Analog

Do you think they used PICs on this Robot?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww

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NightFalcon90909

That video was fantastic.... I can't imagine how awesome 300 of these guys trekking across the Iraq desert would look...

The balance that that thing had was amazing... especially impressive considering it was carrying 300+ (345?) pounds!

Definitely PICs in there... I'm thinking the PIC16F505. Heck, that was so advanced, maybe they had 2 of them! ;-)

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kchriste

Don't know about a PIC, but they definitely used a small gas engine in the thing. Not a stealth robot by any means, but it sure is creepy looking.

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theinfamousbob

One of the comments on the video claims that they reverse-engineered the motor cortex area of a dog and horse's brain and the result is a modified brain that simply walks. What some people think...

The balancing was really cool, though. If only it were a tad faster than four miles per hour (according to their Web site).

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SeanL

I doubt they used anything inexpensive like PICs lol. Probably a PC104?

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allbits

Hmm.. dont think they used PICs. At least not the 8 bit ones. There has to be a good deal of calculations going on, and considering the way it balances.. phew..

Not 8 bit ones!!!

Krumlink

A 16F Series? Hell I wouldnt be suprised if they used something like 2 PIC32's!

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dknguyen

I think it's two little kids underneath. Can't match that kind of processing power with any MCU.

Krumlink

Chinese perhaps

Yeah that is a good point, to leave all that processing power for a MCU would be quite large, it is most likely a specialized processing unit.

"Oh yeah a 4004 could easily handle that"

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NightFalcon90909

I know I know... I was joking ;-)

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ikalogic

i don't want to turn this topic into a political debate, but just quick question, hoping to a quick honest answer answer

What did Iraq's people do to you, or to your country to make you so excited about sending an army of dogs there?

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NightFalcon90909

lol well I am not saying that I support or don't support the war, this isn't the place for that. I'm just saying that since there IS a war there, I think it would look pretty awesome to see a whole army of these guys slowly moving across the desert. Keep in mind that these are "pack horses": they carry stuff, they don't fight. They carry stuff for the soldiers. =]

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whiz115

They used Pentium IV@3.00Ghz 2,5 million cores with GF 8800 GTX-i Extended release...

Unfortunately this built it's not Iraq-Ready™ it's mostly for Warcraft, lineage II and other war games

[EDIT]

btw there and other Microcontrollers brands like atmel, motorolla, ST, etc... why it must be a PIC? it could be few atMegas...

Nigel Goodwin

Because PIC is the most popular, so much so it's become a generic name for a micro-controller - rather like vacuum cleaners and Hoover.

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Gaston

i was taken by surprise when he kicked it in its side. that was very impressive