Impressive RCX Car Factory
The RCX is not dead !
Look at this 7 minutes long video of an impressive car factory build in Germay.
youtube video
knusel111 (a 31 year old teacher) built together with several 14 to 17 year old schoolkids of the robotik group of the VHG, a German grammar school in lower Bavaria a working car factory. It took them about 1 year to build. The machine weighs around 25 KG and holds 10 RCX units and 50 motors. The 2000 parts will have an estimated cost of 3000 Euros.
He says: "I'm sorry the factory doesn't exist any more. We had to destroy it , because we needed the bricks for our new project. I have to admit I was astonished by the great interest. If I had known that, I would have made better and more videos. Also Youtube has a 100MB limit, I'm sorry for the low quality. The original version has 1,6GB ".
Gerrit and I built something similar back in 2003, but unfortunately didn't have a video camera
at the time to capture our achievement on tape. Here are some photos that we took, however.
Brickshelf the factory
Brickshelf the total line-up
Brickshelf explanation
Knusel111 Congratulations!
This is realy Fantastic, a real show of what Mindstorms is capable of, and with the new NXT, even more.

youtube video
knusel111 (a 31 year old teacher) built together with several 14 to 17 year old schoolkids of the robotik group of the VHG, a German grammar school in lower Bavaria a working car factory. It took them about 1 year to build. The machine weighs around 25 KG and holds 10 RCX units and 50 motors. The 2000 parts will have an estimated cost of 3000 Euros.
He says: "I'm sorry the factory doesn't exist any more. We had to destroy it , because we needed the bricks for our new project. I have to admit I was astonished by the great interest. If I had known that, I would have made better and more videos. Also Youtube has a 100MB limit, I'm sorry for the low quality. The original version has 1,6GB ".
Gerrit and I built something similar back in 2003, but unfortunately didn't have a video camera

Brickshelf the factory
Brickshelf the total line-up
Brickshelf explanation
Knusel111 Congratulations!
This is realy Fantastic, a real show of what Mindstorms is capable of, and with the new NXT, even more.
Comments
there is no way to make a 27 NXTs bluetooth network yet.
MCP Danny
Another (more expensive) example would be to use a central "brain" of mechanically connected (and communicating) NXTs to command, via BT, a small army of "worker" NXTs. 27 NXTs could be in wireless communication through a "brain" of 9 command NXTs, for instance.
Yep, the ability to use a BT network over an arbitrary net of NXTs is something *much* desired... but creativity can work around an awful lot of "insurmountable" obsticals.
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Brian Davis
What I like about the factory is that there is no overall controller.
The loader receives its orders then progresses around activating switches, and flashing Lego lamps. Each RCX interacting with 2 or 3 others before completely handing responsibility over to the next.
Of course Bluetooth is not too great a coordinating large numbers of devices anyway. Even without the NXT's limitations a master device can only be communicating with up to 7 other active/listening devices at a time.
ttfn,
Tony N
I also think this could have been built using many fewer RCXes and other pieces, but it is a stunning achievement nonetheless.
http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/?n=26716
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Brian Davis