Parallax Production Numbers (Estimated)

FreezeSukka

I was just sitting here and got to wondering just how many Parallax WAM Kits, BOE-Bots, Toddlers and Hex Crawlers, etc.·have been produced to date.· I guess I was wanting to know how many people are using these items at home or in the workplace or wherever.· I know they are very popular but am curious as to how popular.· After reading a ton of these forums posts I've realized just how far across the globe they have made it as well, and that is absolutely amazing to me!·

Anyway, just curious.

~Jeff~

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P.S. This is what this part of the alphabet would look like if "Q" and "R" were eliminated.

Ken Gracey

Jeff,

Tell you what - I'll give you one of the numbers you're asking about. We're an open company with information, but in the past we were abused twice as a result of making such disclosures.

We've sold over 60,000 Boe-Bots. And you can hardly imagine what went into making this happen. The Robotics book has over 2,500 hours of development from Andy Lindsay and our staff; our Stamps in Class team has instructed over 3,000 educators around the world on the Boe-Bot (and they're still going strong though I can see travel is taking its toll); we have evaluated many components and designed our own servo with Futaba; our entire office has kitted Boe-Bots at one time or another; it's been copied in Asia, South America and Italy; the Boe-Bot has flown to 100,000 feet on a JP Aerospace platform and it is used in far out Siberia to educate kids on technology; we've made mistakes in kitting, sometimes on a large scale; and finally. . . get this most interesting point. . . the Boe-Bot was sort of an accident. That's right - we didn't set out to make a popular robot called the Boe-Bot.

I'll tell you where it came from.

When we started the Stamps in Class program we made the Board of Education and a first cut of our "What's a Microcontroller" text. The initial book included LEDs, pushbuttons, photoresistors and a 555 timer. We sent 100 of these kits along with BOEs to our educational customer base (there weren't many of them). Once this hardware got it in the hands of our small group of educators (circa 1997), one innovative teacher from Moscow, ID named Chuck Schoeffler decided that the BOE must absolutely must be mounted on a robot chassis. He sent us several acrylic/sewer pipe prototype chassis outfitted with BOEs on them.·Based on his request we designed an aluminum chassis. We sent him our drawings two weeks later and by the end of the week he returned more BOEs/Stamp hardware·mounted on·our new sheared aluminum, vise-bent aluminum chassis design. We named this portion the "BOT" and called the whole enchilada the "Boe-Bot". From that point, we morphed the BOE into future revisions which made it more useful in a BOT capacity (adding servo headers, improving the power supply and switches, etc.). The chassis design is essentially the same as it was in 1997 - we got that one right from the beginning. The BOE part came before the BOT, and these two parts weren't even thinking of eachother when they were created.

And since then I've sent Chuck Schoeffler loads of Parallax hardware to outfit every class he's run between Idaho and Nevada.

The first Boe-Bot rolled across the Parallax warehouse floor with a 555 timer for generating the IR frequencies. Our staff saw it and associated with the BASIC Stamp in a whole new way. Our customers did the same, particularly those in schools.

The total Boe-Bot sales quantities are very low by standards applied in the toy industry, but among the highest volumes in the class of programmable robots. The Boe-Bot isn't our biggest winner - it's just the one which gets the most exposure.

And if you come to Parallax we'll show and tell a whole lot more than we can on our forums.

Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.

Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 8/31/2005 6:10:25 PM GMT

FreezeSukka

Wow, that's an incredible story! It's always pretty interesting in finding out how things get started... Who knows, someone in these forums right now is probably stumbling upon something big as we speak. I really appreciate you giving me an idea of the numbers. I do understand where you are coming from, knowing that a lot of people aren't as honest in their ways when privvied with certain information. I didn't want anything for devious intentions, just sorta curious. I believe you guys at Parallax have done an outstanding job with the company and each and every one of your products (even though I haven't even so much as scratched the surface with what I currently own). The support alone is enough to keep you guys atop of my list! You've got a lifelong customer in me (even though it may only be a little bit at a time). Thanks again Ken!

~Jeff~

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P.S. This is what this part of the alphabet would look like if "Q" and "R" were eliminated.

doggiedoc

Ken Gracey (Parallax) said...
...We've sold over 60,000 Boe-Bots.

I have 4 of those myself! *grin*


(Parallax is my new favorite company!)

LoopyByteloose

It just goes to show that truly successful companies do many, many small things right to achieve greatness and stablity. And one of them is to keep a dialogue open with their customers -- even when it seems to be trivial.

Thanks Ken. I fear that I have been a bit of a bore at times.

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G. Herzog in Taiwan