The is a programmable consumer

robot kit A robot kit is a special construction kit for building robots, especially autonomous mobile robots. Toy robot kits are also supplied by several companies. They are mostly made of plastics elements like Lego Mindstorms, rero Reconfigurable Robo ...

first released for the

Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...

WonderSwan The (ワンダースワン) is a handheld game console released in Japan by Bandai. It was developed by Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto Laboratory and Bandai, and was the last piece of hardware Yokoi developed before his death in 1997. Released i ...

and Microsoft Windows PCs in 2000. It is intended to match both the external appearance and mode of transport of a

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

, with functioning antennae and a six-legged design.

History

The prototype for what would eventually become the WonderBorg was produced in cooperation between the

Japan Science and Technology Agency The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST; Japanese: 科学技術振興機構) is a Japanese government agency which aims to build infrastructure that supports knowledge creation and dissemination in Japan. It is one of the , overseen by the Mi ...

and toy manufacturer Bandai. Initially, the WonderBorg was available only as an accessory for the WonderSwan, with a version for Windows PCs released later. Outside Asia, the PC-compatible WonderBorg was licensed and marketed by

Tiger Electronics Tiger Electronics Ltd. (also known as Tiger and Tiger Toys) was an independent American toy manufacturer best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, the Talkboy, Giga Pets, the 2-XL robot, and audio games such as ''Brain Warp'' and th ...

from 2001. The WonderBorg was designed with education in mind, with a view to use in classrooms. To this end, an associated game, dubbed simply "JST Robot Game", was developed, in which students are required to clear an obstacle course by programming the

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may ...

to navigate a given maze correctly.

Hardware

The WonderBorg was available in two retail configurations, with compatible tools for WonderSwan and PC, respectively. The WonderSwan version included a special cartridge with the software necessary to program the WonderBorg and an embedded infra-red transmitter, while the PC version shipped with a software CD for Windows and an infra-red transmitter to connect to a PC via

serial port In computing, a serial port is a serial communication interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in parallel. ...

. The WonderBorg itself requires assembly, and can be customised somewhat, with possible configurations involving differently sized gears favouring

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

or speed, and wheels to replace the robot's usual six-legged design. Decal stickers were also included, to allow superficial decoration. Once assembled, the WonderBorg is powered by three

AAA batteries The AAA battery (or triple-A battery) is a standard size of dry cell battery. One or more AAA batteries are commonly used in low-drain portable electronic devices. A zinc–carbon battery in this size is designated by IEC as R03, by ANSI C18. ...

and reacts to its environment using seven sensors: *

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

receiver *antennae: independent left and right tactile sensors *eyes: independent left and right infrared LEDs *light sensor *floor sensor: detects the presence or absence of ground ahead *internal clock sensor *steps sensor Using its two independent motors (left and right), the WonderBorg is able to move forward, reverse, turn while moving forward or backward, and rotate in place. Its main processor is an Elan EM78P451AQ (RISC-like 8-bit microprocessor).

Software

Both the WonderSwan and PC versions are bundled with specialized WonderBorg programming software known as ''Robot Works''. Rather than requiring the user to learn a complex

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

, the WonderBorg program is written using a

graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inst ...

, in which instructions for the robot are laid out in a grid. On one side of the grid the WonderBorg's various sensors can be laid out, with those higher on the grid taking priority. The robot is then given instructions on how to react to each trigger. The WonderSwan version additionally included a "pet" program, in which the WonderBorg would behave similarly to Bandai's prior

Tamagotchi The is a handheld digital pet that was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was released by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan and in the USA on May 1, 1997, quickly becoming one of the biggest toy fads o ...

, a mode omitted from the PC version.

References

{{robot kits 2000s robots Hasbro products Robot kits

History

Hardware

Software

See also

References