It's always good to check out the competition, especially if there's any way to beat them at their own game since Ben is still conjuring the S3 here. Pololu's latest Zumo, the 32U4 is Arduino-based and a bit odd in that you buy the $99 bot and two $17 motors separately. I suppose that way, they hold a $99 price point and you can pick a custom gear ratio. It has wheel encoders and a complete IMU, so it can balance. Certainly a nice parlor trick.
I'd also like to know when they are available. I have a local school that wants my suggestion on what robotics kits to buy for their school and I don't yet know if I should recommend the ActivityBot or the S3. Plus I'm facing the same decision with my own little robotics school I'm running out of my house.
Green? I thought Ken had preordained yellow from the early discussions here.
25 years ago, in the toy business, we simply couldn't use green. Our crack (smoking) "Marketing Research" team droned on incessantly how "kids hate green" and "green doesn't sell", "don't even suggest green" etc.
Then along came the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Marketing finally shut up.
Black is always cheapest. You can add black colorant to any other color or cheap regrind and get by. And white costs the most, must be100% pure virgin plastic. C'mon Ken, make a black Stealth or Darth Vader version and pocket the savings! Matt needs a new pair of shoes!
Erco, you're testing my loyalties. I love Parallax gear, and I am looking forward to the latest Scribbler incarnation, but Pololu makes some pretty good stuff too. It looks like they're going to have the Zumo replace the aging 3Pi design, and using the 32U4 they get USB instead of their old ISCP means the net cost to the consumer is similar.
Green sounded interesting until I saw Ken's images. A bit too olive drabby for my tastes. With the black wheels it looks like an army jeep, very MASHy. Maybe a bright emerald green would look better. Gray or silver wheels might look good.
And to think I had finally accepted, nay embraced the yellow scheme.
Ken,
I don't see the hacker port access cover. Please tell me it exists...
Bean
Of course the hacker port still exists. Not only does it exist, it's been brought front and center with an open area above it. No funny stuff with the I/Os (they'll work with the Ping)))) and plenty of current to do whatever you want.
Sound great Ken, I just don't see it on the images.
I don't see any opening on the top "front and center". I think I see a rectangular opening on the far left near the front. Is that it ?
Oh, maybe "front and center" was just a figure of speech ???
Green sounded interesting until I saw Ken's images. A bit too olive drabby for my tastes. With the black wheels it looks like an army jeep, very MASHy. Maybe a bright emerald green would look better. Gray or silver wheels might look good.
And to think I had finally accepted, nay embraced the yellow scheme.
Choosing a color is a funny thing. It's nearly always a subjective (and sometimes contentious) topic for everyone because it influences emotions and behaviors. It would be impossible to choose a color that everyone could agree upon. Add to that the constraints of Scribbler sensor functionality on the choice. Yellow could have been nice but it did not translate well into plastic. Black may look cool in person but it photographs terribly, is troublesome in print and did not look compelling when mocked up with all the other robots in our product line.
Rest assured, the green is neither olive nor drab. If you have a Crayola box handy, it's somewhere between screaming green and magic mint. Neither too yellow or too blue with a medium brightness.
And if you hate green? It's totally cool to customize the shell.
And if you hate green? It's totally cool to customize the shell.
Speaking of customizing, will the model be open source? If so, instead of making just the .SLDPRT file available it would be great to export the main parts (top, bottom and battery cover) to .stl. Few people have access to SolidWorks.
Late to the party again. Whatever color it is - I want one - ONE of the first ones. Let's get this party started. I promise a video of all three playing together! SO excited!
I am a Scribbler fan - Blue, Red, and ??? Long live the Scribbler!
The S2 came out (!) right before Christmas, now was that 2010 or 2011...? If the S3 similarly debuts in December, the green color will be both festive and appropriate.
Or am I just kidding myself about December, Ben, Ken & Jen? (Interesting pattern there) Who will take my money, Gwen or Len?
I would program it in the box.
I would program it with a fox.
Rain, train, here there, anywhere...
The S2 came out (!) right before Christmas, now was that 2010 or 2011...? If the S3 similarly debuts in December, the green color will be both festive and appropriate.
Or am I just kidding myself about December, Ben, Ken & Jen? (Interesting pattern there)
As long as we're still waiting, man up and add a laser, Parallax. Be the first. I don't care, targeting laser, death laser, red/green/blue, whatever you can afford. Be the first guys to put a laser on a robot and get all the press. No such thing as bad PR.
Comments
From https://www.pololu.com/blog/482/video-zumo-32u4-robot-example-projects
https://twitter.com/ParallaxKen
I believe green is our most current contender.
25 years ago, in the toy business, we simply couldn't use green. Our crack (smoking) "Marketing Research" team droned on incessantly how "kids hate green" and "green doesn't sell", "don't even suggest green" etc.
Then along came the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Marketing finally shut up.
Mind you on the Barbie side, they take their pink seriously, down to the exact shade: Pantone 219. That has worked out pretty well over the years. http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MTW3376
Long Ago,
in a galaxy far-far away,
...the coat-tails are getting ready to leave the station,
Don't get the correlation?
Excellent. It will match my car and tractor.
Really did not care for the yellow...
Black would be cool though.
I don't see the hacker port access cover. Please tell me it exists...
Bean
And to think I had finally accepted, nay embraced the yellow scheme.
Of course the hacker port still exists. Not only does it exist, it's been brought front and center with an open area above it. No funny stuff with the I/Os (they'll work with the Ping)))) and plenty of current to do whatever you want.
Ken Gracey
I don't see any opening on the top "front and center". I think I see a rectangular opening on the far left near the front. Is that it ?
Oh, maybe "front and center" was just a figure of speech ???
Bean
Rest assured, the green is neither olive nor drab. If you have a Crayola box handy, it's somewhere between screaming green and magic mint. Neither too yellow or too blue with a medium brightness.
And if you hate green? It's totally cool to customize the shell.
Not's not! Absolutely not!
OK, so what's the best flavor of ice cream?
Yes, you are very right. We'll adjust to the green just fine after a day or so. It was just a surprise today.
Speaking of customizing, will the model be open source? If so, instead of making just the .SLDPRT file available it would be great to export the main parts (top, bottom and battery cover) to .stl. Few people have access to SolidWorks.
Late to the party again. Whatever color it is - I want one - ONE of the first ones. Let's get this party started. I promise a video of all three playing together! SO excited!
I am a Scribbler fan - Blue, Red, and ??? Long live the Scribbler!
Or am I just kidding myself about December, Ben, Ken & Jen? (Interesting pattern there) Who will take my money, Gwen or Len?
I would program it in the box.
I would program it with a fox.
Rain, train, here there, anywhere...
Missed it by that much.