lauren%rand-unix@vortex.UUCP (11/17/83)
It isn't clear to me that this is *really* the right list for this message, but it's as close as I think I can get! It appears that Radio Shack is now selling a "robot arm" at a very low price (about $40, I think). From the advertising I've seen, it appears to be designed for manual control (possibly through a pair of joysticks and/or other controls). The unit appears to be mostly plastic, but seems to have a number of degrees of freedom, including a typical motorized "gripper". It isn't clear how much lifting power the unit can provide, since the ads are brief and only show the movement of plastic chess pieces and other very light objects. Still, for simple experimentation, I would suspect that the arm could be easily interfaced to micros (maybe it should be mounted on a motorized toy platform -- there are several of those...) and would probably be rather amusing. It certainly is far less expensive than any of the "real" arm units on the market. If anybody out there finds out more about this gadget, please let me know. Thanks much. --Lauren--
ron%brl-vgr@sri-unix.UUCP (11/17/83)
From: Ron Natalie <ron@brl-vgr> A friend of mine bought one. He thinks it's rather cute. The thing that keeps him from hooking it up to his micro is that it is not electrically controlled. The batteries (not inc, as usual) drive a single motor, and the joy sticks work little rods that engage clutches and stuff. He figures you need 12 solenoids to run the thing properly by remote control but you still have no positional information. -Ron
MCMANIS%USC-ECLC%sri-nic@sri-unix.UUCP (11/17/83)
From: Chuck McManis <MCMANIS%USC-ECLC@sri-nic> The "arm" is a repackaged version of the Tomy Armatron. Several people bought one when they came out at the end of last year (actually Toys R us sold their entire stock of the beasties) and reports were that they would be VERY difficult to interface to a micro. This is due to the linkages of the "joysticks" to the controlling joints. Its lifting power consists of the hollow plastic pieces that come with it, the Tomy version came with a small "reactor" which could be "fueled" with the arms and disassembled with the arm. The arm also has a meter of some sort that the manufacturer reccomends be used as a timer to compete. A fun gadget but unfortunately not quite enough. --Chuck -------
ROBERTSON@RADC-TOPS20.ARPA (11/18/83)
From: JOEL ROBERTSON/EE/ROBINS TAC <ROBERTSON@RADC-TOPS20.ARPA> THE ROBOT ARM BEING SOLD BY RADIO SHACK WAS DESCRIBED IN THE NOV/DEC ISSUE OF ROBOTICS AGE MAGAZINE. A MICROCOMPUTER INTERFACE AND CONTROL PROGRAM WRITTEN IN BASIC WERE ALSO IN THE ARTICLE. I CAN COPY THE ARTICLE IF YOU'RE INTERESTED. JOEL ROBERTSON ROBERTSON@RADC-TOPS20 -------
parnass@ihuxf.UUCP (11/22/83)
I've tried the Radio Shaft "robot arm." The motor/gearing/framus generates enough noise to drive the closest of friends out of the room. -- ============================================================================ Robert S. Parnass, AT&T Bell Laboratories, ihnp4!ihuxf!parnass (312)979-5760