Re: BlueTooth bad, Zigbee good

> > Bluetooth is actually very poor for embedded or robotic applications. It's
> > a power hog
>
> You mean compaired to other comm devices, or compaired to a couple motors?  I'd
> think if you have a moble robot, the motors are going to use much more power 
> than
> anything else, right?

Anytime you have something listening for signals to wake up on, it will
consume power. Even at 5 or 10 mA, you'll run through a standard AA
battery pretty quickly - never mind coin cells.

> > Zigbee is much newer
>
> And, to me, that's a problem.  This is the first time I've heard of Zigbee.  I 
> know
> I can go out and get a BT card for my laptop.  Or, I can connect with my PDA.  
> Is
> that same hardware available for ZB?  Where will ZB be in a year?  In five 
> years?
>
> It seems to me that LEGO is NOT a technology company.  They don't design or 
> develop
> new technology.  They make toys.  Toys that use existing technology.
>
> Seven or eight years after the RCX came out, is it still cutting edge technology? 
> No.  In fact, I don't think it ever was.  But, it's still very cool.

When it came out, it was pretty cutting edge - in the target market and
for the budget.

> I think LEGO has to leave it to people like you, Gabe, and John Barnes, to 
> create
> cutting edge stuff.  They need to stick to solid, proven technology.

Like USB. USB is simple, reliable and rugged. And it's fast. All this
talk about independent sensors talking via radio waves is interesting
though. I still think that properly designing the system so that
everything plays well together is a different story....

Cheers, Ralph