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Gear, Goodies, and Devices
Stuff For Running Robosapien Dance Machine

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This page will tell you what you need to run Robosapien Dance Machine (Robodance) and where to get it.

Remember, even if you don’t have the minimum equipment to run Robodance, you can still download the software and play with it. It will run, but it won’t talk to your robot unless you have a supported transmitter.  Important, if you already have the required gear then you don’t have to buy anything!  Robodance itself is completely free!

IMPORTANT!: Do not buy any gear until you have subscribed to the mailing list and received the welcoming E-mail and read it, or you will most likely waste your money on your purchase!

Quick Links: Basic Setup Voice Control Setup Nintendo Wii Remote Setup ------------------ Robots ------------------ Amazon Store

What you need to run Robodance is dependent on what you want to do with it.

If you just want to run the software to write and share scripts, and control your robot, then look at the Basic Setup.

If you want to control your robot with your voice then look at the Voice Control setup.

Basic Setup

NOTE: The standard built-in transmitter on a laptop will not work with Robodance.  Those devices use the IRDA standard and are not capable of generating the infrared signal that consumer robots like the WowWee robots and Tomy/Takara i-SOBOT use. You will need to get one of the supported transmitters below.  Please don’t ask me to support the IRDA devices because it is simply not possible to do so.

The minimum requirements to run Robodance include:

• Windows PC running Windows 2000 or better.
  - Some people have it running on Windows 98 but it’s not recommended.
• A supported infrared transmitter

This setup allows you write and share scripts and to control your robot using Robodance. You can find the currently supported devices using the links below:

• USB UIRT - best choice.  Allows you to control multiple robots at once.  Here’s an alternate link for the USB UIRT if the main link is out of stock or you can check eBay for prices.
  
  Note: you can run multiple robots with a single device.
   
• Lego Mindstorms Serial Tower (RS-232) - The only source I know for these is eBay.  If anyone knows of any other please contact me using the “Contact Us” link at the bottom of the page. Typically you can get one for as little as $15 USD. 
  
  Note: you can only run one robot at a time with the this device.
  
  If you have the original Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System (RIS 1.0), you may already have one.  The newer USB model with the 2.0 kits will not work.  You need the older serial (RS-232) tower.

Voice Control Setup

For this setup you need everything in the Basic Setup plus a good headset microphone.  Built-in laptop microphones and other microphones that don’t sit real close to your mouth are not recommended.  A bad or noisy microphone will cause the Voice Control System to misunderstand you and possibly fail.  This setup adds the ability to control your WowWee robots with your voice to everything the Basic Setup can do. You should be able to easily find something in the $20 USD range that is of good quality.  Noise cancelling microphones are best.

Note: If you already have a good headset microphone then you don’t need anything else!

There a ton of choices but here’s some links to get you started:

• Headset Microphone (Amazon)
• Headset Microphone (eBay)

Nintendo Wii Remote Setup

This setup will let you do everything the Basic Setup does with the additional ability to control your robots using the Nintendo Wii Remote.  Add a headset microphone like in the Voice Control Setup and you are the baddest robot controlling human on the planet!  To use the Nintendo Wii Remote with Robodance you will need a Nintendo Wii Remote and a Bluetooth adapter (if your PC does not already have one). If you have an i-SOBOT robot, then you will also want to get the Nintendo Nunchaku attachment. You can find links to each of these components below.

Note: You do not need a Nintendo Wii to control Robodance with the Wii Remote, just the remote and a wireless Bluetooth adapter for your PC.

Here are some links to get the full Nintendo Wii system if you also want to have one of the best gaming consoles on earth:

• Nintendo Wii (Amazon)
• Nintendo Wii (eBay)
   - Be careful here, make sure you deal with a reputable seller!

Here are links for just the remote control:

• Nintendo Wii Remote (Amazon)
• Nintendo Wii Remote (eBay)

Here is one possible Bluetooth adapter, it’s close to the one I use:

Amazon Store

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