Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
Advancing — Parallax Forums

Advancing

zx1shadowzx1shadow Posts: 5
edited 2011-09-14 19:04 in General Discussion
hi guys just a quick question i am a boe bot owner, but iv been wanting to move up to something more advanced e.g stingray but dont want to get something too far above my skill level and just waste a lot of money so does anyone have any suggestions on what i should move up to next.:smile:

Comments

  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2011-09-14 17:46
    What aspect of robots are you wanting to advance to? The Boe is still a great learning platform, and you can retrofit it with all kinds of accessories and alternatives.

    For example, check out Bill Henning's article in the current SERVO about upgrading the Boe with a Propeller-based board of his own design. There's also the PropBoe coming soon from Parallax, and mentioned numerous times in the forum. It has some amazing features.

    I recently added the gripper kit to my Boe, and have been having fun with that. There's also a servo turret and Ping kit, Zigbee stuff, and other add-ins that work with the BS2 Board of Education, or the several Propeller-based boards that share the same size and mounting hole.

    Here's an idea: get a second BoeBot (keep the BS2 board, or upgrade to a Prop), and two XBee units. They're pretty inexpensive, and with only two they'll communicate with one another right out of the box. The two bots can explore a room and exchange information about what each finds. Even store stuff in EEPROM for dumping out later. I recently used Phil's Propeller Backpack module with a hacked car backup camera to transmit video overlayed with data collected from a couple of Parallax environmental sensors -- temperature, humidity, light levels, gas concentrations, that sort of stuff.

    This isn't to say you shouldn't consider the Stringray, just that there's still plenty to do with the Boe!

    -- Gordon
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2011-09-14 19:04
    The Stingray is out of stock at the moment and some posts from our hosts have said it is in a bit of a transition. Parallax will unbundle the control board and so you can buy the one you prefer. I don't know when that's going to happen through.

    If you don't have wheel encoders, you can buy a set from Parallax and add them to the BOEBot. They can open up many new avenues as well. You'll finally be able to go straight and turn 90 degrees! Build a maze out of cardboard and use the Ping))) to build a maze runner. I'll never take mine off my CBA robot.

    Gordon's wireless projects sound fun. But I must resist buying two XBee's as I have too many projects in the pipeline as it is.
Sign In or Register to comment.