http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1748603,00.asp Need I say more? (Except "Thx for the lead, Wolfgang") (For those who don't know, Mark Tilden is the founder of BEAM technology, and now designs toys for Wow-Wee toys. These are his followups to the very popular "RoboSapien")
New GMPW Wheels!
Dave Hrynkiw
June 21, 2007
No more rubber band tires for us! We've invested in getting our very own wheels made for us, with molded-on thermoplastic rubber wheels!
These wheels are slightly larger in diameter than the old style, measuring 69.2mm (2.72") diameter and 7.65mm (0.30") wide. Ah, but how good are they? They're definitely better than the old style! We know from head-to-head tests that these have better traction than the rubber-band tires (definitive numbers are coming...). We've also spun them up on our lathe to see how true the mold process is, and they're quite true - no visible wobbling!
A new enhancement is a built-in opto-reflector 32-step pattern! Built to be bolt-on compatible with the Wheel-Watcher series of wheel-encoders, all you have to do is paint the groove white (for dark plastic wheels), and scrape away the raised surfaces to generate a sharp, accurate 32-stripe pattern!
Did we mention that there was no increase in price for all these enhancements too?
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Interesting stuff at the Exploratorium
Not exactly relevant to BEAM, but an interesting distraction: Here's some interesting media from the San Francisco Exploratorium. Notable media to watch is their "Iron Science Teacher" competition (familiar with "The Iron Chef? Same idea...), and their hosting of Robot Sumo Wrestling.
Circuit: Herbie by Randy Sargent
Although not a true BEAM robot, this simple schematic by Randy Sargent is small, simple, slick, and effective. My own version uses a pair of pager motors and three cells from a 9V rechargeable battery. Hard to get any simpler than this device!
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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.