DIY Web-Controlled Robot That Takes 1 Hour To Build

fixpert writes "We hooked up Pinoccio (an Open Source, wireless Arduino-compatible microcontroller) to a Pololu 3pi Robot to create an unmanned rover that can be driven via the Web. We posted a quick video where you can see us driving our Web Rover in Nevada all the way from Brazil. We used the iPhone's built-in accelerometer as a super-intuitive interface for driving the bot. You can read all about the project — how we built it, what you need to make your own (including source code), and a simulator of the accelerometer interface that you can play with. We're hoping to make Pinoccio the perfect platform for Software Developers to learn how to hack on DIY hardware."

almost real time = 2 seconds delay

[citizenr]

Waste of time. Looks like they are shopping for sucker^^^^investors.

Re:Build?

[sumdumass]

When the parts are already made, then not really.

Think of it this way, when you get a piece of wood, cut it, plane it, drill it, and end up with a kitchen table, you built it. When you buy a kit from IKEA and snap a few pieces together, you assembled it.

However, the terms are used interchangeably. When is the last time someone who built a computer actually had to lay out a circuit board and soldier parts to it. On the contrary though, when you buy your new dell computer, the assembly involved consists of plugging in the keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, printer and turning the power on.

Re:Build?

[solidraven]

No, never ever claim that around EE graduates. We despise things like this being called "building". If we build a robot we carefully select components, consider several circuit layouts, battery efficient motor operation, draw circuit boards, solder everything by hand to make prototypes, redo the flawed parts, ... What they did was take a few pre-made modules and stick them together with pin-headers. You could teach a 8 year old to do that. So yes, there is a very large difference in assembly and building. So you might ask why we haven't shown off hundreds of these things: Building these sort of robots is fairly easy, they just don't have any real use. A simple analog circuit can be far more elegant and useful!