What would Heathkit's Hero 1 look like with today's technology?
Too_Many_Tools
Posts: 765
If Heathkit was designing the Hero 1 today with the current technology, what would it be like?
If you were the engineer designing it, what would you include?
If you were the engineer designing it, what would you include?
Comments
Just a quick answer as I have to scoot, but I would start with a HERO 2000 platform, unless you are going bare bones for education?
I'd also think it would have a small 5" or 7" LCD screen, for video output. The video would be the way to communicate, as of course would speech. The screen could be touch sensitive, doing away with the mechanical keypad.
They can do arms with off-the-shelf parts these days. No reason for that to be such a high cost ($1,500, or whatever it was) option.
This has me thinking: There's no reason an updated Hero-like trainer couldn't be offered. You could make one on an Arlo base. I realize outfits like White Box tried to recapture some of the lost Hero sparkle, but their products ended up costing too much. A Hero-like kit for learning could easily be under $1,000. The way to make it would be to use "found" parts for the body, and not blow all the budget on injection molding. That would make the body look more like the classic round RB5X than the squarish Hero.
Don't also forget that at the time the Hero was very expensive so only die-hards could afford it.
One thing you can you today that you couldn't do years ago is you can 3D print your own parts such as the body.
It would be exactly like an XBox game. There would be nothing to build and nothing to learn, but it would be infinitely entertaining and make for an excellent babysitter. It would also require you to link with its FaceBook page, Twitter account, SnapChat and Instagram feed. It would gather loads of data on your marketing preferences and sell those to advertising giants, insurance companies, political opinion-makers, and government agencies. Then it would eat your brain.
I'd have it wait to do that until you purchased so many add-ons and the special end effector that could accomplish that task. Too soon and you lose valuable marketing data.
Erco? I'm disappointed in that remark. There must be something seriously wrong with your HERO 2000 or you haven't had a chance to really look at what it can do. Although the Activity Bot is a good robot, even with all the add-on items you mentioned it doesn't even come close to the HERO 2000. Not even in the same league my friend. The HERO 2000 is still one of the most capable robots ever made. If your HERO isn't working right I can help fix it and upgrade it. Most of the specs for the HERO's are up on my new website in case you need a refresher:
http://www.robotworkshop.com/robotweb/
I use my share of Parallax gear and have used all the different Parallax processors in various projects. Everything from add-on co-processors to the main microcontroller like in the SpindleBot and MiniBot robots as seen in SERVO magazine. I'm working on some updated content for the website that will cover those and a lot of other projects that have really haven't have a chance to highlight or mention before. I hope to fix that this year and also write about more projects.
Robert
It would certainly need construction opportunities, mechanical and electrical. One big loss to the world was the demise (And re-demise) of Heathkit. It's a shame nobody could figure out how to make that business model work even on a smaller, more focused scale.
This has been discussed in other threads but it's really depressing that people (in general) are losing the ability to build/fix/make/create. They are in a world of hurt in the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse!!
There is something to be said about a lab-style robot. More students can work on it at the same time, and its mechanical girth allows for additional opportunity for hardware extensions. An ActivityBot will never be able to fetch a beer.
There's a place for all styles of robots, especially in the classroom. Though it lacks the plastic body, the Arlo is a good alternative from a hardware perspective.
+1 for curriculum (I like "anti-HERO")
That's what makes the Parallax products (WAM, BOEbot, PEK, Learn Website) so valuable, useable and proven curriculum. Even it the technology might be dated, the curriculum is still valid and useful.
Oh I do love my Heros and they all work fine. I did buy some stuff from you many moons ago, thanks for your continued support to this day. My point is that when they came out, they were state of the art and the only (mostly) affordable game in town. Everything has changed in 30 years. A robot doesn't need to be PC-based and weigh 70 pounds. H2000's rotating sonar and base sonar (Polaroid) were cool but expensive. Now Eddie/MadeUSA/Arlo just put 50 PINGs around the periphery. A Prop has lots more processing power.
Face it, it takes a lot of effort to keep a HERO going (as opposed to grabbing a small bot of your shelf and giving an impromptu demo to a guest). When I would visit my beloved Heathkit store on Flower Street in Los Angeles ~1987, there was always a non-operational H2000 sitting in the corner on static display. I never saw it move or even turn on, although I asked numerous times. Even the store staff couldn't keep it going. I volunteered to come up there a few hours a week for free to get it going and they said no! Years later, probably ~1990, by pure coincidence I was at the Anaheim Heathkit store on Ball Road when they were selling their demo H2000. I nabbed it for $1000, arm & all. I love it and shall never part with it, but I'm the first to admit that it's a labor of love to keep it going. In fact, the waist cable is off the pulley right now, I have to open her up and fix that sometime soon!
I have a VHS videotape of my H2000 bartending at home, very fun. I have to dig out a VCR and digitize that sometime soon. Too many "sometime soon" projects!
First a Corvair, and now VHS. You're hopeless.
LOL
And I never got a Cosworth Vega.
Had I known I would have shipped up my Laserdisc player and discs to you. I unloaded sold them a few months ago at a garage sale.
Writer Harlan Ellison bought my last Betamax machine back in the late 80s. I wonder if it ate his tapes like it did for me?
I find it mid-humorous that underdash 8-track players are actually coveted among the hot rod car set. They lend an air of authenticity to the 70's musclecar era. Someone could prolly do a brisk business selling "new" 8-track players: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-VINTAGE-CAR-AND-TRUCK-COLLECTOR-FM-RADIO-8-TRACK-TAPE-PLAYER-/201065247032?pt=Car_Audio_In_Dash_Receivers&hash=item2ed06c3138#ht_60wt_1166
Now let's chat about those underdash phonographs with spring-loaded tone arms to avoid skipping on bumpy roads: http://www.uaw-chrysler.com/images/news/phono.htm
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-RCA-Victor-AP-1-Automobile-Car-Record-Player-/251492804015?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a8e23a5af#ht_204wt_1166
Not THAT is true retro.
Reminds me of this poor fellow who broke a priceless cylinder record (1-track) on live TV. Maybe staged, or maybe it's real, 'cuz he curses 1-1/2 times (don't do that, kiddies).
Funny that you mention that. I have a full design for a Bluetooth/MP3 Player that fits inside an 8 track cassette enclosure so that HotRod enthusiasts could leave the stock 8 track player in their cars, but play audio from their phone or SD card. Interest at 4 different car shows was close to nothing so I never pursued a production version. The prototype was gutted quite a while ago.
As for the Hero, I agree that it must include numerous items to directly support the learning aspect of the original intent to be considered an "updated Hero". As mentioned, an Arlo type base, mainstream controller board (Propeller and rPi combo perhaps), TH boards for the peripherals for solder training, "assembly required" status, and a solid curriculum would make it a clean "update".
I never said a robot had to have a PC based brain. You were comparing the HERO 2000 to a Activity Bot and there isn't really any comparison. While I really like the Prop and would agree that it can out do the old 6802 and 6808 chips I wouldn't say that the Prop would have lots more than what is sitting in HERO 2000. State of the art to me just isn't in the CPU but in the whole package. There is usually empty slots in the back of the 2000 card cage so other sensors can be added. I have had HERO using an RC System speech module and other sensors.
You may be judging these unfairly because of some odd issue with your particular robot. I don't usually see any more issues with them then any other similar robot.
As far as reliability the robots typically work well once they have been gone through. You may have adopted one from a store and inherited some issues that they never fixed. If it was sitting in the corner at their store because of issues that says more about their lack of effort and/or skills to straighten it out and resolve any problems than an issue with the 2000's in general. There were some updates to address known issues but things like that can occur with any product. My own 2000's run well and I know quite a few people that haven't really had many issues with them at all.
The only times where a lot of effort is required is when the robots have been abused or "fixed" by people that probably shouldn't be fixing them. I've seen some with awful soldering, poor substitution choices (in one case someone installed a PNP in place of an NPN transistor on a Power Supply), hacked wiring, chips plugged in wrong sockets and in wrong orientations, incorrect assembly, etc.
If I were doing a quick demo then I would probably grab a something easier to carry or move around too. For a planned demo I often bring a variety of robots (some larger than the 2000). Everything from small Parallax based robots (Stamp and Propeller) to robots as tall as a person.
Robert
Given the expert study guide that would go with it (teacher's guide extra), add a Propeller or two, an amplifier and speaker, a color LCD touchscreen, and a few sensors Parallax already offers, and you've got a world class laboratory-style teaching robot good for any high school, college, or university. Add-ons like an arm would be from read-made aluminum construction parts like the kind Lynxmotion and Servo City sell. It would fill the void left behind by the HERO.
But... here is what a "modern" Hero-1 would be like (as it is a "modern" Hero-1):
http://fromthepantothefire.com/mit/portfolio/he.html
Ouch! I can see why you never got it repaired with that Yanni disk stuck in there...explaining that...awkward!
I would really miss the thrill of spending hundreds of inflation-adjusted dollars for expansion cards to stick in it. : )
I am just old enough to have grown up when the kit industry was still very large.
Back in the 80's, we built things from kits - not to save a buck, but because it was fun, made us proud, and we learned about the actual world.
( Yes, Hero would still have to be in kit form! )
Good point about being in kit form.
As the designer...how would you the kit aspect of it?
Some good thoughts here Gordon.