SKIRMISHER

In Japan, Tokyo-based Kyosho Corp. begins selling this month build-your-own robot kits nicknamed “Manoi.” Although you get to assemble a cutish 13-inch robot that doesn’t exactly hit the excitement level of a build-your-own 50-foot Godzilla, Manoi’s first takers have comfort in the sheer pleasure of building something.

“The $1,260 machine, which can walk, wave its arms and do other simple moves, comes in a kit that requires assembly _ a sprawling, mind-boggling concoction of matchbox-size motors, plastic Lego-like parts, twisted wiring, 200 tiny screws and a 100-page manual.

…

Manoi’s brain, a microprocessor, is a tiny panel with needle-like parts sticking out of it. But the chip goes in the machine’s stomach, not its head.

The motors are the robot’s joints and muscles. The arms have two motors each, and lots and lots of screws.

When assembled, the legs and thighs connect to sit on flat, boot-like feet. The head is just a single motor that turns to the left and right.

Each motor has wiring spewing out at various lengths, depending on the joint’s distance from the brain, so it’s important to follow the manual carefully and put the right motor in the right place.

After the body parts are put together, the wiring must be connected, one by one, in the right order to the microprocessor, sticking them into the metal that protrudes like needles.

The robot, powered by a stack of rechargeable batteries, connects to a computer through a computer’s USB port like many other gadgets.

Manoi’s software works only on computers running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system, but it’s fairly simple. You merely set the moves of each motor by dragging what looks like a bar-graph for each one.”

Fascinating, isn’t it? You can give this robot a small baseball bat and order it to do nice things, like beat up the neighbor’s cat.

via SLASHDOT

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