Before BoeBot, There Was GrowBot
I had not known... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parallax-Growbot-Robotics-Stamp-II-and-Serial-Solder-1998-/171667792711?
A priceless relic circa 1998? Ken, do you need one for your archive?
A priceless relic circa 1998? Ken, do you need one for your archive?
Comments
Agreed, mine for $60 as of tonight. Had to have "Old Blue" for my collection.
The Boe-bot chassis is a great design with plenty of attachment points, and rock solid because it is thick aluminum. I've seen some competing chassis from another vendor and their quality wasn't close. It would be hard to improve upon. With some of the newer high torque CR servos you can use it as the drive for a good size robot.
JEALOUS! Thank for the link to the documentation too! Interesting stuff. Wonder who wrote that? Was Andy around back then?
No, but thank you.
Parallax was before our time when we created this, both in name and function. Today "Growbot" is a hydroponic mobile garden platform for you know what.
Actually, that robot brings back interesting memories. It was the first significant product I worked on by writing the assembly and programming instructions. The assembly documents were prepared in MS Word in a layout that allowed us to print them, staple in middle and put into the kit. Was a real pain to handle the page numbering, too! Russ Miller did the chassis design over a weekend and John Barrowman designed the PCB in a couple of days. We started this project in October and shipped the first units a few days before Christmas. Our standards have really increased since then - thankfully our customers gave us a second chance. . .or a third, or a fifth!
Anyway, I have a GrowBot on my desk (the robot type, that is).
Ken Gracey
The story of the origin of the Boe Bot ancestor is very interesting
However I googled : Russ Miller and John Barrowman and the result was:
Russ Miller :internationally known as one of the top drummers of today
John Barrowman :a Scottish-American actor
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/153509-AP-16-schematic?highlight=John+Barrowman
I know my three or four little silver guys would soon be jealous and pressuring me to get with it and add some colors!
I still want chrome, even a limited edition one.
Ken might need one for his archives. Maybe I should nab it ASAP for a future Toddler exchange.
Noteworthy that Growbot requires a 9V battery (for the BS2) in addition to 4xAA cells (servos only). The 3-position DPDT toggle switch functions the same as the 3-position slide switch on BoeBot: off, stamp on only , stamp & servos on.
That unbuilt Growbot kit is still listed for $100: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PARALLAX-GROWBOT-ROBOT-KIT-NEW-/141925023882
Ken needs that one on his desk!