RIMM's LEGO Machines Test Blackberry 69
LEGO - my - Crackberry writes "Matthias Wandel is an engineer at Research in Motion (RIMM), the company that makes the Blackberry. What did RIMM turn to for testing the antenna reception of one of its 900MHz devices? LEGO machines. Specifically a device made of LEGO that could rotate a Blackberry about its horizontal & vertical axis in a pre-defined pattern."
The guy's a very busy genius (Score:3, Informative)
Re:The guy's a very busy genius (Score:5, Interesting)
IMHO, the coolest thing he ever built was converting a scanner into a digital camera [sentex.net]. People, if you have a few free minutes, check his site out. Lots of cool stuff there!
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My favorite works of his are the marble kinetic sculptures.
Surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)
Want to test different angles precisely? Use some sort of robot.
Only going to build it once, and want it to be easy to build? Use Legos.
Need only rudimentary instructions (e.g. "rotate for 0.2 seconds") to rotate something on said robot? Use Mindstorms.
Nothing beats the satisfaction of soldering one's own circuit board and programming in C, but for something quick, easy to use, and powerful, Legos are the best solution.
Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Surprised? (Score:4, Interesting)
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Although strictly speaking, I think the trademark is LEGO i.e. all capitals.
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(I'm not affiliated, just ran into that project while browsing)
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Case in point - years ago I worked in a lab making diodes on 4" GaAs wafers. Unlike silicon, GaAs is very fragile, and the wafers kept breaking. The problem was that you had to immerse them in beakers, and when you let go of the wafer in the liquid, it would
Re:Surprised? (Score:4, Funny)
I disagree. I believe that what you have just stated is *the* fundamental attribute of an engineer. It's what seperates us from the retards in accounting - they ask for a shovel, we ask for a hole.
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New patent storm coming! (Score:4, Funny)
RIM (Score:5, Interesting)
That really *is* Research In Motion!
Cool idea, but I wonder how long the device would hold out. LEGO isn't exactly designed for industrial apps. On the other hand, it is designed for small children, who provide perhaps the toughest test environment imaginable!
Re:RIM (Score:4, Interesting)
MEK does it better. (Score:2)
Methyl Ethyl Ketone is what we've used to make LEGO devices (including a waldo for our FIRST robotics controller) permanent.
It's nasty stuff we don't let the kids use tho. (for instance ABS Weld-On is 60% MEK)
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RIM (Score:4, Informative)
I am astounded!
anon
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Typical slashdot
Re:RIM (Score:5, Informative)
Re:RIMM (Score:1)
Re:RIM (Score:5, Funny)
Lego is for kids. (Score:3, Interesting)
Lego ROCKS! (Score:3, Interesting)
Not to diss what RIM has done (old lego set) but I am surprised that we don't read more about Mindstorms at work.
other lego research (Score:4, Interesting)
It's cheap, and it can house the motors/circuit boards and stick together under a bit of stress, its perfect.
Meccano is good, but it can take longer to assemble. That's more of use for robots that need to withstand a lot more stress, such as arms.
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Thats my afternoon gone ... (Score:2, Funny)
Time to start troll-modding use of "Legos"? (Score:3, Insightful)
Is it time to start modding people who still use "legos" when they know what the result will be as trolls?
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Re:Time to start troll-modding use of "Legos"? (Score:4, Informative)
The real trolls are the ones who bother to get upset when they are called 'legos'. First, it doesn't matter. Second, it's still mainly a kid's toy, and kids call them legos. Third... We all grew up calling them legos before we learned to be grammar nazis. And finally... It's pointless to try to get people to stop when they KNOW it simply doesn't matter even a tiny bit.
And how are you helping the situation by adding in 'mod down the legos sayers' before the flamewar has even started. Isn't that just more pointless noise?
Here's an old tip for you, and everyone else: DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.
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(And seriously: I know that such a moderation does not exist, but maybe it should. The opposite of "+1, Informative", maybe?)
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surely by now everyone here ought to know that if you say "legos" not "lego" when talking about more than 1 lego brick, yet another barely-on-topic flame war about the pluralisation of Lego is inevitable
The pluralisation of LEGO is imposible, because not only is "pluralisation" most likely not a word, but also because LEGO is a brand. You can't have more than one LEGO. On the other hand you can have more than one LEGO brand building block, LEGO brand building brick, or even just LEGO brick.
On the other hand being anal about the term people use to refer to the blocks in a children's toy is a little asinine.
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Fair enough, though it doesn't work for Lego any more than it does for Coke, Kleenex, or Band-Aid. The biggest problem I have with Lego zealots, though, is when they insist that something is "made out of Lego." No, it'
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RIM not RIMM (Score:1, Redundant)
I'm disappointed (Score:5, Funny)
Engineers today, what do they know? Make it too simple and too cheap and the boss will think anybody can do it.
Re:I'm disappointed (Score:4, Funny)
Biff loved his Pro-E. We needed an enclosure for a manufacturing test fixture. He contracted a CNC machine shop to build a custom box about 8" x 10" x 10"
(background: At a staff meeting, Biff stood up to extole his credibility and the virtues of Pro-E. And I quote, "I may be big, I may be ignorant, I may be fat
Obligatory Mythbusters comment (Score:2, Interesting)
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Robot Developer Wanted (Score:2)
I'm not kidding.
Correction (Score:1)
RIMM is the company's NASDAQ stock symbol.
Lego's are awesome (Score:2, Interesting)
mindstorms-based panorama camera (Score:2)
You go RIM! (Score:2, Funny)
Is there a commercial version of Lego? (Score:3, Interesting)
You'd want it to be stronger - with modular connections that lock together rather than relying on friction joints at any point in the structure.
You'd want more flexibility of orientation - e.g. parts that can be connected at any planar-rotated angle with respect to each other, and then locked at that angle.
You might prefer to give up the ability to completely re-use parts, in exchange for being able to easily cut parts of the precise length needed, from longer stock - no need to fit your design to the limited lengths available, also reducing the number of fewer component types you need to keep on hand, and eliminating the problem of needing "just one more part".
What else?
Probably Avoids Interference Too (Score:2, Informative)