XLNT! Dang it, I'm in the process of mounting some servo-powered accessories to my Scribbler as we speak, and Chris beat me to it!
Well done, Chris! Great app.
Edit: What wasn't shown was connecting the servo wires internally to the Scribbler's electricals. Maybe Chris showed that in one of his prior videos. In my Scribbler, I elected to ditch the 3 onboard photocells to hook up 2 wheel encoders and a braking relay.
On the Savage Circuits site, Chris says, "The servo was connected internally to the hacker port, making it easy to control via easy code modification."
Chris's pen lifter is not just an extremely clever (and useful) adjunct to both Scribblers; but, like the rest of his videos, this one has production values that far exceed the usual YouTube fare.
Congrats Chris, for both a great app and a stellar presentation! (How do you manage to stay so relaxed in front of the camera?)
We had an informal competition among our engineering staff to develop a simple Sharpie pen lifter for the S2 - Chris beat us all by a long distance. His solution is really simple and elegant - doesn't even require a kit from Parallax! I should have given my S2 first article to Chris. With encoder feedback he'd probably be writing "Savage Circuits" on the paper. The S2 also has a row of 3-pin headers for really easy connection to the HackeR PorT.
The S2 robot is currently receiving serious attention at the manufacturing location. We've had no less than five (5) members of our team at the factory last week. The purpose was to review test procedures, final component values, FCC/CE/CPSC testing and production schedule. And today I am introducing the S2 to a major retailer.
The S2 is also a good example of a mass-produced product with the Propeller.
We're on target for having these around the end of November!
This is fantastic! The photo pointed out the graphics language which catches my attention. I know there's 12Blocks for the Propeller chip, but what do you call this language for S2 and can we download it and use it on our own prop chips for robotic experimentation and graphical program designs? It seems this is a new prop programming language that should be added to the Ultra list of Propeller languages.
The original Scribbler (BS2 brains) programmed with the Stamp Editor and with a GUI interface called the Scribbler Program Maker. The beauty of this powerful system (written by Phil Pilgrim) was that you could toggle in between the GUI and Stamp Editor. Newbies could write code in the GUI and toggle into the Stamp Editor and see the code in PBASIC. It was a super learning tool and the GUI progams read like a flow chart - letting the user visually understand the program.
The new S2 will work the same way toggling between a GUI and Propeller Tool! It is going to be fantastic! Phil is again the author.
I believe (but am not completely sure) that Scribbler (1) GUI programs will also run on the Scribbler 2 GUI - which is again - an amazing programming feat.
No matter what - I can promise that (based on what I have heard) it will be very cool. It will give beginners a great way to try things, see what they do instantly with the robot, then toggle to the Propeller Tool and see the code in Spin.
The GUI also keep you out of trouble by what it allowed or did not allow.
I believe (but am not completely sure) that Scribbler (1) GUI programs will also run on the Scribbler 2 GUI - which is again - an amazing programming feat.
GUI programs written for the Scribbler I can be loaded into the S2 GUI and run on the S2. Likewise, GUI programs written for the S2 can be loaded into the Scribbler I GUI and run on the Scribbler I. It's not such an amazing feat, really, because both GUIs use the same language-neutral XML text format to represent the GUI elements and their relations to each other. That simplified the cross-compatibility objective enormously.
This is not to say, however, that programs written for one bot will work exactly the same on the other, particularly when it comes to motor control. I had to fudge a little on that, since the S2's motor control software can take advantage of the built-in wheel encoders.
Also, in order to maintain the S2 GUI's backward compatibility with the Scribbler I, some of the S2's more advanced features (i.e. multicolor LED control) are not available to GUI programmers but are supported in the supplied S2 object. In fact, there will be a lot of new stuff for Spin programmers to discover in the S2 object, such as the drawing commands (e.g. move_to(x, y) and arc_to(x, y, radius)), in which the S2 object treats the rolling surface as an X-Y grid and keeps track of the S2's position and orientation automatically.
Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. I didn't get a notification there were updates to this thread so I missed them until just now.
Feedback like that which is provided helps me fix these things in future videos. For example, while I did mention where I connected the servo, the details were left out. I think the best thing I can do is make sure I address more details in the future. Not an excuse but I was in a hurry to get this video up to show how this could be done and of course, hind-sight is 20/20.
Nonetheless...please, don't be afraid to tell me when you think something is lacking. If your suggestion has merit I will certainly try to make the adjustment in the future.
Once I have a Scribbler 2 I will do a more detailed video on the hack and describe such things as calibrating the servos in more detail as well. Take care everyone!
Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. I didn't get a notification there were updates to this thread so I missed them until just now.
Feedback like that which is provided helps me fix these things in future videos. For example, while I did mention where I connected the servo, the details were left out. I think the best thing I can do is make sure I address more details in the future. Not an excuse but I was in a hurry to get this video up to show how this could be done and of course, hind-sight is 20/20.
Nonetheless...please, don't be afraid to tell me when you think something is lacking. If your suggestion has merit I will certainly try to make the adjustment in the future.
Once I have a Scribbler 2 I will do a more detailed video on the hack and describe such things as calibrating the servos in more detail as well. Take care everyone!
Chris, Putting the vid up on youtube is the worst thing you can do for about 1.3 billion people. Youtube is blocked from here. How can you advertise a product at a place that misses two thirds of the world's population? I suggest putting these up on the Parallax site where it's still accessible by everyone. Thank you for your consideration.
HUmanoido...Parallax leads by example...all of the current videos by Jessica and most of the other stuff is also on YouTube. The videos are also available on Vimeo, Facebook (On our fan page) and even as a PodCast on iTunes.
HUmanoido...Parallax leads by example...all of the current videos by Jessica and most of the other stuff is also on YouTube. The videos are also available on Vimeo, Facebook (On our fan page) and even as a PodCast on iTunes.
Youtube, Vimeo and Facebook are blocked. iTunes is open. Are there iTunes PodCast links for S2? Thanks sincerely.
I'm sorry...I wasn't clear on the videos I was referring to...I stated that Parallax posts their videos on YouTube...but I copy mine to Vimeo, Facebook, iTunes, etc.
Comments
Well done, Chris! Great app.
Edit: What wasn't shown was connecting the servo wires internally to the Scribbler's electricals. Maybe Chris showed that in one of his prior videos. In my Scribbler, I elected to ditch the 3 onboard photocells to hook up 2 wheel encoders and a braking relay.
On the Savage Circuits site, Chris says, "The servo was connected internally to the hacker port, making it easy to control via easy code modification."
@Dave - thanks for posting!
@Chris - very cool.
Congrats Chris, for both a great app and a stellar presentation! (How do you manage to stay so relaxed in front of the camera?)
-Phil
We had an informal competition among our engineering staff to develop a simple Sharpie pen lifter for the S2 - Chris beat us all by a long distance. His solution is really simple and elegant - doesn't even require a kit from Parallax! I should have given my S2 first article to Chris. With encoder feedback he'd probably be writing "Savage Circuits" on the paper. The S2 also has a row of 3-pin headers for really easy connection to the HackeR PorT.
The S2 robot is currently receiving serious attention at the manufacturing location. We've had no less than five (5) members of our team at the factory last week. The purpose was to review test procedures, final component values, FCC/CE/CPSC testing and production schedule. And today I am introducing the S2 to a major retailer.
The S2 is also a good example of a mass-produced product with the Propeller.
We're on target for having these around the end of November!
Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
This is fantastic! The photo pointed out the graphics language which catches my attention. I know there's 12Blocks for the Propeller chip, but what do you call this language for S2 and can we download it and use it on our own prop chips for robotic experimentation and graphical program designs? It seems this is a new prop programming language that should be added to the Ultra list of Propeller languages.
Humanoido
The original Scribbler (BS2 brains) programmed with the Stamp Editor and with a GUI interface called the Scribbler Program Maker. The beauty of this powerful system (written by Phil Pilgrim) was that you could toggle in between the GUI and Stamp Editor. Newbies could write code in the GUI and toggle into the Stamp Editor and see the code in PBASIC. It was a super learning tool and the GUI progams read like a flow chart - letting the user visually understand the program.
The new S2 will work the same way toggling between a GUI and Propeller Tool! It is going to be fantastic! Phil is again the author.
I believe (but am not completely sure) that Scribbler (1) GUI programs will also run on the Scribbler 2 GUI - which is again - an amazing programming feat.
No matter what - I can promise that (based on what I have heard) it will be very cool. It will give beginners a great way to try things, see what they do instantly with the robot, then toggle to the Propeller Tool and see the code in Spin.
The GUI also keep you out of trouble by what it allowed or did not allow.
But since I'm not a Propeller guy yet, I will def be using the GUI on S2. To start, anyway!
@erco,
You owe it to yourself to give it a try - if only appreciate what Phil Pilgrim acheived with this amazing piece of software.
This GUI on the S2 will be the doorway for many new Propeller users.
@WBA Consulting - My son loves the original and can't wait to get his hands on the S2...
This is not to say, however, that programs written for one bot will work exactly the same on the other, particularly when it comes to motor control. I had to fudge a little on that, since the S2's motor control software can take advantage of the built-in wheel encoders.
Also, in order to maintain the S2 GUI's backward compatibility with the Scribbler I, some of the S2's more advanced features (i.e. multicolor LED control) are not available to GUI programmers but are supported in the supplied S2 object. In fact, there will be a lot of new stuff for Spin programmers to discover in the S2 object, such as the drawing commands (e.g. move_to(x, y) and arc_to(x, y, radius)), in which the S2 object treats the rolling surface as an X-Y grid and keeps track of the S2's position and orientation automatically.
-Phil
I really think it will be a dream to teach with.
Humanoido
My bet is on S2 Program Maker...
Feedback like that which is provided helps me fix these things in future videos. For example, while I did mention where I connected the servo, the details were left out. I think the best thing I can do is make sure I address more details in the future. Not an excuse but I was in a hurry to get this video up to show how this could be done and of course, hind-sight is 20/20.
Nonetheless...please, don't be afraid to tell me when you think something is lacking. If your suggestion has merit I will certainly try to make the adjustment in the future.
Once I have a Scribbler 2 I will do a more detailed video on the hack and describe such things as calibrating the servos in more detail as well. Take care everyone!
Humanoido
Are you a twin?
Great avatar!
-Phil
Nice job on the pen lifter for the Scribbler! It is a simple and effective design. Thanks sharing this.
Robert
Thanks for the feedback. It helps me plan future videos.
Robert