B.I.O.-Bug Vivisection
Continuing on with the analysis...



Front Motor Detail

Front Motor limit switches

There are two styles of motor in a B.I.O. Bug: a off-center axial output (as shown here on the front legs), and a 90 degree angled output motor (as on the rear legs). The gearmotors use traditional "toy" technology motors, which usually means less-than-ideal Mabuchi motors. Fortunately, these motors (see reviews of two of them, here and here) seem up to the task, giving the B.I.O. Bug sufficient torque to scramble over its environment. A gearbox is split open for your perusal elsewhere.

An interesting thing to note is the inclusion of limit switches on the B.I.O. Bug motors. This makes sense, as it ensures that the device behaves very consistently throughout the life of the battery. It also is a first-level protection against over-rotation, which may damage the gearmotor. You can hear slip-clutch noises out of the motor when the legs get over torqued manually. Again, see the motor dissection page for details on the clutch's workings.

Rear motor 1

Rear motor 2

Here's the details of the rear motor installation. The motor package is tighter than the front off-center inline package. I'm wondering about what other types of motors may fit this package.

 

Rear motor limit switch open

Rear motor limit switch closed

Again, there's limit switches at the ends of the rear leg's swing. The following images show the open and closed positions.

The Remote

The Remote

The remote gives you the ability to govern the movements of your B.I.O. Bug. Of course, you can let it roam free to do it's own thing, but this device gives you much more control over the little beasty.

There's the obvious controls: left, right, fwd, backward, double-time quick. Then there's the not-so-obvious "training" button, which is the same as poking a tiger with a stick - it'll go into "battle mode". Then the "Stop" button has the 2nd purpose of also indicating what your Biobug's skill level is by blinking the eye LEDs. Another strange button is the "feed" button, looking reminiscent of a "Pacman" symbol. This has a dual purpose of "feeding" the button (very necessary just after the first bootup of the robot), and as a homing beacon. Once pressed, it continually broadcasts a signal for 3 minutes that the B.I.O. Bug can home in to. Range seems to limit out near 3 meters (10'), and the robots do an admirable job tracking the beacon.

Each remote is supposed to only communicate with their own species of bug, but the manual suggests that other species can be aware of it as well. This has been confirmed, as other Biobugs are attracted to the "homing beacon" mode of differing remotes. 

The complete set

So here's the 'bot and remote. Would I recommend it? SURE! It's a very capable platform, with great hacking potential. It's more fun when you have more than one to fight with, and new-battery performance makes for shag-carpet friendly ability!

 

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