a one handed keyboard!
By they way, how is this different then strapping an iPaq to my arm? Really - I see no benefit other than reducing ones (slight) chance of getting "any."
I've gone through this entire thread and haven't found a single argument for that first A, Aeronautics. I've been working with NASA for years on the Small Aircraft Transportation System program. We were just informed that there is going to be no funding support for it this year.
Why is it that 99.999% of NASA's "customers" travel by air and.001% travel into space, but the budget is so lopsided that that almost 98% of the funding is going to Space flight? We're not done innovating in the atmosphere yet! We need to get the national airspace system up to date so it can handle the future needs/growth of air flight. We need to make smaller airplanes safer... we need to do a lot and NASA is the governments only arm that is doing this type of research.
NASA is the only government agency that is tasked with doing three things... Space Science, Space Flight and Aeronautical Research. I think we need to break it up in to 3 distinct organizations along those lines. That way we could focus on what each one does best without killing the others.
I've been doing this for a while now... without anything to carry around with me. It's called a Taplock (I think it cost me $50 or so) and I use it to unlock the doors (or open my trunk) in my Miata.
It works by me simply tapping (kocking) 3 times on the side of the car where the gas filler is. That "wakes it up" then I can tap in my code... one code for the door and another code for the trunk. It works perfectly and nothing is visible outside to let anyone know it's there.
I am not a scientest either, however, I thought all String Theories relied on a 10 dimensional universe... m-Theory (m = Magical, Miracle, but most scientests thing it is m=Membrane) is the one that had 11 dimensions. And when they went back an checked, all the different String Theories actually fit it's model.
Let me get this straight. You've picked the largest deployed Operating System out there as a target for poor management?
Your basis is the poor "quality and delays." We've got humans involved here and there are bound to be mistakes.
You might not like Microsoft (or their products) but you have to admit, their products are selling like hotcakes and are generally a good product. They do have issues, however, but not that many compared to the complexity of the development project. I fail to see now they negatively affect Microsoft. I don't think that the Windows project within Microsoft is a failed project by any measure due to lack of good management... I argue on the contrary - their excellent management made it what it is today, the #1 selling OS - failed projects don't generate billions of dollars for a company.
I know you're going to respond about delays of Vista, etc. But I'm sure they have their reasons and it might have been a good management decision to have the delay. Perhaps you're simply not aware of all the issues involved.
Considering that flashlights were invented in the United States (by The American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Co. later known as Eveready)... and named because of the fact that in the late 1800s batteries didn't last too long. So they were "flashed" on and off when needed to conserve the battery. That is why so many flashlights still have that flash function today.
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Heck, for that matter, the XBox (Classic) uses a USB interface for it's controllers, too. There's just an additional 3.3volt line for other purposes like light pens, etc.
Bill
Isn't £200 about $2500 now with the current exchange rate???
Bill
The Roomba itself isn't actually programmable. What they have exposed is cool, however. You have access to all of it's sensors and can drive the motors via commands. With that, you can add a small PIC or BasicStamp controller and drive it via serial commands. The BlueTooth adapter simply extends those serial commands to another device.
I have a Roomba Discovery that I have added a BasicStamp computer and BlueTooth. That way, I can issue commands via BlueTooth or download programs that it will execute. The Roomba makes a great little platform... my next project is going to involve a table pc with a camera.
Also, Microsoft Robotics Studio and use and expose "services" from the Roomba so you can extend it even further, like to have a web page that controls what the Roomba is doing. Very cool stuff.
Bill
1.) I stand corrected. It does create a small vacuum. However, after investigating it, it is a very small vacuum designed only to keep dust inside the bin, not to actually draw it in. It's more used to offset the high pressure created from the brushes "pushing" debris into the bin than to pick up any dirt. It's a very clever design. The filters are used to prevent dust from escaping.
2.) I do have a lot of first hand knowledge. I've been using and playing with Roomba's since they were first introduced. The latest ones that I have, Scheduler and Discovery, have a small hidden fan (actually in the dust bin at the back) to depressurize the dust bin. That fan is competly hidden and without actually looking carefully, you might miss it, like I did. Anyway, when you pull the dust bin out, you can clearly see the two brushes (actually, one brush and one beater bar) that are the primary dirt removal mechanisms.
3.) Drop the attitude - it's just a discussion. Nothing in my post warranted a personal attack from you.
Bill
Interestingly enough, the Roomba DOESN'T "suck alot." In fact, it doesn't use a low pressure area at all, but relies solely on brushes to pick up any unwanted particulate matter on the floor.
Bill
Who ever wrote this article sure chose his words to make it sound expensive. He made it sound as if you have to buy that Pioneer robot for $40,000 in order to use it.
That's simply not the case. You can develop for a wide range of robots with this from the Parallax Boe-Bot, Lego Mindstorm NXT and Roomba all the way up to those expensive robots for $40,000 or more. You can even build it for custom robots based on little pics like the BASIC Stamp computer and others similar to it.
The beauty of this package is that you can program it visually (using the Visual Programming Langauage) or in C# or VB - depending on your skill level.
Bill
I think you mean that Checkers would be a 3D game (as there is no Z axis used in the game.)
Bill
I'm not sure they've actually conducted a fullly autonomous test. According to their web site, they've only done very limited tethered tests.
However, I know the Delta Clipper (DC-X) and it's follow on (DC-XA) had several sucuessful tests, fully autonomous. But even they had a bunch of development issues that eventually lead to the programs cancellation.
Bill
'they NEVER should have been allowed "caveat emptor" wiggle room. No other "industry" gets that'
I'd say you are wrong here. The publishing industry in general has that sort of industry practice. If I buy a book and it has an error in it, I don't take it back to the publisher for them to fix it. In fact, they might (or might not) fix it in their next release. If I buy a newspaper and there is an error in it, they print a correction in a newer paper a few days later - they don't recall or warranty the original paper.
Software does have a distinct difference... Thanks to Mr. Gore, this Internet thingy makes it a lot easier to make those 'modifications' in software more rapidly. (I'm not going to call them corrections, because in some cases, the code was right to begin with, just exploited for bad purposes.)
Bill
Have you ever heard of the Scientific Method? Scientific Data - regardless of who collects it, is still scientific data and can be checked and reproduced by anyone. Several other individuals examined her methods and results and determined that it was accurate, hence her winning the four year College scholarship.
Being related to Einstein doesn't invalidate the "Special Theory of Relitivity" does it? It's not biased, it's proven.
Bill
Sorry, but that is just not true. My Daughter won a four year scholarship by proving that Ornithopters are actually much more efficient in converting energy into flight then propeller driven airplanes. (Jet's are very inefficient compared to piston engined aircraft, it's just that they fly faster on cheaper fuel and have much lower maintenance costs which make them more "dollar efficient.")
Anyway, the point is, during her analysis (which I might add was very impressive and detailed) she concluded that the flapping motion of birds and insects (which actually have two different flight models) were approximatly 300% more efficient at converting energy into aerodynamic fluid motion. Insects being a slight bit more efficient at it in denser air - which dramatically falls off the larger they get. Birds maintain efficiency to much thinner air - hence their ability to fly with increased sizes - with no known theroetical limit based on her limited science.
What insects and most birds both do very well is use the wings motion in either direction to produces both lift and thrust (which is just lift in the direction of flight.)
The real limit to ornithopters is the physical stresses created by the flapping motion. If you can model a birds wings on that large of a scale, the stress on the materials are tremendous, so careful thought has to go into materials selection as well as energy distribution. In fact, in these guy's earlier models, they were suffering breakages at the hinges (weak points.)
Bill
You know... I've looked at this from 10... no wait, now 11 possible dimensions and I still don't get it!
Bill
My Daughter is driving now... and she's only 15. Of course, that's with me by her side. But in Indiana, you can get your learners permit when you're only 15. Some people question my wisdom of letting her drive so early. My response... you have to know my Daughter... she's been flying planes since she was 12. Driving a car is nothing. (We just had to figure out how to get her to quit steering with her feet and using her hands for the throttle and break, planes are a little backwards in that respect on the ground.)
Bill
"Alcohols are difficult to store and transport because they'll suck water out of anything..."
:-)
I've actaully seen this 'feature' used for airplanes. Since Ethanol is becoming so common in auto gas, we need to remove it if it ever happens to get introduced in an airplane. Aviation Gas aka AvGas is 100 Octane Low Lead, but some planes (like mine) have an STC that allows us to use Auto Gas in them. But it must be pure, so having Ethanol in it is not allowed. To remove it, you simply dump water in the gas... which pulls out the ethanol and settles to the bottom. When that happens, you simply sump it out and all you're left with is pure gas.
Now, this is not a recommended technique... but if someone happens to dump E85 or something like that in it, we have a nice easy cure.
Bill
How can these gadget's possibly be dangerous? From the article, you can't even find them. I actually think they're all just Duke Nukem Forwever ware. There are stories about them, but no actual links or pictures. Man, I also wish I could stick a Google Ad right in my comment. I'd like, make a killing, wouldn't I?
Bill
According to the article, Adobe wants MS to charge it's cutomers for the ability to write PDF documents. Why would Adobe do that? I mean, Office 12 (er, Office 2007) can only create PDFs, it can't read or modify them. To do that, you have to use Adobe's software. Don't they like the fact that Office users are still going to be foreced to use Adobe Acrobat? This makes no sense to me.
Bill
That's the idea... who want's to enter a fair fight you can possibly loose? Why do you think the US and USSR never fought???
We were trained to never enter a fair fight... only one you are assured to win. Our strategy is to maintain a decisive technical edge over every other nation, period. That way, no matter the enemy, we'll be around to fight another day.
Bill
a standard QWERTY Keyboard out of the question! I hate devices that limit me to a one handed keyboard!
By they way, how is this different then strapping an iPaq to my arm? Really - I see no benefit other than reducing ones (slight) chance of getting "any."
Bill
I've gone through this entire thread and haven't found a single argument for that first A, Aeronautics. I've been working with NASA for years on the Small Aircraft Transportation System program. We were just informed that there is going to be no funding support for it this year.
.001% travel into space, but the budget is so lopsided that that almost 98% of the funding is going to Space flight? We're not done innovating in the atmosphere yet! We need to get the national airspace system up to date so it can handle the future needs/growth of air flight. We need to make smaller airplanes safer... we need to do a lot and NASA is the governments only arm that is doing this type of research.
Why is it that 99.999% of NASA's "customers" travel by air and
NASA is the only government agency that is tasked with doing three things... Space Science, Space Flight and Aeronautical Research. I think we need to break it up in to 3 distinct organizations along those lines. That way we could focus on what each one does best without killing the others.
Bill
Sorry, hit the damn Submit button instead of the Preview button.
The correct link is here: Atlas
Bill
Microsoft has a project called Atlas that does exactly that. Bill
I've been doing this for a while now... without anything to carry around with me. It's called a Taplock (I think it cost me $50 or so) and I use it to unlock the doors (or open my trunk) in my Miata.
It works by me simply tapping (kocking) 3 times on the side of the car where the gas filler is. That "wakes it up" then I can tap in my code... one code for the door and another code for the trunk. It works perfectly and nothing is visible outside to let anyone know it's there.
Bill
I am not a scientest either, however, I thought all String Theories relied on a 10 dimensional universe... m-Theory (m = Magical, Miracle, but most scientests thing it is m=Membrane) is the one that had 11 dimensions. And when they went back an checked, all the different String Theories actually fit it's model.
Bill
Let me get this straight. You've picked the largest deployed Operating System out there as a target for poor management?
Your basis is the poor "quality and delays." We've got humans involved here and there are bound to be mistakes.
You might not like Microsoft (or their products) but you have to admit, their products are selling like hotcakes and are generally a good product. They do have issues, however, but not that many compared to the complexity of the development project. I fail to see now they negatively affect Microsoft. I don't think that the Windows project within Microsoft is a failed project by any measure due to lack of good management... I argue on the contrary - their excellent management made it what it is today, the #1 selling OS - failed projects don't generate billions of dollars for a company.
I know you're going to respond about delays of Vista, etc. But I'm sure they have their reasons and it might have been a good management decision to have the delay. Perhaps you're simply not aware of all the issues involved.
Bill
Maybe that should be...
Flashlight = Torch, for
Considering that flashlights were invented in the United States (by The American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Co. later known as Eveready)... and named because of the fact that in the late 1800s batteries didn't last too long. So they were "flashed" on and off when needed to conserve the battery. That is why so many flashlights still have that flash function today.
Bill