

Turn Your Smartphone Into A Robot - whather
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peterseid/romo-the-smartphone-robot

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BenoitEssiambre
This type of thing could actually spark a robotics revolution. One of the
large barrier to entry to robotics is that it is generally built on costly
specialty hardware running costly specialty software.

Some people have used laptops as 'brains' for robots but they are bulky and
often still quite costly.

Because of their size, long battery life, gps support, camera, touchscreen,
microphone, accelerometer and potential lower price, smartphones are
surprisingly well suited as commodity platform for robotics.

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marekmroz
I disagree on "sparking a robotics revolution". It is akin to suggesting that
Songsmith sparked a music revolution. Just because something is easier to do
does not make it revolutionary, nor does it necessarily advance the field.

The barriers to entry that you speak of do not exist, unless you consider an
Arduino, a motor shield, some sensors, cables and a breadboard costly
speciality hardware. Take a look at www.sparkfun.com or www.pololu.com, all
the things that come with an iPhone you can get in form of easily programmable
modules. Need GPS? Buy a gps module. Need wireless communication? Get BT or
XBEE.

Sure, building a robot this way is not as simple as plugging in your
smartphone and dragging and dropping some blocks thorough the GUI, but it is
not that difficult either, you learn more, and it does not get boring quickly.

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wanorris
Revolution may be overstating the case, but taking a technology that is
accessible to enthusiasts with the technical ability to program an Arduino and
construct a robot out of components and making it accessible to users with the
technical ability to plug in a smartphone and use a GUI opens up the
technology to a whole new audience. Expanding the number of people interested
in robotics is a _good_ thing.

Just as I'm sure there are many people doing serious work in robotics now that
got their start with Mindstorms, if this comes to fruition and is marketed
successfully, I'm sure there will be many people who get their start with a
simpler-to-understand smartphone robot now and later move on to bigger and
better things.

Think of it as a gateway robot. :-)

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marekmroz
I understand the sentiment for a getaway robot, however, I believe there are
better alternatives for introducing people to robotics such as Mindstorms that
you mentioned or Arduino. To clarify, by "better" I mean such that actually
get you building and making things, rather than what to me at least boils down
to playing with a toy.

It may be just the matter of personal preference, but to me this project is
closer to the RoboSapien than it is to, say, making things with LEGOs or
Arduino. It does not aim to teach anything about the mechanical aspect of
robot building, connecting wires, soldering. Simplifying robotics for the sake
of attracting everyone to it may be diminishing returns because at the point
where a huge crowd is attracted not much of actual 'robotics' is left.

For those really interested in building robots, picking up a micro board and
some parts online would be much more educational. Also, ability to program
micros, connect wires and put parts together is something that robotics
enthusiast should strive to learn, it's a big part of the hobby!

This being said, I still wish them best and hope they will succeed with their
project. After all it is a cool ting to build! :)

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wanorris
That's actually an awesome point. A robot construction kit that you could
connect to a phone would be a cooler way to really learn about robotics than a
delivered, finished robot.

Even if it were modular -- so that you learned nothing about connecting wires,
soldering, etc. -- having the experience of getting to choose how you build
your robot and what sensors and drive train and such that you use would make a
huge part of the experience. It's definitely fundamental to what makes
Mindstorms so valuable.

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appendix_a
i make the software for romo, and the robot can come as a kit.

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heynk
I already got to play with it, its super fun and works just like you want it
to. It's versatile enough to go over cracks and stuff in doorways and the
video streaming is very smooth. This is an awesome project to back.

~~~
hendler
Ordered one.

This + Siri opens up some pretty neat possibilities.

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RodgerTheGreat
The audio-jack based interface is very clever- the whole package is
wonderfully simple and straightforward. I hope that mass production can bring
the price down a bit, though.

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grecy
Can you expand on that please? Audio-jack interface?

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JL2010
They are using the audio jack to send command data to the robot base. Notice
how the iphone is not connected through a dock or 30-pin connector. Very
clever indeed!

Making a "real" iphone accessory through the 30-pin connector is simply not
possible for hobbyists/small outfits. This also makes their communication
interface with the robot somewhat portable. I like :D

~~~
gregsadetsky
The audio port is definitely the right way to interface cheaply (and across
different mobile phones).

If anyone's interested, there _is_ now a way to interface RS-232 devices from
an iPhone using an Apple-approved cable:

[http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MSRP...](http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MSRP02)

From what I've heard, negotiations with Apple took a lot of time and were
quite "complex". Also, the cable unfortunately costs 80$ (because of the
custom, "secret" DRM chip enabling the interface). Which goes to prove that
the audio jack goes a long way!

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calbucci
Maybe this is the revolution we need to give a chance to the next generation
to have fun programmable robot. I was promised that as a kid and I still don't
have it!

Contributed!

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emplynx
I contributed as well. My first Kickstarter project.

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wisesage5001
I don't see what they need $32,000 for. There was another robot project on
Kickstarter a while back that was successfully funded (the Bilibot:
[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/147564168/bilibot-an-
aff...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/147564168/bilibot-an-affordable-
robotics-platform?ref=live) ) for a lot less.

The hardware required to prototype the Bilibot is a lot more expensive than to
prototype one of these Romos, so I don't get what they need 6 times the
funding of the Bilibot project for. $78 per Romo seems fine, but the overall
goal seems a bit high.

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DaveMebs
This was my first thought as well. I built a similar robot in terms of
physical design and motorized capabilities a couple years ago for ~$400. It
wasn't controlled by a phone, which will admittedly adds some complexity, but
I really can't see their overall hardware costs, including prototypes, getting
into the 10's of thousands. Is the expectation here that this is also covering
a living wage for the developers? It seems like they would be more successful
with a lower funding request with the plan being to make a profit once the
device hits market.

EDIT: It looks like they aren't even applying a solder mask to the board,
which is a really cheap way to improve quality and reliability. For an
extensible product that they want people hacking, I'd be spending the few
dollars to help minimize short circuits. From my experience, everyone who has
skimped and not gotten a solder mask applied to their board ends up regretting
it down the line.

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superkinz
Give me a robot that lets me fight other robots. And can I control this from
my iPad rather than a second iPhone?

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appendix_a
Yes, iPad, computer or any phone.

~~~
pragmatic
Does the phone have to be activated or will it work over wifi?

I've got an HTC Incredible laying around after my upgrade and it would be
great to use it for something like this.

I'm trying to dig around on the Romo site (<http://romotive.com>) but it's up
and down.

Btw, I bought/funded one.

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beambot
HNer, Matt Might, did a quick hack (weekend-type) to control a scribbler robot
via BlueTooth via smartphone a while back [1]. Given that ROS (Robot Operating
System) is being ported to Android, the capabilities for these systems are
going to explode! Soon enough, you'll have phone-based robots that have all
the accouterments: 3D perception, localization, etc.

[1] [http://www.hizook.com/blog/2011/01/12/ipad-and-iphone-
contro...](http://www.hizook.com/blog/2011/01/12/ipad-and-iphone-controlled-
robot-toys#MattMight)

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aespinoza
Wow.. I was hoping to do something similar with raspberry pi
(<http://www.raspberrypi.org/>). I guess my phone can do the trick as well.

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zmmmmm
Done! I've made several half starts at robotics projects, mostly based on
Arduino but I always felt exasperated at how weak they were compared to the
smartphone in my pocket, which I can already program over a zillion standard
interfaces. Getting an Arduino kit with the equivalent of this functionality
would cost hundreds of dollars ... this is a steal.

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blackiron
There is something related to this for lego robots and android phones, Google
for "do androids dream of lego mindstorms"?. The robots + augmented reality
games are a great idea.

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zecho
Way cooler looking than the LEGO Mindstorms NXT brick. I'd be interested in
how customizable the base will be.

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nt_mark
Great idea, love the simplicity of the interface (audio jack), just bought
one. Best of luck guys

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nextparadigms
Didn't we see something like this at Google I/O? I wonder if that's where they
got the idea.

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jamesbritt
Google has introduced their ADK, though even before that it was doable using
the IOIO board.

<http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/usb/adk.html>

<http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10748>

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jamesbritt
Very cool. Looks like something quite doable using Android device + IOIO board
+ Arduino

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ytai
Android + IOIO period. No need for an Arduino.

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jamesbritt
I picked the Arduino for the "rest of the hardware" stand-in. But yeah, could
be any hardware.

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sonyal
I love this idea ... I can't wait to use it to spy on people.... ;)

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dunkinidaho
I've seen this in person and it's v cool - just ordered mine!

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nerdmonkey
I've seen this in person, too. Everyone in the room thought it was awesome and
couldn't wait to get one for themselves or their kids to play with. I just
ordered one!

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jamieb
Can I have it laying flat with a mirror above the camera?

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Blunt
seriously, I don't get it. There are tons of off-the-shelf electronic kits
that already do this (ARM, PIC, AVAR, etc)... And most of this is just simple
logic. Follow a light beam, follow color, bla, bla, bla... Anything really
useful, to me, appears one would need a bit more than a smart phone. Honda's
robot comes to mind and that quadraped that supposedly is suppose to help
military carry heavy things through tough terrain.

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Florin_Andrei
The Romo is something a primary school kid could assemble.

I'm actually doing various projects (robotics-related and non-related) with
AVR and Arduino, and they are definitely not primary-school-friendly.

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Blunt
so a $400 iPhone or even a $200 smart phone is a better option than some of
the $25 robot kits you can buy that have much more to learn from?

not buying it.

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Florin_Andrei
(sigh) You don't have kids, do you?

It's not about price, it's about complexity. Plugging an old iPhone into a
chassis is something anyone could do, even my 6 year old son. Programming an
AVR from scratch is something many adults cannot do.

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daryn
Super cool!

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iamintricate
Finallyyyyy! *breaks open piggy bank

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vril8
Why use the proprietary connectors for this? Audio in and out should be more
than sufficient an interface for such a simple platform..

