Lumpy
Hey All,
I scooted (1 1/2hour drive) to the EZ-Robot open house tonight.
The new digs look awesome! DJ has done well!
So the Revolution has begun!
As DJ stated in the presentation the new ARC Revolution will be out June 1st or so.
It's main new feature is the integration of 3D printing and using "EZ-Bits" as a way to create your own robots. Bits can be printed on your own 3D printer and/or some will be available to purchase. This open source offering of 3D printable files allows anyone the opportunity to create a robot. Step by step assembly instructions built in, and a new Mobile SDK (Ver. 2) coming out shortly. I see this being a great feature for educational settings. More and more schools are purchasing 3D printers.
Down the road, as 3D printer prices continue to drop, I see this opening a door for us EZ Robot builders here on the forum. The open sharing of designs, maybe group printings of parts (To create our drone armies). The possibilities are endless, it may not happen overnight but I can see this growing. Someday we will all have 3D printers on our desks.
The EZ-B mini, although briefly mentioned, is what I'm excited about. It's roughly 2"x2". If you look at DJ's suitcase pictures on Facebook you'll see the new EZ-B Mini (Not sure if anyone else caught that?). I like the new compact size. DJ says they are still a few weeks off but he's trying to keep the pricing in the current range ($70). I'd definitely be in for a few more at that price range. Cross our fingers.
Anyways, not a whole lot more than what you probably saw on the webcast.
A big thanks to DJ. It was a pleasure to see you again. Thanks for taking care of that issue!
Lori saw nothing!
Oh, I forgot to mention the laugh of the night. I went to use the washroom. Big sign on the entrance door says "Keep Door Closed", so I closed it behind me. Did my business in the bathroom, then realized I was now locked out in the small closet like space! After a brief moment of panic, I knocked on the door and someone let me out. I felt like an idiot! Nothing new there. ;-)
Kris
Pic of suitcase (EZ-B Mini)
An EZ-Bit creation.
Another EZ-Bit creation
An EZ-Bit creation with the EZ-B Mini
Wow! Super Cool! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the report Lumpy! From the pics , I presume everything white was "printed" on site?
The tracked creation was a hybrid of a rover chassis and 3D printed upper to match. Everything else seemed like it was printed in house. Some of the servo/camera mounts are quite creative.
I'm sure I've missed some important details. Writing is not my strong point.
Man I can't wait to print one of those EZ-bit creations! My robot will look more classy instead of some home-brewed cardboard box!
Awesome stuff Lumpy. I'd have loved to be there but the commute was just around 4386 miles too far (in a straight line).
Loving the rover robot, reminds me of my testbot, but more refined
Were any other new features for ARC mentioned? As awesome as 3D printing is, I'd love to know if there are more controls being added.
In the ShawTV video of EZ-Robot, you can see the customizing of 3D-printed robots in ARC (look around 1:00)
Yeah the 3D EZ-Bit part looks very impressive (and very easy to use). There have been a lot of little hints dropped and thinks leaked in the background over the last few weeks/months, but one thing I haven't seen is anything that shows new controls like the Kinect integration for instance (I know about the post) or this control that should make encoders redundant... those are the things I'm most excited about.
I can see me wanting to throw a lot of money in the way of the EZ-Bits and know I will struggle to resist.
Wow this is great, very impressive DJ, I am glad to see you are able to add more people to your staff. Are you going to have a call in tech support staff? That would be great even if you have a charge by the hour fee. That way I could call in and work with someone on my project. I know there will be a million questions on 3D printing, script and I want to do this but I don't know how, can you help me.
Also when are you going public, I want to buy lots of stock!
Thanks again for making it possible for us non-programming bunch to still have a cooooooool robot.