Welcome to RobotShop and the new RobotShop Forum.

RobotShop is a new Distributor of the EfikaMX.

We will be using this Forum to announce projects in support of RobotShop.

Again, welcome!

R&B :)

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http://bbrv.blogspot.com

Thank you Bill and Raquel for creating this forum for our endeavours with the Efika MX.

I had a chance to use the Efika MX Open Client at the Future Electronics Advanced Engineering University (AEU) event, and I must say that it is a very beautiful (and rather functional) piece of equipment.

The presentation by Johan Dams and Noel Lemouel was terrific. It was very technical and addressed many of my questions and concerns very well. Installing Ubuntu Karmic on the Efika was a breeze (especially since it the OS I personally use) and clearly shows the potential of such a machine.

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Carlos Asmat, Jr. Eng.
RobotShop Inc.
www.robotshop.com

Thanks Carlos, and we send a thank you to all the team there.

http://www.robotshop.com/Genesi.html

And, yes, Johan and Noel did do a great job - they are the best!

R&B :)

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http://bbrv.blogspot.com

Wow, very interesting shop! I did not know, that robotics went already this far (time to read those Asimov books again :-) ).

The original EFIKA (with 400Mhz PPC) was already a very capable machine when it came to measurement automation, using a couple of sensors and controlling a few devices (see http://bbrv.blogspot.com/2007/05/labview.html ). The EFIKA MX is a lot faster with better connectivity (USB 2, SD reader, video) and easier to use, so definitely a good choice for automation, robotics & Co.

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CzP
http://czanik.blogs.balabit.com/

There was this RobotShop blog and we missed it...

Genesi EFIKA MX Open Client micro computer

We are thinking we need to have a board only solution again. Perhaps, with more USB ports and both VGA and HDMI. We will see how it goes.

R&B :)

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http://bbrv.blogspot.com

YES(!), that's a good idea! :-)

A few more USB ports would be a welcome addition, as now the keyboard and mouse take those two on board...

For me, a board only solution makes sense only if it is a standard form factor, for example mini-itx, so a machine could be built with only off the shelf parts. But for most situations, the current case is perfect, as there are no user servicable parts inside, except the boot switches and micro-sd.

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CzP
http://czanik.blogs.balabit.com/

As long as it doesn't delay the consumer product even more...

China is going to FLOOD the market with $100 computers that can be seen as the same as the SmartBook.

Very soon, you will be seeing a dozen basement based companies rebadging them and selling like hot cakes, under the marketing claims that eveybody is sold to already.

Added value is key. Or a VERY appealing brand. Or an operator contract. Whatever. The computer itself, as much as we hate to say, isn't that important.

Well, in this context we think RobotShop seeks to add value. We expect to see at least one related offering soon, such as, a "robot" package that includes the Efika MX.

That said, it is clear you are correct about inexpensive computers. This will drive other changes, such as businesses not owning their IT assets, new companies providing cloud services from emerging markets, and a growing worldwide online population compounded by new applications and uses fueled by these newer, more flexible, network oriented computers.

Energy efficiency will also become progressively important. The Efika MX draws 4W in full operation compared to a PC at 65-150W. Every little bit helps. Being "green" is actually more impacted by production and shipping than use. So, we will also see the supply chain moving production closer to consumption. It costs us more to ship and export into many countries that it costs to produce and profit from the hardware.

Adding value is the key while every potential profit opportunity is addressed from the design and bill-of-materials to the arrival and use of the product in the hands of a satisfied consumer.

There is plenty of change ahead!

R&B :)

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http://bbrv.blogspot.com

A board-only solution for robotics only needs to have easily obtainable screw mount dimensions so it can be bolted to a design :)

Mini-ITX is rather large for the purpose, and defeats the object of using a system like the Efika MX (after all why not use Atom, there are plenty of ITX Atom boards around if you want an ITX robot).

ARM processors have higher integration and smaller profiles, which means smaller robots. The smaller the control board, the more compact the robot :)

In terms of a board-only solution unless there is significant I/O capability which would be covered by the case (on the Efika MX, there is absolutely not..) then it is not worth having two different models. We realized this pretty quickly with the current Efika MX model.

What the Efika MX needs for robotics is an easier way to mount the case onto a robot - perhaps a case which can be mounted to a VESA mount (in a very small design, 100mm by 100mm may be far bigger than the system though!) on the back of a monitor can be used to mount onto a robot too. This would offer a standardized mounting for all solutions.

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Matt Sealey