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BARG Newsletter #3/4 Spring/Summer 1985 
                  BRITISH AMATEUR ROBOTICS GROUP 

                           NEWSLETTER

                   ISSUE 3/4   Spring/Summer 1985



                   British Amateur Robotics Group
                         171 Worting Road
                            Basingstoke
                          HANTS  RG22 6NR



                  President    Dr John Bi11ingsley

                  Committee    David Buckley
                               Alan Dibley
                               Colin Freestone
                               Peter Matthews
                               Richard Moyle


Editorial  - Richard Moyle
ROBOTS FOR ALL? - David Buckley
SPECTRUM PORTS : the Aargh Interface Mark II - Peter Lovett
Polaroid Ultrasonic Ranging System - Richard Moyle
Zero 2 review - Richard Moyle
Letters
Index


       All matarial in this Newsletter is subject to Copyright
Editor's Bit

This Newsletter is a double-sized combination of the Spring and Summer issues as, frankly, we didn't have enough material for the Spring issue alone to warrant spending your money on printing and postage. We have arranged two new series of articles, but still desperately need contributions from sources other than Alan, David, Colin ....

In view of the increasing number of diagrams, we are duplicating rather than printing the Newsletter. We hope you like the new format, we certainly intend to include more diagrams and figures where appropriate.

Two benefits for members:

  • 1 As it has not been feasible to hold a conference this year and the production costs of the Newsletter have been less than expected, we are extending current subscriptions for a further six months, and new membership cards are enclosed. However we still need more members. Tell your friends and get them to join. We would like to arrange a conference or workshop during the next six months and would appreciate any suggestions and/or offers for location or content.
  • 2 Intergalactic Robots Ltd is offering a £10 discount for members of BARG buying one of their Zero 2 robots. There's an article about this machine later in the Newsletter, and It is well worth thinking about. European Personal Robotics Congress
    As this is being written the first European Personal Robotics Congress is about to sink, due primarily to poor timing and the high cost of attendance. £250 + VAT for delegates to the 3-day event and an even higher price tag for exhibitors has put it out of reach of most of us. This kind of pricing may work for the industrial robotics world, but that isn't what the title says. In any case, for that kind of money, you need to be sure there will be plenty going on to make it worth the investment. With the lack of publicity given to the Congress this seems doubtful. Even the exhibition being set up in conjunction is held totally mid-week, so making it difficult to attend for those who have to work. David will be reviewing the event in the next Newsletter, but perhaps the best thing to come out of the Congress is the relaunch of Practical Robotics. We were all disappointed when it ceased publication, as it was the only real Robotics magazine published in the UK, although Practical Electronics is doing a good job of catching up. We wish the publishers good luck and success with the relaunch.

    International Persons! Robotics Congress
    The second International Personal Robotics Congress (no connection with the above) will be held in San Francisco in September. This will be expensive, not least because of the cost of getting there, but if it is anything like the first, held in Albuquerque last year, well worth the money in spite of what I said in the previous paragraph. The Americans have a great flair for razzamatazz, and though some of their machines hardly deserve the name of robots (the air there is thick with radio control signals), they are still pretty impresslve. The overall cost is unlikely to leave any change from £750, but if anyone is interested in attending, let us know. We will try to arrange a block booking, and reductions in plane tickets, but hurry there is only a short time left.

    Barg Newsletter lssue3/4 - Page 2
    BARG Newsletter #3/4 pages 3 - 10 - ROBOTS FOR ALL? - David Buckley