BIOBug / BEP Contest

Dave Hrynkiw
December 3, 2001

Think you're good at modifying toys? Got a toaster with legs? A cat with wheels? A self-pruning Chia-Pet? Well, do we have a contest for YOU:

Mark Tilden has confirmed with us that he's willing to donate two complete sets of Wowwee/Hasbro BIOBugs (4, one of each type) to the top two hacks/modifications to be published to the Internet. Mark had a heavy hand in designing the BIOBugs, and intentionally made them very receptive to custom modifications. What does that mean? YOU decide.

Given that Mark is an aficionado of truly bizarre/innovative devices and hacks, I suggest you DO NOT limit yourself to just serious technical hacks. Amusement and twisted humour counts too! Or, go the other way, and try for serious technical hacks. Figure out the I/O pins; interface a secondary processor, add additional functionality.

Existing hacks recently witnessed thus far include:

  • A general BIOBug vivisection
  • Adding a waist motor to a Predator
  • Adding a "flapping wing shell" to a Blue bug when it's agitated (in fight mode)
  • Stilt legs on a yellow bug

Get your BIOBug, hack it by February 28th, 2002 (gives you plenty of time after getting one from the dog as a Christmas Gift), email us your URL with the hack, and we'll see how it goes!

What's this got to do with Solarbotics & the BEP? Simple. If you use any of the BEP modules in your hack, and it wins (judged by Mr. Tilden), we'll give you a $200 credit for anything at Solarbotics.

Questions? None? Good. Get to work!

MORE POSTS

June 24, 2004
Solarbotics at PDXBot04

Grant and I have been back from PDXBot a few weeks now, and I put together a wee movie showing off some of the (limited) video I shot. You get to see Grant winning 2nd place in Mini-sumo, me NOT using a camera correctly (I got record on/off reversed during a Grant/me match), and some […]

July 11, 2007
BEP Application: Bare Bones PhotoVore

We like to have some play time at Solarbotics, and the "Bare Bones Photovore" is the results of one of these play sessions. It's a very simple (amongst the simplest, we'll hazard to say) light-seeking solar-powered robot, and find it easy to build using the Bicore Experimenter's PCB.

December 6, 2012
New Bundle: The Northern Lights!

Ok, more like The Northern light. There's only one, but it creates lots of light! We made the SB-Firefly as a ATtiny85-based blinky light / "chewing-gum & duct-tape problem solver", that is also Digispark compatible. We made the Star Controller 3-watt RGB LED kit as an easy way to tame bright and power-hungry LEDs. We […]

August 27, 2001
MIT's Rod Brooks papers

Just a quick addition for now - there was a link submitted from the BEAM mailing list regarding Rod Brooks' papers at MIT. Some very worthwhile reading for those long, summer afternoons in the shade... Read More...

Solarbotics Ltd Logo
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!

Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.

Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.

cart