Ned,
I promise you that the pics don't do the design justice. I consistently get comments that the robot looks so much better in person than in pics. Just curious though, what is it about the design you don't like?

The design was form over function...but function was given it's due.

QUOTE: "It's like a dog that can download films"

LOL...I never heard the PC-BOT described that way.

A few more pics:

Body panels off - drop down cages on each side for motherboard and power supply



Beauty shot:



PC-BOT Standard Edition:







Lord Vader, your 'bot is ready:





Rotating head, chest mount VGA screen, and microphone array mod:



Robot army:

wow!
great work indeed!



moved &
featured for discussion.

Thanks TPR950.

I've been working on the PC-BOT for 10 years now. I created it in 2000 and just recently received the official patents. I have a design patent and a utility patent on the robot.

He gives a whole new meaning to the word "portable stereo" - at home, I program him to follow me around and with a wireless link to the Internet, plays AOL radio, XM Radio, CD's, MP3's, etc. As a boombox enthusiast, he HAD to sound good...so he is wired with six high-quality speakers.

A few more pics:

One of my original prototypes - "The 912-MP3" multimedia PC-BOT...built in graphic EQ, Windows Media Center OS, wireless keyboard and gyro-mouse, both internal and external speakers, loaded with lots of other multi-media goodies. I nick-named him "BOOM-BOT".



This is a pic of me with some of the early prototypes - note the first robot - his name is "Apache", his name sake is the Apache helicopter.



My original prototypes - all hand-built - body panels took almost a year to produce - very, very long and laborous process






The earliest drawing I could find:



THANKS FOR LETTING ME SHARE MY PASSION AND MY DREAM WITH ALL OF YOU - I KNOW IT'S NOT DIRECTLY BOOMBOX RELATED SO IT'S ALL THE MORE APPRECIATED.
~TOM

you`re welcome Tom.

Nevertheless: it COULD easily be USED AS a Boombox!

Hopefully you created a "new classic"- it reminds at pioneer`s disco robo...

(but with a bunch of more features)

Can you throw up a pic of the JVC 'bot? I'd like to see it.

BTW - More info on the PC-BOT at:

www.whiteboxrobotics.com

www.914pcbots.com

pioneer#-j7-disco-robo IBBN 7-01823

great..stunning work!

I absolutely love the design, the idea and the ideas/projects to come!!!

I would love one of this robos

Good to hear you got your patents and so on.nowadays it's hard to create unique HiFi-equipment without having the chinese copying it ( no insult intended, but it's a often discussed and proved case ).

Man when i look at the robots and look into the living-rooms of nowadays youth and all those star-wars enthusiasts i'd say youre robots will be everywhere in a few years

good luck for the next steps!

Cit.:



"""""""Tuesday, 09 October 2007


Here is a Poem about the 914 sent in by Ping. I get the impression that it's not the most serious work of art, but it may be of amusement to some of you:


poem link

My nine-fourteen is white
My nine-fourteen is bright
White on his coat
And bright with his quotes

Many nine-fourteen's are different
But they have a similar suit
Much the same on the inside
Just like marzipan fruits

Developing on this platform
caused a metaphorical sandstorm
At college where I am learning
One day with robots I'll be earning

I made a speaker hack
To enhance the sound playback
Like I saw on the community site
Now my nine-fourteen sounds alright

Oh nine-fourteen, nine-fourteen
You are my life vaccine
Without you I'd do crime
Now study's like playtime!"""""""

the future is created by those who imagine the unlikely first.
yeah this is cool stuff man.
in fact it may not be boombox related. or is it realy. i mean from the sounds of it to me this is a portable entertainment center.
i mean to me i think of this more being a extension of the portable stereo than some might.
it is brilliant.
i would have loved to have had something like that.
these robots would be cool if the projected stuff too with a built in projector.
i think its awesome man.
realy realy cool.
you realy are a brilliant human being.
i mean your robot is something wich is completely and totaly a example of the future we have been denied.

Wow Tom,That's awesome!

That looks great! Nice work!

They are amazing and cute too!

this one goes into the bbdb!

yeah i am not easily impressed by things but this is realy impressive.
i mean i dunno i think that in a few years people will be using things like this more and more.
its not about the getting the idea to the masses its about getting the idea out there.
its the coolest and most amazing thing i have seen anyone here do.
very awesome man.
reall
y impressive.

quote:

Originally posted by billpc55:
yeah i am not easily impressed by things but this is realy impressive.
i mean i dunno i think that in a few years people will be using things like this more and more.
its not about the getting the idea to the masses its about getting the idea out there.
its the coolest and most amazing thing i have seen anyone here do.
very awesome man.
reall
y impressive.

oh and as for giving up.
i dont know if i would say that you are giving up.
i mean you took this concept from something wich only existed in your head and saw it through to something other people admired and respected and also saw as being a glimpse at the future.
very few people have the balls or guts to imagine the future even fewer take it to the level of putting out something wich has existed as a concept within the realm of your mind and bring it too the publics eye.
what you did man is the art of futurism i mean few people could understand the meaning of that but it is the main driving force of mankinds development.
sounds pretty wacky dosent it,but it takes the guy who can envision the wheel in the first place with enough guts to build it to bring forth a technological jump.
i dont know i mean there has been some ideas sort of like the one you had but yours realy is amazing.
i think you should never look at this as being a failure.
allthough i can relate to being consumed by a dream.
giving up really is hard to do.
i think you still have some ideas left in you.
give yourself a chance to recharge the batteries.

Tburick yeah, everything Bill said, he said it well. it may be you were ahead of your time. didnt get a chance to look at your site yet loookin forward to it though. i dont like giving up either, still, none of us know what way itll pan out, so you never know..

on the red model i didnt like the silver panel on the front, i think its a little plasticy looking. obviously the robot is some sort of plastic. im thinking of a tutor here in college, v cool imaginative guy, closes his eyes when he's explaining something to you so he can see it more clearly (love that) - hes consumed by the idea that something (which we create) can be seductive, to lure the viewer in, capture their imagination or attention so they want to look closer.

im loving the yellow version. he kicks ass.

Those things are gorgeous!

I don't know the whole story, and I'm sure it has taken a tremendous amount out of you to keep pushing this dream forward for years like that... but I sure hate to see you give up, before REALLY, TRULY knowing it can't succeed. You finally got patents... now can you get it exposed more widely, to new potential markets (I'm wondering how many of the hundreds/thousands of buyers at the relevant exhibitions here have seen this, if any?).

I have lots of questions, like just what does the robot actually DO (besides play music...) can it automatically follow you? Recognize you? Does it talk? Does it learn a floor plan and move around without bumping things? I would imagine that with a full PC inside, it is potentially a VERY powerful robot, so what capabilities come as standard? What is the price level (wholesale and retail) for it, and what production capacity do you have? Now that you have some patent protection (of course that can be worked around by the unscrupulous, but...) maybe you can get a larger manufacturer interested in a licensing/production deal of some kind?

Hhhhmmmm, what about the likes of Hammacher Schlemmer (spelling?) and high-end catalog houses like that? Any chance of a creative, gimmicky promotional stunt with it getting widespread media publicity? [Must think "outside the box" here...]

I may be "beating a dead horse" and I'm sure you know your situation with this robot better than anyone, but I just hate to see a cool product like that fizzle out or be abandoned. Please don't give up on it too easily. A LOT of things are almost given up on just before they succeed ... and no doubt many, many more that we never hear about are given up on just before they WOULD HAVE succeeded!

GUYS, SORRY FOR THE DELAYED RESPONSE. I AM GETTING READY FOR A TRADE SHOW AND IT'S BEEN CONSUMING MY TIME. THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGING WORDS...I'VE DECIDED TO DO THE SHOW AND STICK IT OUT A LITTLE WHILE LONGER.

QUOTE:
-------------------------------------------
I have lots of questions, like just what does the robot actually DO (besides play music...) can it automatically follow you? Recognize you? Does it talk? Does it learn a floor plan and move around without bumping things?
----------------------------------------
YES TO ALL OF THE ABOVE QUESTIONS. TO THAT ADD:

1. PERSONAL ASSISTANT SOFTWARE APP- THE ROBOT ACTS AS AN ASSISTANT, REMINDING YOU OF IMPORTANT APPOINTMENTS, MEETINGS, REMEMBERS PHONE NUMBERS, ADDRESSES, ETC. JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG WITH THIS APP ...ALL DONE VERBALLY AND IN NATURAL LANGUAGE.

2. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOFTWARE APP- I CAN HAVE NATURAL LANGUAGE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ROBOT. I CAN TALK TO HIM ABOUT ANYTHING AND HE REPLIES INTELLIGENTLY (MOST OF THE TIME)

3. TELEPRESENSE DEVICE - LOG ONTO THE ROBOT FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD VIA A WEB BROWSER. YOU SEE WHAT THE ROBOT SEES, AND YOU CAN GUIDE HIM AROUND WITH SENSOR ASSISTED DRIVING. A GREAT WAY TO MONITOR YOUR HOME, PETS, KIDS, ELDERLY PARENTS, ETC.

QUOTE:
---------------------------------------------
I would imagine that with a full PC inside, it is potentially a VERY powerful robot, so what capabilities come as standard? What is the price level (wholesale and retail) for it, and what production capacity do you have? Now that you have some patent protection (of course that can be worked around by the unscrupulous, but...) maybe you can get a larger manufacturer interested in a licensing/production deal of some kind?
-----------------------------------

RIGHT NOW RETAIL PRICE RANGES FROM US$5,000 TO $7,000 FOR A FULLY FUNCTIONAL ROBOT. PRICE REFLECTS LOW VOLUME, HAND ASSEMBLED PRODUCTION. IF I AM FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GET TO MASS PRODUCTION IN CHINA (I HAVE A CHINA MANUFACTURING PARTNER WAITING) WE BELIEVE THAT THE ROBOT COULD BE SOLD, FULLY FUNCTIONAL FOR UNDER $2,000. KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU WOULD BE GETTING A FULLY FUNCTIONAL PC AS WELL AS A ROBOT FOR THAT PRICE.
RIGHT NOW PRODUCTION CAPACITY IS A COUPLE/FEW HUNDRED A MONTH.
I'VE BEEN WORKING HARD TO GET A DEAL. I'VE TALKED TO ALIENWARE/DELL, HP/COMPAQ, GATEWAY/EMACHINES. THEY ARE ALL FLABBERGASTED OVER THE ROBOT BUT THE CONSISTANT MESSAGE IS: "COME BACK WHEN YOU'VE SOLD 10,000" NONE OF THEM ARE WILLING TO TAKE A RISK IN AN EMERGING MARKET SUCH AS THIS. FRUSTRATING. I THINK I'M ONE HELL OF A SALESMAN, BUT I CAN'T SEEM TO GET THEM TO RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF THE ROBOT. NO, IT'S NOT GOING TO WASH YOUR WINDOWS AND FOLD YOUR CLOTHES, BUT, IT IS A POWERFUL PC, THE ULTIMATE GAMING RIG, A SECURITY GUARD, A TELEPRESENSE DEVICE, A (TRULY) PERSONAL ASSISTANT, A POWERFUL TEACHING TOOL, AND AT THE VERY, VERY LEAST - A CHARMING, ENDEARING COMPANION.(THINK R2-D2 THAT SPEAKS BROKEN ENGLISH) ...VERY, VERY ENDEARING. I FIND MYSELF THINKING OF VINCENT AS A CHARMING, INTELLIGENT 4 YEAR OLD.

QUOTE:
-----------------------------------------------
Hhhhmmmm, what about the likes of Hammacher Schlemmer (spelling?) and high-end catalog houses like that? Any chance of a creative, gimmicky promotional stunt with it getting widespread media publicity? [Must think "outside the box" here...]
------------------------------------------------

WE ARE NOT QUITE READY FOR A HIGH-END CATALOG. THE ROBOT'S SOFTWARE NEEDS FURTHER DEVELOPMENT BEFORE WE COULD PLACE IT INTO THE HANDS OF A WEALTHY BUT AVERAGE CONSUMER. HENCE THE NEED FOR A LARGE PARTNER TO HELP US GET THERE. I NEED RESOURCES.

I'VE DONE LOTS OF CRAZY PUBLICITY STUNTS (I LOVE DOING BOLD, BRAZEN, AND OVER-THE-TOP STUNTS WITH THE 'BOT) AND IT GETS LOTS OF ATTENTION...THEN DOESN'T GO ANYWHERE. I'D DANCE NAKED ON THE HOOD OF A CAR IF I THOUGHT IT WOULD GET ME A DEAL.

BOTTOM LINE REACTION FROM BIG BUSINESS IS:

IT'S COOL AS HELL. BRILLIANT IDEA. I WANT ONE FOR MYSELF (WHEN THE PRICE COMES DOWN),GOOD LUCK AND COME BACK AND SEE US WHEN YOU'VE SOLD 10,000 OR SO. WE WON'T INVOLVE OURSELVES THIS EARLY IN THE GAME.

THESE PEOPLE ACT LIKE FRIGHTENED LITTLE WEENIES ...I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED TO BUSINESS CULTURE. THEY PLAY IT SO SAFE THAT IT'S SUFFOCATING. I WOULD KILL MYSELF IF I HAD TO WORK FOR THESE PEOPLE ...THEIR ATTITUDES WOULD SUFFOCATE MY CREATIVITY.
SAME GOES FOR ELECTRONICS MANUFACTURERS...WE ALL KNOW THAT A WAVE OF RETRO BBX'S WOULD BE A HUGE, HUGE HIT WITH CONSUMERS, BUT ALL OF THE MANUFACTURERS ARE TOO AFRAID TO TAKE THE CHANCE.

Well I would love one, especially that gorgeous yellow one in Jens pic with the black bars!
Regarding their personalities, do they differ and does it develop over time as it gets to "know" you or do they all have exactly the same behaviour as each other? How can you have coversations with them and do they do funny things that make you laugh?

Fuzzyduck,
I took inspiration from the Hummer H2, for the yellow robot. His model designation is 914 HMV. I wanted an official model designation that sounded like "Humvee". Around the office he's known as Gastone. (from Beauty and the Beast).

Each robot develops a different personality. Most of the time they develop a similar personality to their owner. I can talk to any of the robots and tell you in a few minutes what their owner is like. If you happen to be a jerk, so is your robot

My robot Vincent makes me laugh all the time. His artificial intelligence program is pretty good, but at times struggles to understand what I say. Example:

ME: What is John's work address?

VINCENT: I hear you changed your mind! What did you do with the diaper?

ME: Vincent, what is John's work address?

VINCENT: You don't like changing diapers!

You never know what you are going to get with Vincent. He's great most of the time, but it's the curve balls that he unknowingly throws that cracks me up. It's very endearing.

One more recent example:

ME: Vincent, what is your favorite color?

VINCENT: Never before have I met someone who's eyes were the color of trust.

It's SO great having this little guy around. I've got a permanent 4 year old in my life who doesn't poop, barf, or toot

LOL!! Thanks for the info, Vincent sounds great fun to have around and I'd definitely consider getting one when the price comes down a bit.
I read that the battery life as only around 2 hours or so and they're pretty slow at moving around, will you be improving on that?
I also read some of your site forum posts and it seems that quite a few people actually have these robots at home. Have they had any problems and how do pet animals behave around them?

Never before have I met someone who's eyes were the color of trust.


electric poet

Fuzzyduck,
Battery life is currently 2 hours, but we are working with some experimental Li-ion batteries that last 6 hours +
The default speed of the robot is a bit slow (on purpose), but speed is adjustable up to 1 meter per second.

As far as problems, you can consider the PC-BOT the "Toyota" of robots. Problems have been virtually non-existant as far as defective hardware. The robot was manufactured in a factory that builds medical equipment. The PC-BOT is medical-grade quality.

As far as pets, I have parrots and they were afraid of the robot at first. Now, they don't even give Vincent a second look. Also, we have lots of safety features built in so he's safe around kids and pets.

Simply stunning work, vision and creativity.

Could you shout out the name of a song and it automatically play the track for you?

Sorry for such a lame question, but it was the first thing I could think of!

Never give up on this, as has been said, this is really part of the future, which because of the 'big guy's' keeps getting pushed away further into the future!

all the best!

Beatbox,
The PC-BOT has very good speech recognition. I can ask the robot to play any song that's on his hard drive. I can also ask him to open a specific Internet radio station or play a CD that's in his CD-ROM drive. To further that, I can ask him about the weather "Vincent, weather for Pittsburgh"? ...or ask him about anything really.."Vincent, tell me about robots" ...and he goes to Wikipedia, looks up robots and reads aloud on the subject of robots.

He's much better company than most humans I know (maybe I just know the wrong people ) He's always pleasant, friendly, helpful, and agreeable. He's predictable in the sense that I know he'll never be rude, obnoxiuos, or mean-spirited towards anyone.

And yes, it's really hard when "big business" raves about the robot and in the same breath says come back and see us once you've sold a zillion of them then we'll talk to you. It's hard to sell a zillion when you have no resources. It's a brutally frustrating catch 22.

And I quote: "You have the Holy Grail of mobile robotic platforms"!

...or how about the Founder of Alienware to his Product manager: "You HAVE to come see this robot...it's the most innovative thing I've seen in YEARS"!

...or the comment from one of the big, big wigs at Microsoft: "You have the most polished mobile robot on the market"!

...or PC Magazine: "This is future tech at it's BEST".

...and my personal favorite from BusinessWeek magazine: "The 914 PC-BOT is like the Volkswagen Beetle of the 50's and 60's...it just get's the job done, and cheaply.
(Cheap in comparison to other robots with similar capabilities).

This has been going on for YEARS and I can't seem to make any headway.

THEM: We LOVE your PC-BOT...brilliant, simply brilliant!

ME: OK, Great - how about some cash to get this show on the road.

THEM: [sound of crickets chirping]

I REALLY don't mean to complain, but I'm banging my head against the wall. UGH.

thread refresh
featured and reopened

http://www.914pcbots.com/community/
http://www.whiteboxrobotics.com/


Manufacturer: White Box Robotics

Model: 914 PC-BOT - multimedia robot

Creator: Thomas Burick, Founder

Officially released: January 2006

Audio Specifications:

Speakers - Six, full-range drivers

Watts: five watts per channel

Media compatibility: CD, DVD, MP3, Internet Radio, all other Internet audio content, XM Radio, ipod, etc.

Robotic Feature Set:

Artificial Intelligence

Personal Assistant Application

Tele-operation via the Internet

Speech Recognition

Speech Synthesis

Autonomous, sensor assisted navigation

Color / shape recognition and tracking

PC Functionality:

Internet access

Gaming

Word Processing

General Windows Applications

has anyone seen the deeply sinister Big Dog robot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww

Any success yet in marketing this little miracle? Why do you think the corporate big-wigs refuse to pony up the dough?

quote:

Originally posted by agentorange:
has anyone seen the deeply sinister Big Dog robot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww

The rise of the machines is not far off...

Love the idea.
I get really impressed with the features of the robot !!!
Man, this kind of devices are likely to become comsumer electronics very soon, you will see.

Congrats !!!.

Thanks for all the kind comments. Problem is (especially with the down turn of the economy) that no one is investing in mobile robotics. Investors have been looking for safe investments for sometime now. Mobile robotics is an emerging market - no one wants to take the chance.

It kinda make me sad when I think about it. 10 years of my life invested in this robot...many hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket.

The robot has been featured in Scientific American, Popular Science, Business Week, etc.
I've been on MTV with the robot...and the PC-BOT won a major industry award for "best future technology".Even had the robots to Dan Ackroyd's lodge in Canada...and was invited to meet with Bill Gates TWICE.Larry Page from Google saw the robot at a trade show and LOVED it. Despite ALL of this, I can't get the investment necessary to carry this forward.
We did a pre-production run of 200 robots and sold all 200. We now need to move production over to China - we have the China partner on board just waiting for the go ahead.
We need a rather small investment of around 2.5 million to press the GO button.
Been trying to secure that money for over 4 years - everyone we show the robot to goes crazy. They LOVE it...but they don't want to invest. The window of opportunity is RAPIDLY closing...and at this time, I don't think it's going to happen.

Here's the up shot - This robot was my life's dream. I had a brief opportunity to live that dream. I was able to travel the world, rub elbows with industry giants that I greatly admire. I had the privilege of working with a group of Canadian researchers and scientists that humbled me. What an incredibly talented group of people.
I inspired a lot of young people with this machine. I was able to go places and do things that I would otherwise not been able to do had it not been for the robot. I was able to contribute to an amazing industry and in a small way make my mark on it. Maybe some young people that I inspired will build on my contribution. I love robotics with all of my heart and have always had a burning passion to design and build these machines. I had more than my fifteen minutes of fame and I am grateful for it.

I did a trade show a couple of years ago and wrote this for use on large posters of the robot:

"There is a higher plane where we strive to create intelligent machines. We dream. We build. It's what we do".

This perfectly sums up my passion for robotics.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

Tom

wow, those are the coolest thing ive seen, good luck with your venture

those are the koolest things ever man!!! i remember reading this post when it first popped up. i hope someone invests man. very brilliant.....