I miss you posting your builds :-)

Isn't that the time when someone says we should play a game....like cards, a board game, video game, yard game.....a drinking game?!? eek :D

Maybe a Robot Building / Drinking game?

Hahah I like that!

@fxrtst ..

is Anthony from XLRobots died ?

all his works and channels are dead (deleted)..

I know he was ill.. a few months ago.. at the last time he works on a Johnny 5..

I hope all is fine, but..

Hi all here!

@fxrtst you are right something went quite - also myself .... I had slowly so much to work that my robot time went from hole weekend to some hours to ziro.

Now for since 1 year i really had time to do something. My Inmoov is in the corner and become dust.

But now i try to intergrate robots in my rental business - so i can have time in work.

Also maybe many other people had the same problem, to like robots but then the time comes where they must spend more for work or familie and that´s it.

It´s the same like in music business - some people are make music for some years and then suddenly something change in there life and over......

But never to late to come back... I´ll be back - lol

Boris

Quote:

is Anthony from XLRobots died ?

At the risk of having this thread deleted, which happens every time anyone provides details for "reasons". Anthony is having some legal issues related to copywrite violations, so took all of his sites down.

That is the extent that I know.

Alan

Alan, I work in the film industry and I know one thing... do not mess with a studios property, Especially if you are selling without a licensed agreement. I wanted to send a private email tell him so but it's not really my business.

But he had many original ideas and would like to see him return once he has cleared up the issues. And always glad to hear he is alive :)

Let it be known far and wide.....ALAN is a risk taker! ;)

Hi Will, thanks for the honorable mention. I think a lot of us have turned into lurkers. I visit almost everyday to see what's happening. Life is busy and interests change priority. My B9 project hasnen't stopped but other things need attention and other dreams need to be followed. This winter he's due for some major upgrades. Lots of video to follow.

I think a big reason is that the EZ Robot is so stable and simple that not many people come here for help. Only the extremely new that need a helping hand to get started and people with hardware problems and incompatibility issues.

Then there was the focus switch by EZ Robot and this forum from DIY robot building to the pre built and programed Revolution kits. I understand that Revolution pays the bills for EZ Robot. Also EZ has been very good in advancing the product to include DIY needs. Thanks! However this websits focus has necessarily killed most interest in collaborating with others designing their own EZ Robot based robots. It's almost like EZ wants the more experienced users to be the first line customer support for the newcomers. It's a good business model but leads to dissolution and exhaustion of your customer base. This is just me opinion though.

I think the turning point was when DJ said there would never be a section set up on this forum for the more experienced builders to gather and discuss and their project development and problems. Again, just my opinion.

I don't think you'll ever see the interest in this forum you saw a few years ago. Partly because of what I stated above but also partly because EZ Robot is not a new thing anymore. I'm not saying it's not one of a kind or better than anything else out there. I'm sure that sales are still good for Revolution and the push into educational platforms are helping DJ to pay the salaries and ongoing bills. However until there is a way for EZ to reinvent their platform to spark more interest to the DIY crowd to be using EZ Robot and a place like other forums have for us to meet separate from the customer service needs I sadly think this will be a dieing forum. tired I hope I'm wrong. sick Maybe things are quiet is because everyone was enjoying a nice summer. :)

From my stand point, I jumped in when I was younger and was enjoying the new experience. Ez-robot gave me a way to build things I wanted to build. It also inspired me to build new things. What I learned from my experiences I have taken into other aspects of my life, and have used them as a guide for my future career.

Since then I have gradually drifted away from the forum. The repetitive questions and growing lack of though provoking, insightful questions didn’t keep me engaged, and further and further I got from the forum. I still pop in once in a while, but I rarely use and ez-robot equipment at this point.

I agree with Dave that there needs to be a new inspiring push for DIY guys like us. We are the tech support really, but we aren’t going to keep working for free’ if we aren’t interested in the stuff we’re doing around it.

If DJ is working on something new for our kind, he needs to show us! Or someone needs to create a challenge which pushes everyone to do something outside of our comfort zone.

These are interesting comments. I am relatively new to the forum so I didn't know about the 'olden' days. I put up my inmoov thread. Maybe not innovating but I feel that was a DIY project of interest. I see quite a few DIY projects there. were there many more and how in-depth were they in the past? I posted heavily for a bit, mostly pic's of what I was doing or a question about things I couldn't do. Then it turned out the software was really easy to use, and the hardware was stable. I stopped coming back to ask the questions and try to answer them now. I like your comment about a more in-depth section on DIY. Even a tougher community robot. We all have experience from real life, you would be amazed what be accomplished. Tasks for mech people, design people, elec, controls , etc. We could have have something like a Boston Dynamics running dog built in house. DJ could supply the equipment, others sectors could supply the plastcs/materials. We would design and 3D print it. We would be DJ's development team. He could keep it as it would be awesome marketing and probably a new product to sell. Then he realizes that he needs a 2 tiered product portfolio. One aimed at what he does now and another more powerful "stage II" line that are much more configurable. So after that DJ can put an Advanced section in the forum.

I took artistic licence between start and finish but it ended up with an Advanced section in the forum. lol

Maybe some of us are working on something secretly outside the forum threads. cool

I would second the feeling like the software and hardware is super stable and easy and at this point also well documented both in the software and all the videos so I can usually find what I need on my own. Then when I do discover something neat or come up with a clever script I never share it because I think to my self, no one is gonna care about this, it’s probably silly anyway. Whereas back in the day a lot of us would share every little script or project update because it was like a new treasure, like, oh my gosh, look what I made it do!

But I want to get back to that, because it was fun and I miss it.

Agree with some of the comments, BUT come on guys this forum is the BEST robot forum i’ve ever been a privilege to be on.

It’s given me inspiration and drive to continue through some dark times over the last couple of years!

Yes its been a bit quiet lately, but for the 3.5 yrs i’ve been on it, I still enjoy reading folks postings, and viewing there projects!

I bang my head against the wall daily on how to make diy a viable business model. The diy global community is shrinking daily, and that's the result of a market saturated with products that all do the same thing - complicated arduino or impossible ros controllers that aren't plugin'play and don't have supporting software - which pisses people off to use. Ezrobot may be different by providing a unified solution, but we're a needle in the haystack when it comes to finding us for diy users. Yearly diy revenue for ezrobot has dissipated from over a million dollars to tens of thousands over the last few years. I continue to build diy robots and inventions and share them on the forum to help inspire and attract diy users - to no avail. New software features and responding to your diy software requests are something I never dismiss.

With shareholders, building rent, salaries and expensive inventory/manufacturing to maintain, the company turns toward revenue, like a moth to light. This doesn't reflect my personal interest, as I'm obviously a fan of diy as well - which is the only reason the forum still exists.

Make magazine is shrinking and their event attendance is waaaaay down. Most diy companies are at less than half staff, some are verge of closing their doors. It's a diluted market out there with a bunch of jaded diy users who got their butt kicked trying to learn arduino c++ and didn't know about ezrobot.

I haven't given up on diy. Trust me - I'm constantly exploring strategies to revive diy globally... but I'm only one man :)

The community forum began attracting more new users asking new user questions as our customer base grew - which annoyed many of you. Correcting cardboard hacker's response of "helping for free", I had an ezcredit system implemented to reward for your involvement in assisting to grow the community by answering questions of new users.

ezrobot no longer directs new users to the forum as much.

New diy users will only stick around if their questions are answers and if they're welcomed to the forum. Mostly that's not always the case, and new users don't feel welcomed to the forum. This is your forum, not mine. It's a collection of your combined personalities in typed responses that live in here forever. It's your responses that show in search results and the first thing new users see when they arrive.

So, what's the solution? I don't think there is a solution because I don't think there's a problem. The forum is what the forum has become...The result of any action is the effect - and the effect of the forum being slow is a result of how new users are welcomed. Did you know that you can view post discussion history in your user profile? Take a look at the questions you came into the forum with :D. It's an acceptable process of growth to learn to walk before you can run - this applies to everyone.

Also, I don't mind new user questions. It helps me evolve the product and better understand the hurdles of onboarding someone to becoming a robot expert like yourselves. The world ain't gonna change itself ;)

Have you considered branching a new forum for advanced users? It can be a new place where experienced users can discuss amongst your skill level?

I think we all have come to the point where JD walking and dancing and other cool stuff he could do no longer satisfies us. Project we built get completed and are interesting to work with, then get old. The EZ Robot products makes it easy with consistent results to build anything. The InMoov guys realize it and change over.

Many members have gotten into a rut because they they know their ideas can become real but how many walking talking robots can you make. It's the new ideas and development which need to come back. The robots in the news can be built and surpassed by many members of this forum. The desire hopefully will return.

I just want to state without trying to sound to much like a boot licker that I've alway been thankful to DJ for development of the EZ platform. I really understand that it's based on DIY and he's done everything possible to keep the interest in DIY. I have no complaints in the way that side of the business has been handled and fully understand why. I think having experienced members help newer ones and offer a monetary reward was brilliant.

DJ's correct, there really isn't a problem. This is more a cultural thing. Weather we like it or not it's quickly becoming fact that most younger users today want everything already working with little risk of failure when effort is placed into something. DIY is full of risk and lots of effort with no promise of reward or good feeling. eyeroll

Andy Roid - JD dancing is only one very small thing he can do and entices people to get interested in robotics. However, i'd like to introduce the Robot Program. The robot program hosts exercises and activities that even many expert diy users haven't thought of attempting - such as using glyphs to maintain distances, object recognition, programming techniques (loops, conditions, variables) and more. While the robot program may use JD or other revolution robots in examples, it contains valuable lessons, and in my opinion, should not be dismissed by anyone interested in expanding their abilities. And come on... it's fun!

Please visit the robot program to begin making your robot (even diy) do amazing things. It will also help teach programming, which is an ongoing challenge with individuals, including DIY users.

Also, watching the robot program video of teaching JD to dance is a good place to begin learning how to use the Auto Position control. Have fun :D

FYI, if many of you DIY guys (not singling anyone out so don't get offended) learn how to effectively code (using ez script) you would never be bored or caught in a rut. After all you can't depend on @DJ to spoon feed you forever... Using just the in built controls and and plugins can only get you so far... Learning to code and now you have a box of lego with 10,000 various pieces to build with... Man, ez script is serious powerful. Learn to use it and you can literally create what you want by yourself... My problem personally is I have become lazy and I really need to get my drive to create back. I am certain I will... That's just my 2 cents... :)

I enjoyed hearing your take on it DJ. I had a fully built Inmoov with untold money invested building it that I basically walked away from because the software available was currently in flux with no documentation. So frustrating. I would have sold my Inmoov in a hot second if I was allowed to. EZR brougt it to life so I am a bit of a fanboy.

As far as an advanced section maybe there isn't really a need for it. Nothing precludes you fro posting a thread in the usual forum and frankly, I don't really see anything there that is that advanced or complex.

What type of advanced DIY stuff are you guys talking about?

Perry - i enjoy hearing stories like that. A lot! Thank you for sharing :D

Quote:

I don't really see anything there that is that advanced or complex. What type of advanced DIY stuff are you guys talking about?

Perhaps I was thinking backwards. It may be that this Forum is just right. Perhaps I should have suggested a different forum to ask for Revolution help and basic problems like "why doesn't my servo move?"

However it really a moot point. Perry's probably right; why not keep everything in one place. No one here is really doing anything that advanced anyway. It's not like we're building a Starship. ;)

As already mentioned I also miss so many individuals that were very active on the forum a few years ago ,I would guess most are working away on their individual projects and don’t post constant updates or progress. Would be nice to know that all are well , What if we had a discussion headed Hello those that would like to reply simply type hello no need to make any comment or add any update.

:) :)

@Perry_S... It's absurd to run an inMoov with anything but ez robot... MRL and arduino is a big cluster f*** mess... Even ROS really isn't well suited... If the servos provided precise feedback like dynamixels do then maybe ROS would be an viable option... To me it seems that inMoov (maybe unknowingly) was designed for ez robot software and hardware... To be honest I think Gael himself would switch in a heart beat if he didn't have his MRL friends in tow and to think about...

Ros... who here has managed I make ros do anything?!

Thanks DJ for joining in and for your thoughtful response. I think my thread started over the mourning of the old timers who were here when Ez Robots only carried the EZB and software. Before the revolution. The EZB was definitely DIY hardware. It's that hacking that drew me to the forum. The forum has shifted towards troubleshooting for newbies and the revolution.

I completely understand the business plan and the direction you've always wanted to take EZ Robots, platform kits, education Stem and Steam. Certainly a good place to focus for revenue.

I appreciate your continued involvement with the DIY community, your willingness to jump in and help anyone, if you have the time. I've said it several times I don't know any CEO that commits that much time to his community. I personally thank you for all the help with Dynamixel plugs the USB/serial and so on.

I hope you continue the transparency you've shown us in the past with the future plans for EZ Robots and it's products. We are a community that has supported your products and we like to dream with you about EZ Robots future.

Inmoov is the only platform I know. I realize there are umpteen others and it is impossible to cater to them all..

It would be really cool to have a solid Inmoov plugin for EZR. I know they may not like it but it could be so cool and easy to use. That would drive some DIY interest.

Dj, First I would NEVER knock what JD's skills are. I hope I didn't offend you. I was just trying to say The EZ ROBOT hardware and software makes thing so easy to do members get lazy. (HOW TO's are there if you just look. ) As always, Richard R hits home. A 1000 piece lego set can sometimes make you have to stop and think "what do I build next". LOL ( thanks Richard R)

As was said in earlier posts, This is a cultural thing. It is the forum member which have backed off, not your efforts. Some have fulfilled their projects, many which took years to build and develop. We DO NOT point at you or EZ ROBOT in any way. I am so thankful you formed EZ ROBOT and gave all of us the opportunity to build things beyond our wildest dreams. You continue to come up with ideas and programs which educate and motivate. Your efforts are very much appreciated.... Like Will said, " I don't know any CEO that commits that much time to his community. " and Contributes constantly at ALL levels to a forum, by a CEO? Unheard of, but you do it.

Looking at the news makes me laugh when I see robots on stage making believe the are holding a conversation. I saw two Alan s doing the same and more on this forum. To bad Will and others couldn't get the same exposure. (sorry but I can name everyone, the list is too long).

I know some work is being done by forum members behind the scenes and are not posting step by step progress as was done in the past. The need isn't there like it use to.

Quiet times come in all groups. Maybe this winter when project time is available things will be like the old days.

Ron

............

As we are discussing contributions, I have to say that Ptp is amazing at resolving issues, very thorough and methodical in his descriptions. He's a great coder and his plug ins are so well built with very intuitive UIs. There is nothing he can't accomplish once he sets his mind to it.

My 2¢

I agree. @ptp is absolutely amazing. We'll have to consider hiring him someday :D

@DJ I am one of those struggling with learning ROS now and I know exactly what you mean... a very steep learning curve to try to make something practical from it

However, the allure of SLAM is great as someday I want to make a personal robot that can navigate the house and also incorporates EZB for user interface

I know it’s very difficult as I can see the companies who have struggled with SLAM for robots even though they did great stage demos... i’m Thinking of the ASUS Zenbo and the Segway robot

The closest one I’ve seen to production is the Mayfield Robotics Kuri

I agree.that the EZB forum is the best with very gracious help from members and staff

Frank

Hi Friends

I have not been around as I have not been well for some time now and have done no work (or robotics) for months now which I miss very much.

ALTAIR EZ:1 has been invited to do a stand up comedy gig at a famous UK university early next year so I must get back to the workbench.

I am hoping to get better soon so I can finish the ALTAIR robots!

Tony

@Toymaker Great to hear from you Tony missed your valued contributions from the forum , hope you are feeling better soon and you continue you robotic endeavours. Pat

@ Tony! Sorry to hear you haven’t been well. Hopefully you are well on your way to recovery! Make sure you shoot some video of your robot at the comedy club!

Glad your back!

@Tony, So very sorry you have been sick. I know how something like that can consume your life and make it hard to do or even enjoy anything. I truly hope this passes and you get better. All my strength and good wishes are going your way! :)

What an honor to be invited to the Comedy Club. I hope you can make it and share the experience with us. I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks Pat, Will and Dave!

Tony

Tony! Miss you, bro! Good to see you jump in the convo. I'm hoping we get to see the comedy show! Super awesome!

Hello, I mill you all as well ... :p

Thanks DJ and Josh

It is good to be back on the forum!

Tony

Hey guys, I also realized that over the last time I became more of a lurker than an active participant here at the forum, but I still check in very frequently!

I must agree that robot building has it's ups and downs, and I guess speaking for the most of us, I can say that it comes with whatever circumstances or lives are dragging us into...I had some major changes in my business, which up to this day are keeping me in a constant struggle. If you are at risk at your job, there is not much time left to think about the nice stuff that you would like to do!

I had been working on a project with WBS00001 and he had a serious car accident, I have not heard from him for a long time and I really hope from my heart that he is doing well!

Robot building is a slow and tedious task, and enjoying to build one is the reward we are getting, because let's face it...once the build is done it won't have much use! It's the Robot Fever we are all thriving for...the rush we get when an idea is leveled above the thought and becomes matter!

Maybe the pace here is getting a bit slower but lets recognize one thing... This forum is great, EZ-Robot is great and all you guys here are the best! Thanks for building it up DJ Sures, and everyone here on the forum for keeping it alive!

Hello all, i too have been around but just lurking. We can count by the fingers of our hands the people that participate on a regular basis. I want to salute and thank ptp for his constant input and problem solving. Go get him DJ :D

In my case most of the times i don´t participate much because of my english and the family time is getting shorter too.

I agree with Mickey666Maus, when your build is done there isn't much left to do... I think that the missing link is the indoor navigation. If the robot could move around and know his suroundings to perform simple useful tasks, that would be an incentive to continue to evolve what we always dreamed about: a useful robot. Also intergrating the latest AI as Google Home or Alexa would be super cool and would help to get attention from more people to EZ-Robot.

A big thanks to all that make this forum possible and to our "Master Mind" @DJ. Live long and prosper!

I also love the forum and appreciate all the support from members, I agree, hats off to @ptp. !

DJ and Jeremie keep coming up with neat stuff

I agree with @proteusy that indoor navigation is the next roadblock and It looks like @DJ will be getting a solution for that in Lidar and SLAM

The other obstacle I see is auto docking and charging and @jeremie and others are pursuing some ideas

@proteusy, There have been a few posts on actually using Alexa through IFTTT Maker using both as triggers and actions. An actual IFTTT channel would be nice.

Frank