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BIOBUGS
by Marss
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Forewords : some days ago, I stripped the latest issue of French mag "SVM" and
among articles dedicated to digital news, my attention was attracted by one
dealing with electronic beasts. So I decided to know more and browsed the
Hasbro url.
BIOBugs are a series of battery-powered autonomous/remote-controlled robot bugs
based heavily on the designs of Mark Tilden. They are substantial beasts,
measuring 25cm x 29cm and weighing 0.492kg.
The basic capabilities of motor walkers is considerable : they can traverse
surfaces as deep as shag carpeting (on full batteries) with little problem.
They can perform a fairly sharp turn, within 1.5x their body length, which is a
fairly impressive feat using only 2 motors ! They broadcast and receive IR data
via the forehead/butt ports, and can recognize friend, foe, and IR controller
input. An additional transmitter is located on the rear of the robot, leaving a
blind spot only when the remote is aimed at the mid-riff from an angle of about
110 degrees from the angle of travel.
Let's take a lool to one of them (as there are 4 types of bugs)
This is our patient, a B.I.O.-Bug 1 - Predator (hereafter referred to as the
"Biobug"). Friendly-looking sort but it'll even attack it's own species.
This is the underside of the Biobug. Straightforward layout : Horizontally
moving rear legs, with front legs angled upwards at a 45 degree angle of
attack. Battery compartment located mid-rift, almost exactly at the center
of gravity of the device. Access to the batteries is only by unscrewing a
single phillips-head screw, revealing a removable quad-AA carrier where
the batteries reside.
Also on the bottom are the "power/sleep" switch, and the "reset" switch
(very necessary for bringing a Biobug out of "Biobug failure").
The head of the beasty contains a pair of eye-socket sensors, a forehead
module and the forward tactile sensor pair. The sensors are particular
Tildenesque, using a very flexible spring surrounded by metal sleeve.
This is the eye module, containing a tri-colour LED indicator, mounted
behind a forward/outward aimed IR receiver, which seems to smack of the
Sharp OPIC series, containing the sensor and demodulation circuitry. The
LED colour & number of blinks indicates the learned "skill level".
Not shown is the forehead module, containing a single red LED and an IR
LED transmitter. The red LED seems only to indicate battery state, as it
seems only come on near the end of the battery's life.
Here's the posterior of the Biobug, where the single rear tactile sensor
and IR receiver is mounted. Don't be fooled by the LED-shape - upon close
examination, it is apparent that an IR transistor is mounted here, and the
wiring leads up to the head-IR modules.
Flicking this single posterior sensor prompts the Biobug to go directly
forward, in "double-time" mode. This is interesting, as it suggests that
the default walking behaviour is throttled back to about 60%. This makes
some sense, as it would extend battery life considerably.
The Predator Biobug is one of two Biobugs with a 45 degree angle-of-attack
on the front legs. ALL the Biobugs have their rear legs swinging in an arc
parallel with walking surface, but the Destroyer Biobug has the front legs
90 degrees up (perpendicular to the surface). The Stomper matches the
Predator's 45 degrees, and the Acceleraider has a 60 degree angle of
attack.
In general, the steeper the angle of attack (AOA), the slower the robot
is, but the better climbing ability it possesses.
Seeing as the Predator shares similar geometry with the Stomper, the
advertised "aggressive" behaviour is what separates these two Biobugs.
You want to know more about these creatures so browse the website.
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