[Sugar-devel] Interesting USB-pluggable robots, controller boards, and sensors

[Kevin Mark]

On Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 11:45:15AM +1100, forster at ozonline.com.au wrote:
> Hi
> An exciting new robotics idea from Guzman Trinidad.
> 
> Turtle Art is programmed to produce two different frequencies. The headphone output of the XO is connected to a pair of LM567 integrated circuit tone decoders, each of which lights a LED when its input signal frequency is present. With this principle we could control any device.
> 
>  *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVzVlAZsz1w*
> 
> To be widely adopted, robotics kits need to be low cost and be "low entry high ceiling". Guzman's idea has the potential to lower the cost.
> 
> My estimates:
> 
> Lego NXT $500
> Lego Wedo $170
> Scratch sensor board $45
> Arduino $40
> PICAXE $15 (http://littlebirdelectronics.com/products/picaxe14m-starter-pack)
> LM567 decoder board $?
> 
> I am unaware if anybody has looked at the PICAXE and the XO, could be worth looking at.
> 
> I am assuming that the cost of many of these kits is too high for the markets into which the XO is shipping.
> 
> Tony

I have a Ti Launchpad (a $4.30 USD + shipping?) micro-controller board that
uses the msp430 line. I was able to compile msp430-gcc on the xo-1.5 and use it
with mspdebug to upload firmware to it. I would assume someone with more
knowledge than me could add a few more bits or a simple circut and add some
software to turtle art to make it do something like the picaxe. The launchpad
has 2 simple switches, 2 LEDS and an internal temp sensor (on 1 of the 2
included chips) and it includes a usb cable.

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