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
HI ALAN i cant wait also,EZ-BITS is a great idea. I guess to use EZ-BITS you need to buy a 3D printer not a problem for me ,but most will have a hard time buying one.
So big question will you be selling the printed parts ? Alan are you from the EZ-ROBOT support staff you are nice looking guy
@Alan (or DJ or anyone really), what if there is no "local" community? Is there an option to print via a 3d print service such as shapeways? And is the EZ-Clip going to be released so we can use it in Solidworks for when those of us who decide to design stuff can build it into the designs from the first step?
And an after thought, what about something to spur on newcomers to the world of solidworks, some template pieces and whatnot? Starting a new part from a blank canvas can be daunting.
I for one cannot wait to see what the future brings with the community. I saw some very very cool stuff happen with pepakura when the exploit was found for using it to build cosplay armours, I hope to see the same happen with ARC and the EZ-Bits. Community driven stuff rocks
I know this 3D printing business is gonna be huge. When people first get the kit, many times they don't want to have to design the entire robot from scratch just to use it. Having the ability to pick out designs or easily customize your own from different parts lets the user get started and learn EZ-B right away. I think once you are familiar with how the EZ-B works, designing your own robot is much easier. And the "open source" idea of sharing and building upon each others creation will lead to very many awesome valuable designs.
As much as the hardware of a robot is cool and all, I think what people are really impressed by is the "intelligence" the software of a robot. Especially kids, they are always curious to talk to robots and see how smart it is, how it interacts with them. Even adults are. Seeing a fancy robot mold that only moves around is only cool for so long.
The problem of AI and Machine learning is not something I know anything about. But I do know that is what people are really fascinated by when they see the robots in the movies. They might think its the hardware, but its really the software.
Awesome! Thanks for the info. For some reason I could not hear any of the Live Cast last night and wanted more details. I'm so glad you posted this! And thanks to DJ and team for another great product. Keep up the good work!
;)
@feroze, The AI is something to keep an eye on. It's something I'm working on in ARC with scripts and variables, external software, databases etc. and with the EZ-Cloud V2 it sounds like that'll make it easier for me to bring to everyone else. Also I have read that Tony (@toymaker), mentioned in DJ's presentation, has some pretty advanced AI coming too.
The AI that comes as standard in ARC beats any other robot software that I've used, while it may seem basic it is pretty advanced and a lot can be done to make it work for your robot (I want to avoid saying work better as it works very well as it is).
As DJ said, EZ-Robots is about amalgamating everything under one roof, hardware, software, platform. In 2 years look at what has become. Throw in an awesome community and in another 2 years just imagine what we will have.
Bicentennial Man may have been Robin Williams dressed up 14 years ago, we will have something very close in not so long I am sure of it.
I heard DJ was working on AI software and now he stopped on it. I am shore very soon in a few years we will have robots living like us like SONNY from IROBOT movie.
I even bought the SONNY HEAD from a guy who worked on the IROBOT movie set.,that makes 93 robots now
It's true that the AI currently available in ARC is the best so far. The capabilities are on par with what some researchers have been trying to do in labs.
The real question is whats the difference between a machine and a robot? Is my coffee maker a robot? Is a remote control car a robot? Is a coffee maker attached to a remote control car a robot?
Fundamentally all machines are robots, programmed to do a specific task. Take my dryer or washing machine, it's programmed to spin at a set speed, set temperature for a specific time. And that in a sense is AI. It's all it knows and it's not very entertaining but it's autonomous once the start button is pushed.
The same goes for my toaster, coffee machine, everything