Robosapien V2 Review

Roboquad LED and eye Hack

noreply@blogger.com (Robosapienv2 4mem8) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:46:00 +0000

Robosapien V2

When Roboquad came out in New Zealand I couldn't wait to hack it, So I replaced the front,back and side entertainment leds to ultra bright blue and yellow inserted a blue LED mouth and changed the over all appearance of Roboquad.

J2R Robot

noreply@blogger.com (Robosapienv2 4mem8) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:42:00 +0000

Robosapien V2

Here is a neat little Robot by JR Scientific, I did some small mods to make this J2R Robot a little better, Hope you like it.

Interview: Robo-Obsessions of Hacker 4mem8

noreply@blogger.com (Robosapienv2 4mem8) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:17:00 +0000

Robosapien V2

Here is a link [above] to my interview with Eric Brandt of Robocommunity.

Robosapien V2 : Your feedback please

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 19:15:00 +0000

Those of you that are currently Robosapien V2 owners, please leave your responses using the blog's comment system. I would like to know from you how frequently you still play with your Robosapien V2? What is your favorite feature? What would you like to see improved? Finally, are you planning on getting a Robosapien RS Media?

Thanks.

Robosapien V2

Robosapien RS Media Bender Personality

noreply@blogger.com (knitsu-evosapien) — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:14:00 +0000

Robosapien V2.5 Media -

Hello fellow WowWee robotics hobbyists, I come to you, to let you know about the latest 'modification' I have done. I have modified RS Media personality, to be, Bender, from Futurama, if you dont remember him, maybe this picture will remind you.

I have been working on this bender mod, for a few weeks, downloading/importing audio from season episodes of Futurama from and so far I have come up with 24 different sounds, and 7 bodycon's as well as 2 macro's of what bender does best ;-) drink beer, and well party!

Visit this site to check out the latest updates, and download's

Videos:
- Version 1.1 Bender Personality
- Version 1.0 Bender Personality

Robosapien V2 - $89 for today

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 14:51:00 +0000

Sunday, December 10, 2006. Sharper Image is selling the Robosapien V2 for an absolutely absurdly low price in this one day sale. They are selling the Robosapien V2 for $89 USD while supplies last (USA residents only). These are apparently brand new units that you can get extended warranties on too, which is a good idea since it's such a complex product. I paid over $250 USD for mine which is the current list price, and the best I've seen on the street are the occasional but hard to find sales for $159 USD with the average price being $200 USD. The sale is just for today but that is one hell of a price.

"Signature Series" Robosapien V2

Keywords: Robosapien V2

Mindstorms NXT Coupon

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 18:38:00 +0000

Many of you have written me and asked what is a great gift for the holidays? I'm biased of course, being the happy owner of a Robosapien V2, I would recommend that as a gift especially since Amazon has them for only $159 (USD). But there is another robotics gift that I would like to highlight because it is terrific. The Lego Mindstorms NXT robotics kit is the successor to the best selling Mindstorms 1.0 and 2.0 kits. It's got a brand new processor, a host of new fun sensors and parts, and one of the best learning environments that anyone could ever want. If you want to get a pre-assembled ready to play robot that only needs batteries, then get the Robosapien V2. On the other hand, if you feel you have an aspiring robot builder on your hands that wants to build lots of different kinds of robots without having to grab a power saw and a lathe, then get the Lego Mindstorms NXT robotics kit.

HOT NEWS: The Discovery Channel's online store has created a mindstorms nxt coupon to save a nice fat $20 off your Lego Mindstorms NXT purchase. When you go to the the Discovery Store and order a kit, make sure you use the coupon code 99Robo to get your $20 discount. Visit the Discovery Store now. This is one of their top selling items and you don't want to get caught empty handed if it becomes hard to get like the Tickle Me Elmo TMX doll is now.

Keywords: mindstorms nxt coupon, lego mindstorms nxt coupon, robosapien v2

Warranty Friendly V2 LED Hack

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 18:54:00 +0000

The reports of the improvements to the Robosapien V2's vision system accuracy after adding a head mounted LED continue to roll in.

For those of you that don't do major surgery on your Robosapien V2, EvoSapien expert Robotech has created a robot friendly Robosapien V2 LED hack that does not require any invasive drilling or cutting. However, you do need to do some minor soldering and open the head; therefore technically you are voiding your warranty. But compared to hardcore alteration of the robot's body this is relatively mild. Of course, you can still do serious damage if you short or solder the wrong wires or melt something in your robot.

Use at your own risk and be aware that WowWee won't like it!

V2 WHERE ARE YOU..?

noreply@blogger.com (sprocket2cog) — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 23:05:00 +0000

Robosapien V2

Well its been a while since I wrote anything about the V2 so I thought what better way to start then to talk about possible interfacing with other robots and devices.
roschler sparked some idea`s after a late night email trail, and the resault is a more complete picture of how I plan to work with the v2 and other robots.

As you can see the idea in the diagram is to link the v2 to the main server which most likely will run a password protected vnc service. The client`s then could be situated lacally on a LAN or WLAN and net acsess would also be possiable but how functional it will be remains to be seen.
The V2 has many ways that the host computer could control it including directly stimultating the controller with another robot or program-hardware interface like the RCX or NXT (soon..) the VIPER from microbric , and a serial or parallal port interface board.
The V2 could be fitted with LED`s or a slave sensor unit (rcx) to and send back to the host, any feedback needed to control the bot.
A remote user for example with a webcam enabled to see the bot, could see visual cues like diffrent lights to show diffrent things like, "i am talking." further projects would injvolve removing the pomputer interface and having anothe robot controlling the v2`s actions by triggering the remote, or even sending the signals straight from it1s own IR transmitter, (viper has hardware modulation for IR) so the v2 could chase it around the room and react if it touch`s it or such.
On a slighly diffrent note,If your bored and need afriend, the sapienCHAT v2 has surfaced on pandorabots.com go to sapienCHAT (flash or html) thanks roschler for hosting the flash files on
your server.

Bowling Tips

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 23:17:00 +0000

The Robosapien V2's bowling ability is well, not the greatest. It doesn't matter because it is great fun to watch, but some competitive types would like to improve his aim. In a recent thread on the Robosapien V2 forum that gave tips on Robosapien V2's bowling, the current wisdom amounted to this:

Make sure you make him do the flinch response by completely blocking his face with your hand. He should scream and jerk his head backwards if you're successful.
Quickly (very quicky!) put the green ball about an inch from his face, with no shadows covering it.
He should say something about bowling if you succeed.

If you still have problems, try adjusting his color balance settings and putting him in a room with plenty of light. One user had success by placing the ball in his fingertips, when he asks for it, instead of completely inside his hand.

Robosapien RS Media - Robosapien V 2.5?

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 01:28:00 +0000

[11-29-2007] - Update. The Robosapien RS Media has been marked down from its original $400 cost to an amazing $150 at Buy.com, including free shipping. Click here to see the details on this deal.

The new Robosapien RS Media, debuted at the recent 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), is being hailed as the Robosapien V 2.5. It looks like a Robosapien V2 and acts like one; but with the addition of some very cool new features. It can playback audio and music downloaded into it by the user, via a built-in USB port, and display pictures and video too via a chest-mounted LCD display. Visit our web for more information on the Robosapien RS Media and to stay up to date on this successor to the V2 line. Note: this robot is not the Robosapien V3 which won't be out until 2007 at the earliest.

Robosapien Dance Machine - Teaser Video

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 02:25:00 +0000

Work on the next version of Robosapien Dance Machine, version 3, is going extremely well. The current publicly available version only works with the original Robosapien. Version 3 will work with the Roboraptor, Robopet, and Robosapien V2 robots.

Robosapien Dance Machine is my free open source program that lets you use a Windows PC to control you WowWee robot. The user friendly graphical drag and drop interface makes it easy to create fun powerful scripts that make your robot dance and act in funny perfomances that you design. Robosapien Dance Machine's two other most notable features are the ability to command your robot using just your voice, instead of using the complex remote control, and to instantly share scripts with other users via a script bank; either scripts you created or scripts created by others.

This 1 minute (3 MB) preview video shows my Robosapien V2, original Robosapien, and my chrome Robopet interacting and generally causing a ruckus. Enjoy!

If you have questions, visit the Evosapien forum and look for the Robosapien Dance Machine section.

P.S. - I don't have the Roboraptor in the video because his great big scaly green butt wouldn't fit in the shot (or on the table)! (Sorry Fluffy!)

P-Bot or P.E.A.B.O.T?

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 00:01:00 +0000

The P-Bot or P.E.A.B.O.T. is a radical new robot from WowWee Toys which was recently shown off at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV. This robot is also the first experiment in Segway licensing it's famous motion balancing technology to another company; the same technology that is used in the Segway Human Transporter. With an LCD display for a face, that shows the robot's emotion based on it's situation, the robot's main purpose is to act as a humorous chatty companion. It's full name is the Personality Evolved Android Robot. For the latest news updates and feature list, please visit our P-Bot, or as it's also known as P.E.A.B.O.T., web page.

Robosapien RS Media

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 23:51:00 +0000

The Robosapien RS Media is WowWee's latest entry in the Robosapien line of robots. It's being referred to by some as the Robosapien V 2.5. It is not the Robosapien V3. Instead it's a turbocharged version of the Robosapien V2 with a host of features that will please existing and new Robosapien owners alike. With features like the ability to play videos or show images from it's chest mounted LCD, or store and playback your voice, it's no wonder WowWee named it the Robosapien RS Media. Visit our page for the Robosapien RS Media to get the latest list of features and information on this wonderful new robot that was recently unveiled at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV.

RS Media

noreply@blogger.com (knitsu-evosapien) — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 03:58:00 +0000

Robosapien RS MEDIA!!!!????!!!

Yes, Wow Wee once again, put their name in the CES Show, this time showing off their latest inventions, which involves using the latest SegWay technology which was talked about last year back in November, when RoboNeXus was happening, Click Here to read and see more.. not to mention the 2 other robots comming out for Christmas time 2006 in the UK

Also, anyone needing V2 repair's can email me, knitsu@gmail.com with your V2 robot problems or any Wow Wee robot problem, and I will see if i can help you repair your robot, for free, over the net, or if you need peices, you can order them from me, or I can do the complete repair, for a small price...

-Knitsu

Robosapien V2 Eye Drops

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 23:31:00 +0000

Sometimes it's the simple things that count. With all the power and advanced hardware hacks out there that improve the Robosapien V2's vision system, a forum poster at Robosapien.tk found an easy fix to his robot's eyesight woes. He cleaned the lens!

Robosapien V2 Sound Sensor

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 01:50:00 +0000

A favorite feature of the Robosapien V2 is his sound sensor. Put him in Guard mode and any loud noise will activate him. You can even enter a specific series of movements for him to execute when a loud sound triggers him when he is in Guard mode.

Some people have mistakenly thought their Robosapien V2 was deaf because they didn't know the nuances of his sound sensor. Robosapien V2's sound sensor doe not operate when he is moving or when his vision system is actively tracking or identifying an object. He has to be standing still, otherwise the sound of his own gears would confuse his sound sensor. If you ever think your Robosapien V2 has a hearing problem, try this test:

Turn off his vision system by using the b mode.
Make sure he isn't moving and put him in Guard mode
Make a loud noise by clapping your hands.

I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised to see him react to the loud sound. If this test doesn't work, try hitting the a button on the remote to toggle his sound sensor back on, in case you accidentally turned it off. Then try the test again.

Don't forget to turn his vision system back on with the b button or your likely to think he's gone blind!

GET YOUR OWN ROBOT HUMAN

noreply@blogger.com (sprocket2cog) — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 15:32:00 +0000

Robosapien V2
WELL NOW I HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO PLAY WITH THE LITTLE GUY FOR A FEW DAYS AND AS OTHERS HAVE ALREADY MENTIONED, HES A CONTINUING SURPRISE...
WOWWEE has released it`s first online support pdf with most of the topics being discussed on the forums over walking and the camera amougst other things being addressed.
The V2 is a fairly well designed robot all things considered, including but not covering all things like money strength, power ,weight, size, looks.
While he is turning to one side slightly im not worried about it as most of what i do is standing still at the moment. He has a few idiosyncracies not to say the least and you really shouldnt leave him on a table turned on just in case..
I hooked up one of my multimeters to his leg to do a current draw test and as he talked while throwing a ball he drew around 1.6 amps. not bad and far outside most wall plug packs at 500 milliamps to 1 amp.
You need a high output pack to run him as an instalation or it will overheat and switch off.
Far better to recharge him between uses and add some weight to his feet to keep him from tipping.
His program modes are a treat with the ability to pose and move him into postions and store them in his puppet modes, which total three, left and right sensors and one more main one on the controller itsself. (x) c lets you store it.
Its all in the book..
Ive opened the back of the head and noted that some of the cables are soldered directly to the boards and that the plugs are gluded in to reduce the number of factory returns from head trauma`s.
All up hes a big surprise and worth more indepth write up`s.
Ill add more to the site and let you know later on.
Happy hacking.and go get your own robot, this ones mine!

http://www.robosapienv2online.com/pdf/TROUBLESHOOTING%20Manual.pdf
Heres the link to the new manual, thanks knitsu for pointing it out.

Robosapien V2 Hackers Guide

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 10:57:00 +0000

Nocturnal from the Robosapien.tk forum has created an excellent Robosapien V2 hackers guide on his web site. This guide has detailed specfications, images, and diagrams of the most important circuits and parts in the Robosapien V2. If you intend to modify your Robosapien V2, or are researching any of the printed circuit boards and need to know more about the V2's wiring, you should definitely consult his Robosapien V2 Hackers Guide. [Editor's note as of 12-31-2005: Nocturnal has now joined the ranks of the growing Evosapien Expert's Team.]

V2 The First 5 Hours

noreply@blogger.com (sprocket2cog) — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 16:07:00 +0000

Robosapien v2 Review - by Sprocket2Cog

I've just spent the first afternoon with my new little (big?) buddy, the Robosapien V2. He's a lot heavier then I expected him to be, and I could see why he may suffer some motor failures or gear self desructions, but I'm guessing Mark Tilden has addressed this and other issues as well, and I really want to see the gear boxes. Even my 12 yr old son laughed loudly and mumbled something about hacking and wanting to see inside it.

But Mrs. Sprocket2cog says if we do that she`ll skin us alive and add some new functions! So we wait and talk about painting it some more.

Mine has suffered some heavy falls and still seems to be going ok, with the only real damage evident from the packing cables, not the falls. (These cables are many in number and you're mad if you try to get your v2 out of the box without some sort of knife, wire cutters or a small thermonuclear detonator, but be careful with the latter or your v2 may attempt to pinch it off you in an attempt to take over the world. Or perhaps control the Roboraptor (pass that restraining bolt!).

The biggest issue I`ve found is not the battery life, which albeit is a little short, understandably so. But rather the calibration of the camera and the audio levels needed to reach the sound sensors threshold . (In other words its slightly deaf and color blind)

The camera doesn't seem to operate well in ordinary incandesent lighting, with it failing to see skin tones at all, the red wasnt much better, the green worked sometimes and the blue we didnt try today, we didn't have a nice color blue he liked. We will do some outside testing in sunlight, and in neon lighing soon to see if that helps, but we want fresh batteries again to keep the test somewhat level.

But over all is he worth the money?
two answers here... yes and yes..

Show me another robot that exhibits the same or similar ranges of movement, sensors, speech synthesis or programmability without assistance from a PC for under $400 AUD. If you can, then I'll write a review about it and retract my statements about the Robosapen V2's status. But until, or until verison number 3 arrives, the circle of toy robots better look out because the V2 is set to take over the world, and he's got a whole heap of friends to help him......

If this family of robots, and its formidable cousin the Roboraptor or the Robopet come out in other guises then we can only imagine where we will be in 5-10 years time. We can only hope that the next ones are bigger and faster and can recharge themselves so there's less downtime.

It's obvious from my afternoons adventures that robots aren't dreaming anymore, they're giving us nightmares...

Robosapien V2 Guard Mode - Clearing Programs

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 21:58:00 +0000

A recent question on my Robosapien V2 forum came from a user who no longer had the default Steve Irwin "Danger, Danger" animation when an alert happened during Guard mode. Whenever an alert occurred his Robosapien V2 danced instead.

Many users don't know that any programs they create for for the Sound or Vision triggered modes, are used during Guard mode. If a sound triggers the Robosapien V2 during guard mode then the sequence of moves programmed into the V2 for the Sound program will play. If motion triggers the Robosapien V2 during guard mode then the sequence of moves programmed into the V2 for the Vision program will play. The "Danger, Danger" animation only plays if no programs exist either in the Sound or Vision program memory locations. To get back the "Danger, Danger" animation you must clear both the Sound and Vision programs.

For more information read the forum thread that covers clearing Robosapien V2's Sound and Vision programs.

Robosapien V2 XMas

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Sun, 25 Dec 2005 00:40:00 +0000

Just wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and hope all of you get a brand new Robosapien V2 under the tree this year!

First 10 Secrets for Robosapien V2 Revealed

noreply@blogger.com (knitsu-evosapien) — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 13:46:00 +0000

Robosapien V2 Secrets Revealed

Season's greeting's

I feel like Santa Clause right now, as I am doing something really big for all V2 owner's. Mark Tilden has asked me to post the first 10 "secrets" of Robosapien V2. These are official secret's from WowWee and the creator himself.

I figure, they want all those children/adults to have hours of more fun with V2 this Holiday Season, while they have the off time. Thanks alot you guy's!!! I'm more then sure on Christmas Day, peopole all over the world will be using these new secret's on V2

Want to know one of the secrets before going to the link, which has the other 9 secrets.... Want to know a good spot where to put the V2 controller when not using him??? Then just look at the picture I have attached in this post.

Click Here, to read the remaining 9 Official Robosapien V2 Secret's by WowWee and Mark W Tilden

-Knitsu

Robosapien V2 Vision Hacks - A Minor Note

noreply@blogger.com (roschler) — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 02:20:00 +0000

More reports have been coming in about the white LED vision hack. This is the hack where you attach an inexpensive white LED lamp to the head of the Robosapien V2, drawing off the power supply from the printed circuit board in his head (warranty killer). Apparently it's almost a perfect cure for the Robosapien V2's insatiable appetite for tons of light; in order for his vision recognition systems to work properly. I'm really surprised WowWee and Mark Tilden missed this one. They obviously care a great deal about their products and I don't think this is a case of trying to shave a few cents off the price of the Robosapien V2. A mystery.

Some people have tried using non-invasive safe hacks, like attaching a keychain LED to his head. I tried this and received improved results but not enough to warrant a full write-up. However, I and others have experienced one problem I will tell you about in case you try either the keychain LED or warranty killer head surgery hack. Be careful that you get an LED that is truly white. Many have a bluish tinge which causes the Robosapien V2 to recognize objects as blue when they are not, rendering your hack useless.

Until next time...

Robosapien V2 - Gadget Show Video (LEAKED)

noreply@blogger.com (knitsu-evosapien) — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 03:39:00 +0000

Robosapien V2 - Gadget Show Video

an Exclusive Interview Video of Dr. Mark W Tilden has appeared on bit-torrent websites, which has being re-edited by myself, and postedo n various forums for "fans" to watch. This video features the new Robosapien V2, aswell as RoboPet and RoboRaptor. Mark also get's into details about the upcomming V3, and V4 which would be out sometime around 2010, and big enough, that the robot itself might be able to take out Toyko!!!!

"World Domination Plan in Effect"

Download Video 10Mb WMV

-knitsu
-knitsu@gmail.com