I finally acquired a pair of iSOBOTs, the little humanoid robot from Tomy. iSOBOT is driven by 17 servos and is able to do a number of fairly sophisticated moves including kicks and punches, hand stands, and more. These guys are fun to play with, and don't require a whole lot of floor space (they can walk, but kind of slowly, so moving more than about 2 feet is an excercise in patience).

There are a few resources for iSOBOTs on the web; the official site is www.isobotrobot.com but seems to be a work in progress. More info and links can also be found at RobotsDreams.com.  I'll be sure to document the innards when I get to the point of dissecting one; so far I have only taken apart one of the hands (which is posable but not powered, and kind of weirdly designed so as not to be able to hold anything.)

I'm thinking of taking them to Robogames 2009 next year, although now that the new Mech War competition is looking like a go, we may shift focus to that instead. Our own GWJax and Robosapien-4mem8 are also working on a Mech War entry, so keep an eye out for some pix of their progress! You can read more about the proposed competition on the official Mech War forums (Trossen Robotics).

Just a bit over two weeks until the Robogames commence in San Francisco (California)- did you know that there is a 'Robosapien Hacker' category under the BEAM section? I'm curious if any community members will be attending, or even if any have entered!

Here's an excerpt of the rules for this category:

Take an COTS (common off the shelf) Robosapien robot and hack it to do something cool.

1. The Robot
   You have to use a commercially available Robosapien, the kind you would buy from a common retailer (see our recommended list below). No factory one-off specials. No "bondout" versions. No special frames laced with adamantium. The RS needs to remain the core part of the final hacked machine. There is no metric that can be stated relating to how much is required; if in doubt, you've gone too far. For example, using a single RS arm or leg in the final hack is insufficient.
2. The HackThe hack should be meaningful. Bolting a RS to the hood of your car so that its left eye flashes with the left turn signal is not meaningful. Sending an IR pulse to the RS so that both its arms point left in synchronization with the turn signal is good progress. Cutting off its legs, replacing them with motor power amps and having the RS drive a kiddy car around the yards is definitely meaningful.

   The RoboSapien is designed for modification. Here is the short hint list for the budding RS hacker.

   First off, we must warn you that completely replacing the RS brain should only be attempted by those with a lot of time, electronic skills, and programming ego. You don't have to though -- if you carefully remove the connectors and lift the RS motherboard, on the back you will find all inputs and outputs labeled, and right next to gold pads convenient for soldering wires.

   • M means motors,
   • P means input or output port,
   • VDD is raw battery voltage (caution: fluctuates wildly)
   • Vcc is regulated 3.6v (100mA but don't overload it)
   • Gnd is universal ground.
   The only way to input commands is by direct serial input to the IR-OUT pin (active low signals, 1200bps, visit http://www.robosapien.tk for a list of command codes), and through the P1.4 (right) and P1.1 (left) touch sensors. In three I/O ports, you have his entire body now under control.

   The 6 outputs for the eyes (P2.0 to P2.5) can be used as a very effective digital-level feedback source. If you look carefully, you'll see his eyes give distinct patterns for all conditions. Mapping these will tell your uP everything it needs about what the robot is doing. The patterns are shown below. (rseyes.jpg)

   The chest area is mostly empty space and ideal for mounting any brain, camera, or control add-ons. However, glue tinfoil (or equivalent) across his internal chest plate first so the waist and shoulder motors do not cause interference with your electronics.

   Most of the secret I/R codes are designed so that a controlling computer can cause him to dovetail commands very quickly (up to 30 baud) and even be programmed at very high rates from a nearby I/R port. Some will already have noticed that it is possible to move the robot by the remote faster than he can move himself. Taken to the limit, the robot can be a very responsive "horse" to any uP controller or I/R equipped PDA or laptop.

3. The Judging
   • Difficulty: How hard was this hack? Did it involve adding microships or modifying the program significatnly?
   • Functionality: Does this robot complete a function that could be readily useful?
   • Meaningfulness: How far did you take it? Is it a simple shift or addition, or does it radically alter the capabilities of the Robosapien.
   Robots will be judged by multiple judges, each grading on a 30 point scale - 1-10 points being given in each of the below categories. Their scores will be added together and averaged.

Although it is too late to enter this year's event, maybe we should think of putting some entries in next year- especially if we have any West Coast members.

Poor Pleo wandered into the ComBot arena at the recent Maker Faire, and had an unfortunate encounter with Vicious Verdict who appears to be armed with a lawn mower blade. Many attendees with children were shocked and appalled. Next year, maybe Mio should take on Vicious Verdict! Or perhaps equipping Pleo with flame-thrower breath would even the match. What's your suggestion for Pleo?