Robonova-1 article in Robot magazine.

[Gort]

I just got the magazine and read the article. It had a lot of interesting ideas. The only thing I would add is that I think that the Robonova-1 has become out classed by newer robots. I wish that this was not true. I just do not thing that it can be upgraded enough for it to be competitive in competitions like Robogames. The biggest problem is in the lack of servo speed and power as compared to other robots. I was wondering what other people thought about this.

[NovaOne]

I was disapointed that the HSR-5980SG and 5990TG although the same size do not come in the 8498HB/5498sg package...this would address the speed and power issues.

However I have personally always felt that the reason my RN does not do better in competition was solely doe to my poor motion programming and lack of remote control skill, not the hardware.

[engineer]

NOVA ONE I think thats right, having won two gold medals with RN-!, there are a lot of things to consider before you even start to compete. one of them is to remember to have some fun. The people you meet are way more important than a medal, the learning curve on any robot is steep, and you can only fight your robot not the other guy's,and he's going to be reacting, planning his next move as you are. Having fought a few different types of robots I'd say thier fairly even as to properties you've got to work with what they can do, and the rules. I'm still working on RN-!'as capabilities and can pack even more sensors into it than I'm using now. good luck, Oh if you want more speed and power check out rebuilding the RN-1's battery pack with higher mah batteries without changing the size or location the 1000 mah's sub C's have reached 1800 mah in the same size, that change will give you both longer runtime and more power. remember that stalling a servo has a price to pay.

[tempusmaster]

I just got the magazine and read the article. It had a lot of interesting ideas. The only thing I would add is that I think that the Robonova-1 has become out classed by newer robots. I wish that this was not true. I just do not thing that it can be upgraded enough for it to be competitive in competitions like Robogames. The biggest problem is in the lack of servo speed and power as compared to other robots. I was wondering what other people thought about this.

For its weight class (light-weight by the RoboGames classifications), the RoboNova still seems to be pretty competitive. I watched quite a few RN1's at the Wonderful Robot Carnival here on Sunday, and they did surprisingly well.

If you're comparing it to the middle-weight robots, like Farrells or the Robit team at RoboGames, then you're right. They are faster, more powerful, and much more programmable. At the same time, they are a heck of a lot more expensive.

I still think that the RN1 is a great entry level, and even mid-range platform. It would be a lot better if Hitec ever opened up access to the code, and provided options for higher torque servos, but that's not likely to happen this late in the product life cycle.