The University of of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been running a BEAM-style mechatronics program (GE100) for the last few years. The purpose of the class is to build a self-powered device that can propel itself over both smooth and rough terrain, using a pair of servos and a BEAM-style servo-controller circuit (similar in function to […]
Solarbotics & EZ-Robot: The EZBv3!
Dave Hrynkiw
May 16, 2011
DJ Sures has been a customer of ours for a good while now, and he recently came in with this really cool product - the EZ-B. He's a professional programmer that's been hacking toys into robots, and wanted an more streamlined way to realize his dream of simple-to-implement robotics. He started with his own versions 1 and 2, and now they've sold out, he approached us to see if we'd be interested in helping him bring EZ-Bv3 to market so he can work on his main love, programming and hacking robots!
The EZ-B offers a streamlined way to connect your PC to practically any device you want to robotize and make autonomous. Here's the gist of it:
- Powerful EZ-B software runs on your PC, and does the "heavy lifting" computing
- PC communicates bidirectionally to the EZ-B hardware via long-range 9600 baud wireless Bluetooth.
So what makes this so noteworthy? Why use this over an Arduino? Here's why:
- Leverage the power of your (usually on) PC to give your robot a huge advantage over 8-bit microcontrollers. Advantages already available to you include
- Using a wireless videocam signal for camera object tracking
- Use Voice recognition on your PC to control your robot
- Use Visual Studio .Net C# or VB to program your own modules and scripts.
- Arduino Shield Compatible! Plug in practically any Arduino shield into the EZ-B!
Want more details? Check out the EZ-Robot website, or the product page!
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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.