RoboNova-1 to ship on December 15
RoboNova-1 to ship on December 15
by limor
Thu Dec 08, 2005 4:38 pm
This is the new forum dedicated to RBONOVA and Hitec's line of robotics products.
I'm anxiously waiting for my new ROBONOVA kit which will come from the first batch of 200 to be distributed in Europe starting December 15th. You can order one here for £590 if you live in UK or Ireland. Like with KHR-1 last year, I plan to document the build process and software, make him do some cool stuff and publish it on this site..
The kit has an overwhelming set of features. The following is taken from robonova.de where you can also find some videos and other official promotional material.
(Other official sites include hitecrobotics.com and hitecrcd.co.jp)
The robot can be programmed using 3 different software systems. You can download the 7mb file containing all 3 systems at robobasic.com
Additional videos of RoboNova:
http://www.robots-dreams.com/2005/10/ro ... et_vi.html (taken by our forum member tempusmaster)
http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=A99jz6vos-E (3 videos)
I'm anxiously waiting for my new ROBONOVA kit which will come from the first batch of 200 to be distributed in Europe starting December 15th. You can order one here for £590 if you live in UK or Ireland. Like with KHR-1 last year, I plan to document the build process and software, make him do some cool stuff and publish it on this site..
The kit has an overwhelming set of features. The following is taken from robonova.de where you can also find some videos and other official promotional material.
(Other official sites include hitecrobotics.com and hitecrcd.co.jp)
The CONCEPT
ROBOTICS - a fascinating new world which you can now experience at first-hand. With the help of detailed step-by-step instructions you assemble the kit components to produce a working humanoid robot of the kind only usually found in universities and research institutes. The set includes all the software required to allow you to bring the robot to purposeful life - even if you are a complete beginner.
Simple to get started
• ROBONOVA-1 means: robotics for the beginner.
• The robot is great fun - and the fun starts immediately
• No special computer knowledge or programming experience required
• Catch & Play - move the robot and click: and you have produced the first movement!
Carefully matched
• The kit contains all the components required to operate this high-tech robot
• Carefully matched mechanical systems and software
Expandable
• ROBONOVA-1 means: robotics for the expert.
• The ATMEL ATMega 128 microcontroller features ample performance reserves for a wide range of expansions
• The mechanical system is of modular construction, and can be extended to cater for future applications
• ROBONOVA-1 can be considered as an open development platform
Robust and attractive
• Anodized aluminium brackets
• Digital servos with Karbonite gearbox
• Professional “look”!
The HARDWARE
ROBONOVA-1 really is a “hard case”. Specially treated anodized aluminium parts provide the essential strength in the connecting elements, and give the ROBONOVA-1 its characteristic high-quality appearance.
The plastic components are made of an extremely high-quality material which provides all the robustness required for daily use.
ROBONOVA-1 is capable of squaring up to any challenge, as its design and lay-out are based on the development team’s many years of experience in robotics competitions.The robot’s “muscles” take the form of servos, developed specifically for robotics by HiTEC: a world leader in servo manufacture.
They offer the familiar strengths of HiTEC servos:
• Torque
• Transit speed
• Accuracy
• Durability
and have been modified to cope with the special requirements of robotics applications:
• 180-degree angular travel
• Innovative case design
• Motion feedback function
• Data feedback function: current, voltage
Specification: HSR-8498HB servo
• Dimensions: 40 x 20 x 47 mm
• Weight: 55 g
• Operating voltage: 6 - 7.4 V • Max. rotational angle: 180 degrees
• Torque: 7.4 kg / cm at 6.0 Volts (9.0 kg / cm at 7.4 Volts)
• Transit speed for 60 degrees: 0.2 sec. at 6 Volts (0.18 sec. at 7.4 Volts)
• HMI (HiTEC Multi-protocol Interface)
• Data feedback: current, voltage, position
• Optional: servo parameter adjustment (requires servo programmer kit)
• Daisy-chain serial interface for up to 128 servos
• PWM interface (RC standard)
Power supply: the ROBONOVA-1 is operated from the 6 Volt / 1000 mAh NiMH battery supplied; a suitable battery charger can also act as buffer when the robot is operating. On a single battery charge the ROBONOVA-1 can be operated for around 60 minutes; the actual operating time varies according to the complexity of the movement processes.
Specification: Robonova-1
• Dimensions: 310 x 180 x 90 mm
• Weight with standard battery: approx. 1.3 kg
• Number of servos: 16
The SOFTWARE
The software included in the set enables anyone to develop the movement processes of the ROBONOVA-1, and define its response to sensor events, using a PC running the Windows operating system (Windows 98 or later).
Catch & Play makes robot programming easy to understand. For example, you move the robot arm to the start-point and end-point of a “simple action” (e.g. raise arm), and confirm the start position and end position with a mouse-click. The robot then carries out the whole movement process.
Robo-Script and Robo-Remocon: The computer screen displays sliders for every individual servo (joint). Moving the sliders changes the position of the servos. Simple movements can then be assembled to produce complex movements simply by clicking the mouse. REMOCON provides a graphical user interface for calling up these movements.
Robo-Basic: with Catch & Play function, convenient programming for complex tasks for advanced operators
Robo-Basic is a dialect of Basic optimised for programming the ROBONOVA-1. It enables you to create complex applications designed to accomplish your own individual tasks:
• Independent development environment including Editor and Compiler
• Robo-Basic includes commands for:
• Synchronous servo movements
• Servo point-to-point movements
• Servo motion feedback
ROBONOVA-1
An open platform for the expert
The hardware offers plenty of scope for expansion to cope with future applications.
The Control Board
The brain and heart of the ROBONOVA-1 is the well-known ATMEL ATMega 128L microcontroller, its internal memory supplemented by a 64K*8 EEPROM as storage for Robo-Script and Robo-Basic programs.
Specification: MR C-3024
• Dimensions approx. 61 x 50.5 mm
• I/O ports:
* 40 ports on post connectors, of which 24 are servo ports and 8 A/D converters
* RS232 interface
* Signal indicators
* Supplementary memory: 64K*8 EEPROM
• Controller: Atmel ATMega 128L
• Operating voltage range: 6 - 8 Volts
The ROBONOVA-1 can be fitted with an Infra-Red receiver and controlled using a standard IR remote control handset.
The microcontroller in the ROBONOVA-1 offers a vast range of future expansion capacity; the full possibilities have yet to be exploited.
Accessories, replacement parts & service, set contents
Replacement parts & service facilities
The names HiTEC and MULTIPLEX are by-words for fast, comprehensive replacement parts, plus - if ever necessary - the repair of defective sub-assemblies within short turn-round times.
Set contents
The ROBONOVA-1 kit includes the following items:
• MR C-3024 controller board
• 16 special HiTEC HSR-8498HB robot servos
• All aluminium and plastic parts
• All small hardware items required
• 6 Volt / 1000 mAh NiMH battery
• Fast charger for use with 230 Volts
• Comprehensive software package on CD-ROM
• RS-232 interface cable
The robot can be programmed using 3 different software systems. You can download the 7mb file containing all 3 systems at robobasic.com
Additional videos of RoboNova:
http://www.robots-dreams.com/2005/10/ro ... et_vi.html (taken by our forum member tempusmaster)
http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=A99jz6vos-E (3 videos)
by limor
Sun Dec 11, 2005 1:22 am
inaki wrote:Apparently the Robonova is out of stock everywhere! When do you plan to make it available for the rest of Europe?
By the way, Robonova.de will sell directly from his website if I am not wrong.
AFAIK Multiplex/Hitec don't plan to sell directly at first but use local RC-model dealers in every country to test the water and provide the technical support to the end users. This is the traditional hobby RC-model business model which is built around hobby shops doing repeat-sales to a local loyal technical community.
If I was to lauch a humanoid product like ROBONOVA I would try to ride the Robosapien wave by (1) setting the retail price down to a magical sub-$500 (like Vex) so that it is a bit more expensive than RobosapienV2 and (2) preparing for mass-production of at least 100k units in order to bring COGS down to about $150.
The pros: it would be perceived as the first Robosapien competition and therefore will get $10m worth in media coverage and Robosapien's wholesellers who made a fortune from selling it, will be happy to store tens of thousands of peices of your Robosapien-killer. This could create a self-fulfilling prophecy and you may actually sell 100k units before Xmas.
The cons: a few million $ are at stake over the production of the first 100k units.
In any case, Hitec/Multiplex have my full admiration for daring to come out with such an amazing product at such a low price and for their belief in the viability of a substantial market for advanced humanoid robots outside of Japan/Korea.
BTW.. if you are seriously interested in getting ROBONOVA and you are not based in the UK, send an email. RoboSavvy may be able to help.. maybe..
