[boeman]

Originally Posted by jonathangoodyear

I'd like to set the record straight with regards to The Finalizer.

1) The Finalizer robot itself was built by Zack Bieber of The Machine Lab (www.themachinelab.com). We was also the creator of the El Diablo and El Diablo Grande BattleBots that appeared on the Comedy Central TV show.

2) My company, ASPSOFT (www.aspsoft.com), ripped out the Futaba control architecture and replaced it with one that uses a combination of a PDA with the .NET Framework v2.0 Beta 2, a Smart Client Windows Forms application built with Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2, and an Xbox controller.

3) Microsoft's involvement with the project was purely financial in nature. We also received some funding from Dundas Software (www.dundas.com). When it became apparent that we were going to succeed in the venture, they approached us about using it at the Tech Ed keynote (which we happily agreed to)...That lead to the reasoning for #4 and #5 below.

4) I specifically instructed Zack to emphasize the "show" quality of the robot. That is why it has exposed tank treads instead of covered solid wheels, etched clear lexan body panels instead of steel or titanium, and an open body style that lights up instead of a closed body. A battle-hardened robot would not have provided the same effect up on stage. The Finalizer's offensive arsenal is official BattleBot quality, though.

5) Since The Finalizer demonstration at Tech Ed was not in an enclosed and protected arena, we felt it was both smart and prudent to build in fail-safes to shut it down if it lost contact with its controller. Obviously, we would give it other behavioral instructions if it were actually competing. Going berserk probably wouldn't have been the best option, considering there were several high level Microsoft executives on stage at the time. Or, maybe it would have (depending on where your technology loyalties lie, I suppose).

6) The Finalizer can also glow red, if you prefer.

You could make it glow red when it goes bezerk!

[boeman]

Originally Posted by jonathangoodyear

I'd like to set the record straight with regards to The Finalizer.

1) The Finalizer robot itself was built by Zack Bieber of The Machine Lab (www.themachinelab.com). We was also the creator of the El Diablo and El Diablo Grande BattleBots that appeared on the Comedy Central TV show.

2) My company, ASPSOFT (www.aspsoft.com), ripped out the Futaba control architecture and replaced it with one that uses a combination of a PDA with the .NET Framework v2.0 Beta 2, a Smart Client Windows Forms application built with Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2, and an Xbox controller.

3) Microsoft's involvement with the project was purely financial in nature. We also received some funding from Dundas Software (www.dundas.com). When it became apparent that we were going to succeed in the venture, they approached us about using it at the Tech Ed keynote (which we happily agreed to)...That lead to the reasoning for #4 and #5 below.

4) I specifically instructed Zack to emphasize the "show" quality of the robot. That is why it has exposed tank treads instead of covered solid wheels, etched clear lexan body panels instead of steel or titanium, and an open body style that lights up instead of a closed body. A battle-hardened robot would not have provided the same effect up on stage. The Finalizer's offensive arsenal is official BattleBot quality, though.

5) Since The Finalizer demonstration at Tech Ed was not in an enclosed and protected arena, we felt it was both smart and prudent to build in fail-safes to shut it down if it lost contact with its controller. Obviously, we would give it other behavioral instructions if it were actually competing. Going berserk probably wouldn't have been the best option, considering there were several high level Microsoft executives on stage at the time. Or, maybe it would have (depending on where your technology loyalties lie, I suppose).

6) The Finalizer can also glow red, if you prefer.

You could make it glow red when it goes bezerk!