Ok, releasing drawings and ‘specs’ today was fun, but, frankly, I’m looking forward to when we can get the ‘real’ information, like what processor is in the control module (I’ve seen references to ESP32, but there are so many variations of those AND who knows what the pinouts are?), etc.
I have an idea on ‘who knows’, but they are constrained, for some reason, so that the ‘real info’ can’t be released until the completion of the kickstarter.
Who is going to put together the first tutorial on ‘how I made [something] using Cyberbricks and [some well kept detail]’?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not whining about the information being meager, I understand that, it’s still in development. I just would like a clue as to when I can actually DO something with Cyberbricks. Until then, I’ll reserve my enthusiasm.
Well thanks for the suggestion but, um, I thought that was what I was doing…
Ah, ok, got it. I didn’t want to mess up a thread that I thought should be pinned as an announcement, so I thought my own would be acceptable. No worries.
I think you’re over thinking it some. There will be advanced functionality and neat things people manage to do with the hardware, but at the moment you need to let baby walk before you start demanding they fill out college applications.
The kit’s use the same motors/servos you can already purchase from the Maker’s Supply store, so there’s some real world hardware people can start designing around.
I’d recommend checking the following video out too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYKi8DYnPao&t=140s We may not know yet how crazy we can get with it. The python stuff, and I don’t know, I’m scared of snakes, so what do I know. However! This video gives an idea of the setup, and the ease/basicness of it. I think there’s enough going on there that’ll help give an idea of the basics of how it’s setup and what you can do.
Beyond that, we kind of have to wait and see. Let that roast finish baking.
Maybe, I’m a retired engineer, so that’s what I do!
I did see that video before and actually based my ‘rewards’ on what I had seen in that. Seeing it a second time (with lots of rewinds) I’ve gotten a bit more than that.
I guess my viewpoint is that you ‘creators’ had to have been given more information than has been made available to us minions in order to create your creations. There have also been a number of ‘hints’ (like ‘uses Micropython’, ‘kids can program it’, etc) that are enticing.
Recognizing the baby step process, all I’m looking for is some guidance on WHEN we might be able to walk.
I think having the hardware in hand was more important in that aspect. We didn’t necessarily have more information than what is already out there; after all we were working with them during a snapshot of the development process, so what we had to work with wasn’t finalized. Both you and I are in the same boat, as far as waiting to see what the final product delivers in it’s entirety.
I’m excited to see how people push the hardware. Bambu has done great with designing easy to use modular components, but there’s no reason one can’t use custom switches, motors, or other components that go beyond the garden. I was even thinking about how one could possibly use the hardware to control much more powerful things. It wouldn’t be crazy to feed the signals into another circuit that could power a much more powerful motor, for example, or to power relay switches.
That’s exactly where I am! I imagine some electronic components beyond those currently being offered and could contribute to the family of shields, but there is virtually no info on the interface, SW or HDW.
EDIT:
Ironically, I found the most informative post thus far in the one thread I hadn’t read in this category:
I agree with what @Josh-3D said about you and I being on the same boat.
When MW/Cyberbrick team reached out to us, I think CB was in alpha and we’re only provided the forklift as a sample from where we can base our designs with, no truck, no soccer bot, no time lapse board, etc. We were not provided any detailed information aside from the same one that is now available for download in Google drive. I was not even able to test MicroPython at the time since we were only provided with the configurator app and personally I didn’t bother asking about MicroPython support on the get go since I know the core mission of CB is make everything easy for its consumers, i.e., no soldering, no complicated programming, etc.
Now as far as specs to understand what CB can support or not, I suggest do it the other way around – go ahead and suggest the components to MW/CB you think would benefit us consumers and let the MW/CB evaluate the use case and they will source it, adapt it for CB, and test it. I have already suggested a couple more components to the CB team without fully understanding the limitations and specs of the modules and the CB team has already started out testing one of the components I suggested.
You want an audio module on your models? You want SD card module? You like tiny servos? You like sensors added? Go ahead and suggest them. Let the CB team take care of the limitations and implementing it.
The brain remains an ESP32 core. It’s the shield that bridges it the Cyberbrick ecosystem. Technically, you can just get the cores and use them for your projects adding your own non-CB components.
But here’s a thought… More and more details emerge on the H2D having support for laser modules. Does that mean we will be able to etch our own circuits for shields to use with the CB cores and components
@chiz_m your description of your experience is quite useful in formulating a viewpoint IFF I was a ‘normal’ consumer.
Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, I am a retired engineer and can’t leave well enough alone!
Having said that, you’ve convinced me that the Cyberbricks will be useful, but not a Hacker’s (at least EE & SW) playground for some time to come. So I’ll build their toys and play with them and, I’m sure, enjoy them with my children.
Sorry, I gave the wrong link there (since corrected):
I don’t really think so… there are naturally multiple tiers of usage… this is just a higher level than “unthinking paint by numbers/press print on makerworld” or “easy to use kit that makes your 3d print animate or move”. Making the information available caters for all audiences.
Exactly… including the castellated pins in the base design opens up a whole world of expansion options outside of the modules/“shields” that they might supply, as well as allowing for experimentation with other modules before perhaps turning them into 3rd party expansion boards. Just need to know a little more detail before heading down that rabbit hole.
I’m not surprised, it’s a nice small footprint, low power, and has the essential serial control interfaces. Single core, but that’s probably ok for this application. Not good for critical timing application where WiFi is needed.
I just picked up a couple of the XIAO ESP32-C6 modules. They just came in late yesterday. Probably won’t get to power them up for a couple of days though.
I lied. Got it running today, NP, thanks to the great step by step from Seeeds Studio folk. Good support. So, up and running a token MQTT client. Tried some I2C and OneWire tasks and that wasn’t so great… Seem new libraries are needed for something as complex as that…
I’m not sure I’m ready to try making a MicroPython platform on the C6…
FWIW, Update on esp32C6 I2C & OneWire interfaces. I’ve gotten them working (with limited testing). No problems on I2C, I just didn’t have it declared properly. OneWire standard library doesn’t work due to some pin naming issue. However, I did find a post where an alternate library was recommended. I tried this and it does work without errors.
referenced Post:
I’m using PlatformIO and added OneWireNG library and ignored the standard one:
Nice! Thanks for the update on that. I’ve got some of the Seeed Xiao boards (most of the variants), but haven’t put them too much work yet, so good to know some of the workarounds needed.
The Core Controller of CyberBrick is powered by the ESP32-C3 microcontroller, paired with a customized MicroPython library of unique functions in addition to the standard MicroPython libraries. Any functionality supported by the ESP32-C3’s performance and interfaces can theoretically be implemented.
For the initial models, we prepared the Core and Shields for remote-controlled toy models. Key features like multi-channel proportional control, channel binding, mixing, and simple event control can be easily configured through the app’s graphical interface. Users can also directly use pre-configured files from creators without needing to modify settings.
For advanced users, more complex functionalities can be achieved using MicroPython, and we will provide full documentation after the Kickstarter campaign.
