queenidog
I'm not new to electronics, but new to robotics. I want to build 3 robots, a self balancing (Segway-type), hexapod and biped. I bought materials for all from different vendors. I've been looking for good software package to work with. I regularly program with PicBasic Pro (from ME Labs) on a development system and I know Mikro Basic from MikroElektonica. I've programmed in Pascal, but never C or C++, though I can somewhat get through this programming. I purchased Flowbotics from Robot Store. It looked very promising but really falls short: very buggy, bad documentation, terrible GUI (grey text on white background), tutorials don't match product, etc. I've given up on it after 2 weeks trying to make something work.
I'd like visual programming like Flowbotics for 3rd party computers, ie the ones I'm building. I have SSC32, another one that is Chinese knockoff, some Pololu servo controllers, and a couple PS2 remote controls. I put the balancing robot together from a kit, purchased only so I could learn how to program it and scale it up someday. Software came with this unit. No software fro the hexapod and biped though.
Q. Will EZRobot fill my needs? Where do I start so I can make an evaluation?
Great Projects! I look forward to what you would do with an EZB controller. The simple programming of an ezb will drive you imagination to the next level.
Welcome to the forum
Ron R
@queenidog.
You've been holding out on us. They are some great robots you have there. I particularly liked the spider drivetrain. I look forward to seeing more of that. And that's one big energizer bunny you have, lol.
Great stuff. With what you've done so far, EZ-Robot is definitely for you. If you do decide to get an EZ-B, I reckon you'll come up with something pretty amazing.
BTW, in your quest for building a self balancing robot, there will be an Inverted pendulum which is available for pre-order that will help with that.
Steve.
@queenidog,
Cool robots you've built there. My fav is Racky. I love the leg action. Very sturdy and smooth little robot.
The guys that have tried to answer your questions are true EZ Robot cheerleaders and stand behind this platform totally and compleatly. Don't let their 5 star reviews spook you. They have a reason why they are so loyal. EZ Robot is truly an amazing platform. However I always look at the 3 and 4 star reviews for the true limits of any thing I buy. They will show you the true limits and weaknesses. With that said I think WBS0000's (post 2) answer is a good answer. EZB and ARC are a work in progress. This platform started out as a very strong and easy to understand platform and has gotten better and better. EZ Robot is always working to advance t and make it better and stronger. The plans they have shared with us on this forum for the future of the EZ Robots platform is breath taking.
Sadly one of EZ Robot's biggest advantages is also their biggest weakness. EZ Robot is operated and ran by a very small but brilliant team of employees with one mastermind genius (DJ) working as programmer, CEO, visionary and who knows what else. With this small team of people I'm amazed at the speed they are advancing this product and the high level of customer service they provide. If the community has a problem or finds a bug it's usually addressed very quickly and fixed or a new feature is added to the next update. Any slack in personal help with using this platform is filled by very helpful and knowledgeable forum members like the guys that have answered your questions s far. There are many more like them ready to jump in and help if needed. However because they are so small of a teem there is a pile of things they cant get to and address. Manley requested features but they have a list and get to them as soon as possible. There are some other performance issues they couldn't seem to find the time to resolve that only the most advanced robot builders have noticed but always seem to offer workarounds.
As I mentioned, updates come very regulatory. You mentioned that tutorials and instructions are important to you. Because of the quick advancement of EZ Robot these tutorials are often out of date but basic information given is usually correct. There is no paper documentation of the EZB or ARC. The best place to find information about how to use this platform is in the Learn section, taking "ALL" the courses offed in that section (even if it doesn't relate to your robot), searching this forum and asking questions here. Read through the EZ Script manual and the ARC manual you can find links to on the top navigation bar in the Learn section. You can also download for free the ARC software and play and work with it without having an EZB. You can download other people's project into ARC from the EZ Cloud and see how they are building and coding their robots. EZ Code is a very simple language invented by DJ and should be a snap to pick up by someone of your talents. I think your biggest challange will be to try to nor over complicate your scripts and projects. WBS00001 had this challenge when he first joined our family here. He seems to be learning to "keep it simple(r)".
So heck ya! Get an EZB and give it a try. This little wonder is only about $80 USD and I'm sure you can find someone to buy it if it doesn't work out for you. I'd be amazed if you decide to not use it though.
One word of advice. If you don't mark this thread resolved you'll start getting nag emails from ARC in about a week to either mark it resolved or they have the option to "ban you from the forum". It's pissed a few people off in the past. I'm sure they don't intend to sound so "nuclear". I think it's a result of having such a small team and a need to manage the web site somehow. sick