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legolijntje

'Moto-mod' for using a Motorola phone as EV3 Brick

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So, I came across some news articles talking about some new 'moto-mods'. For the people not in the phone-world, Motorola is selling some phones which have special connections for so called 'moto-mods'. The mods can be used to enhance your phone with whatever functionality the mod-maker comes up with. Apparently, Motorola showed off some new mods. One of them caught my eye: a Lego Mindstorms mod. Take a look:

nexus2cee_DSC06380-668x445.jpg|
Image from here.

It's maybe not clear from an image, so here's a video too. Really recommend watching it, because it makes it much clearer how it works. You can clearly see the EV3 module at the 15 second mark, and it clearly shows how it works and also in combination with other mindstorms and Technic parts.

I'm not sure if it is just a concept or if it will be an actual product. Nevertheless, it looks really cool and think of the possibilities! I mean, a phone has a lot more power than the ev3 brick while also being significantly smaller. It has a much better screen. And, depending on how they implement it, maybe you could even use the phone as a sensor too, or the camera capabilties.

The only 'downside' I can think of is that a 'moto-mod' like this would (obviously) only work on compatible phones from Motorola and isn't a more general device that works with e.g. all android devices.

Nevertheless, I think it's quite cool and I'm wondering how much Lego is involved in this. Maybe, they are working on a new version of Mindstorms where you can use any phone as the 'intelligent brick'? What do you guys think about this moto-mod? :classic:

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I think this is very cool, it opens up a lot of possibilities like having a VR headset hooked up to one and driving it via the VR with the robots camera for sight instead of a typical remote. One downside I see is the low voltage, I don't think the Moto can supply the voltage needed for anything large and it much drain the phones batty very quickly. Maybe you could have an external battery that charges the phone while using it for a robot

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