[Beowulf] Robots

[Ellis H. Wilson III]

On 01/12/2012 10:56 AM, Vincent Diepeveen wrote:
> On Jan 12, 2012, at 2:58 PM, Ellis H. Wilson III wrote:
>> I think this is likely the reason why many
>> introductory engineering classes incorporate use of Lego Mindstorm
>> robots rather than lunar rovers (or even overstock lunar rovers :D).
>
> I didn't comment on other complete wrong examples, but i want to highlight
> one. Your example of a lego robot actually is disproving your statement.

It was a price comparison, and without diving into the nitty-gritty of 
how good or bad both the Arduino and the Mindstorms are in their 
respective areas, it was spot on.  Jim wants to give each student a 10 
node cluster on the cheap (i.e. 20 to 30 bucks per node = 300 bucks), 
universities want to give each student (or teams of students sometimes) 
a robot (~280).  Both provide an approachable level of difficulty and 
potential for education at a reasonable price.

Feel free to continue to disagree for the sake of such.  It was just an 
example.

Best,

ellis