evaderdjo wrote:
So I am trying to figure out the justification for the $500 price difference between the AT01 and PF01. Looks like they have the same DOF and even use the same servos. The PF01 includes two gyros, and the AT01 doesn't, but that should only be about $100 difference.
The PF01 does have an interesting Lithium Polymer battery system. I am having trouble understanding it though. The Japanese manual indicates that voltage is between 9 and 12, and it looks like each of the three individual batteries can be anywhere from 2.5V to 4.2V, with 3.7V as "typical". Am I reading this right? Does this battery configuration lend to longer use time or more power than the AT01 gets?
The only other way I can understand the price differential is if the frame on the PF01 is stronger, or if there are more standard motions included with the kit. What is the frame of PF01 and AT01 made of, and how many pre-programmed motions do they each have?
So I am trying to figure out the justification for the $500 price difference between the AT01 and PF01. Looks like they have the same DOF and even use the same servos. The PF01 includes two gyros, and the AT01 doesn't, but that should only be about $100 difference.
The PF01 does have an interesting Lithium Polymer battery system. I am having trouble understanding it though. The Japanese manual indicates that voltage is between 9 and 12, and it looks like each of the three individual batteries can be anywhere from 2.5V to 4.2V, with 3.7V as "typical". Am I reading this right? Does this battery configuration lend to longer use time or more power than the AT01 gets?
The only other way I can understand the price differential is if the frame on the PF01 is stronger, or if there are more standard motions included with the kit. What is the frame of PF01 and AT01 made of, and how many pre-programmed motions do they each have?
It's primarily a 'style' issue.
The PF01 was designed by Takahashi which almost makes it a collectors item by itself. The mechanical design is much more complex compared to the AT01 (there's some good photos of Takahashi's original PFo1 being torn down completely on the Robots Dreams site that were posted probably around a year ago).
It's movements are somewhat slower, but seem more realistic in an anime way. It looks, and moves, like Atom/Astroboy and some other anime robots. Unfortunately Kyosho kind of botched the look a bit with some manufacturability changes and that stupid looking rubber bumper they put on the back of its head. Kind of makes it look like a walking doorstop.
Given all the additional mechanical stuff, and whatever royalty Takahashi and his group get from it, the price differential is probably pretty reasonable. If you don't care about the style or movement realism, then the AT01 would probably be a good choice. It's closer to the ROBO-ONE type of design. But, if you are looking for a really stylish robot that moves well and looks like it just stepped out of a Japanese manga, then the PF01 is very cool.
Statistics: Posted by Ghostrider — Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:21 am
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