Best news… the Split Axle clamps are GONE, replaced by a new piece that’s called an Axle Hub. It looks like the Motor Hub (shaft adapter), but with a smaller hole to fit an axle (has a larger setscrew).
Also in this kit is a new plastic piece that protects the tabs on the motor from breakage.
The Omni wheel is neat, but yet to see how well it will work on the spongy mat. Only 2 come in the kit, so if you want twin wheels for smoother running, get out the Credit Card
Other than this, there seem to be larger quantities of some of the key parts… eg: gears, angle brackets, screws etc.
And the new sensor is… oops running out of ink… can’t spoil the surprize…
hahaha. Would you mind posting pictures of some of these new parts? Recently our FTC team decided to indefinitely end operations in order to compete in VRC, but my interest has not abated.
The new parts are in the brand new kit only. The Challenge Kit is the software and the sensor for this year’s game. New parts include tube plugs, axle hubs, improved battery leads, and omni wheels.
Got the full kit. Plus I just ordered some extra Omni wheels right off the bat.
After all the demos, presentations, and traning sessions, our hardware is looking a bit worse for wear. Purchasing a full kit is the cheapest way to get a BUNCH of spares. Plus you can never have enough NXT’s
I agree about the charger… I hadn’t noticed that it didn’t have a rechargable battery pack included.
The Infrared sensor is actaully an IR direction finder. (IR Seeker II)
It has 5 detectors that provide 9 detection beams (when you include the small overlap zones).
As has been stated elsewhere… PITSCO sells a small IR emitting ball that they use for Robo-Soccer. It’s a good way to experiemnt with the sensor if you can’t wait to find out what it’s real purpose is.
There was also talk about new Gears and Chains on one of the flyers that came in the box… didn’t see them last time I was on LEGO store.
In fact there has been a general re-do of the whole NXT and FTC interface.
The NXT side of things has been setup to make the transition from debug to deployment very easy… eg: test code when tethered (with high speed onscreen diagnostics), then download for final operation. The NXT Terminal is NOT required for downloading any more.
The HiTechnic interfaces are now part of the NXT module (menu) and have this same debugging capability. They have also been re-written for single or multiple motor/servo control.
The Encoder based controls have also been openned up to provide the ability to do blocking or non-blocking calls ie: wait for move to complete, or return immediately but return later to check if the move is complete.
I haven’t had enough time to do extensive encoder testing to see if the occasional glitch problem is gone, but time will tell.
Also, the templates now include a vi to monitor/display the battery voltages and provide audio cues as to enable/disable state changes as well as loss of telemetry.
Looking forward to some fun code.
Check out the various documents I’ve posted on www.ni.com/first to get a taste.
