Author: Steven Edwards
Date: 05:36:16 10/26/04
The over the board robotic approach includes the Novag Adversary, the Boris Handroid, the undelivered Excalibur Robot, and various articulated arm kits. The under the board approach includes the Phantom and the homebrew Lego reported earlier. The under the board scheme is preferred for the mass commercial market because the mechanicals are kept away from potentially clumsy end users and also because it's cheaper and simpler. The drawbacks include some messiness making some moves (knights and castling) and the requirement to have a special set with unesthetically small piece bases. The over the board technique has the better potential for the hobbyist, at least for the hobbyist with enough common sense to keep his hands away from parts in motion. For the commercial units seen so far with low mass plastic arms, the danger of collision means damage to the arm. For fast experimental arms with full size board capability, the danger is to the careless user. For that reason, I wouldn't sell such an arm unless I had a signed liability waiver from the end user.
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