Lego Mindstorms - Cybermaster

Cybermaster

Cybermaster was mainly sold in Europe and Australia/New Zealand, but was available for a short time in the United States via the Lego Club magazines. It was aimed at a younger audience as an early attempt of merging computer gaming with robotics and Lego. The Pbrick shares many, especially software, features with the RCX but differs in appearance and technical specifications: 1 output (plus 2 built-in) and 3 sensors.

• It uses RF (27 MHz R/C band) instead of IR for communication.
• It has two built-in motors with integrated tachometers and speedometers.
• It is limited to passive sensors (a simple A/D with internal pull-up resistors).
• The sensors shipped with it are color coded and have internal resistors in their open state (allowing the Pbrick to sense which sensor is attached to which port).
• It has a fixed firmware (so it cannot be upgraded or replaced).
• It has limited RAM for programs (512 bytes) and only one program slot.

Despite its obvious limitations it has a number of advantages over its 'big brother', the RCX.

• The RF link has greater range and is omnidirectional.
• The built-in tachometer and speedometer sensors on the internal motors provides the same function as the external rotation sensor to the RCX, but without using up sensor ports.

This makes it very useful for various mobile platforms and performing basic motion/positioning tasks.

It talks the same protocol as the RCX but cannot communicate directly to it (due to IR vs RF) but with a repeater (a computer with 2 serial ports and a simple program) they can be integrated.