pasztorl

SBrick makes your trains smarter - Kickstarter

Recommended Posts

Hi! This is the SBrick team. We currently are in the first week of a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a device that replaces the IR remote with a next level remote control for LEGO.

With SBrick, you LEGO Train enthusiasts, will be able to overcome the channel limitations from off-the-shelf LEGO PF IR Receiver.

You can control up to 16 SBrick receivers from your smartphone, tablet or PC, which makes it perfect for large train layouts at home or your LUG events.

You can use SBrick to control your trains (drive, lights and more) or to control other stuff from your train layout off the train, like track switch points, semaphores, etc.

With SBrick you will never get lost again, trying to understand which remote is controlling which train.

Control up to 16 trains (SBrick has 4 ports but can only go inside one train at once), or split between trains and of train devices. You can control:

- N trains

- (16-N)*4 layout devices (track switches and semaphores)

Here is a train test video on our youtube channel:

Read more and Support us @ kickstarter!

39386aec49461fb4a83de8bf67929066_large.jpg?1403865657

Edited by pasztorl

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So this will allow a controller on your phone tablet etc. to act like the 8879 Speed controller?

Yes, but with custom controls and profiles you can do much more with it.

For example you can create a custom remote controller which running full screen on a tablet. On the screen you can place controls for trains, switches for tracks or on/off switch for semaphores. The complexity depends on how many SBrick you have. You can control up to 16 SBrick with one tablet simultaneously. One SBrick has 4 ports. If you place it into the train, you can drive a motor, switch on/off of the train or the cabin lights. In general you can drive 4 PF device with one SBrick.

I working on a video and also a custom remote control profile to show an example implementation using SBrick with trains.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow, that sounds great. So for a (railway) crane I'd need 3 motors to control, which wasn't possible with the Lego receiver. There'd be new possibilities with this new receiver!

Edited by ScotNick

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow, that sounds great. So for a (railway) crane I'd need 3 motors to control, which wasn't possible with the Lego receiver. There'd be new possibilities with this new receiver!

Yes. It is a good example! :)

Support us on our kickstarter page (you can preorder SBricks on it) if you like our new receiver/controller solution.

Thank you!

I trying to build a motorized track switch also for the demonstration video. Someone made like this with 88004 Servo motor?

Edited by pasztorl

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

that sounds wonderful, would it be possible to control motorised switches too?

Yes it will!

One SBrick includes 4 ports, so you can control 4 devices with each one. Either motorized track switches, semaphores or whatever. :)

And of course you can control up to 16 SBricks with the smartphone app.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

in theory one could make a mesh network with BLE. I like the blue giga chips very much (I use the BLE113 for different commercial projects, that is the even smaller and even less power consuming version of BlueGiga) that way one could make it even (much) better. At this moment I don't think SBrick is that suitable for train control: in car situations you don't need to control different cars at the same time, in train situations you will need to control devices at the same time. Unless you use a mesh network is this impossible I think.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This bricks could be interesting but, IMO lacks some little things to be used for trains.

So far, the only advantages of that brick is that it as 2 more slots for motor and that you can drive it with your tablet or smartphone instead of one or several remotes!

One big thing for improving the Sbrick for train use would be the possibility to automate it! And this would not change the Sbrick by itself but just needs software programming!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

in theory one could make a mesh network with BLE. I like the blue giga chips very much (I use the BLE113 for different commercial projects, that is the even smaller and even less power consuming version of BlueGiga) that way one could make it even (much) better. At this moment I don't think SBrick is that suitable for train control: in car situations you don't need to control different cars at the same time, in train situations you will need to control devices at the same time. Unless you use a mesh network is this impossible I think.

It's very much possible to control many SBrick devices from the same phone and the same app. A mesh network on the other hand would be complicated to set up, and latency issues would show as more hops would be added.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

you will need to connect/disconnect the devices again and again as far as I know and have experimented with the BLE112/BLE113 modules together with iOS 8. Most latency would be caused by the amount of work that you let the chip do (encryption etc.) I think.

The XBee modules that I use for train turnout control are real-time (deadline < 1 second).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This bricks could be interesting but, IMO lacks some little things to be used for trains.

So far, the only advantages of that brick is that it as 2 more slots for motor and that you can drive it with your tablet or smartphone instead of one or several remotes!

One big thing for improving the Sbrick for train use would be the possibility to automate it! And this would not change the Sbrick by itself but just needs software programming!

First of all, SBrick is much better than the IR. Not just because it has two more ports, but you can run many SBrick device in the same room (we used more than ten in an office environment (wifi networks, other bluetooth devices) simultaneously without any problems). Also IR receivers MUST be visible since they are controlled by (infrared) light.

We do plan automation features (see the FAQ and the fact sheet at kickstarter). If you have any more thoughts about it, please share them with us.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

it is indeed a nice step forward and I like the form factor too although it is still quite bulky for train applications (especially for turnouts)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

First of all, SBrick is much better than the IR. Not just because it has two more ports, but you can run many SBrick device in the same room (we used more than ten in an office environment (wifi networks, other bluetooth devices) simultaneously without any problems). Also IR receivers MUST be visible since they are controlled by (infrared) light.

Yes, of course; more range and more motors controlled in the same time. PFS has, if I remembre right, 3 channels. This is enough for me at that time. But in the future... I don't think so. I could be interrested in the SBrick!

We do plan automation features (see the FAQ and the fact sheet at kickstarter). If you have any more thoughts about it, please share them with us.

This is a really good news! I didn't saw "programmable firmware" line on the kickstarter page. This would made the SBrick more interresting in my eyes!

The best way to automate trains have been mindstorms because they have sensors. But they are some drawbacks: the nxt sets are too expensive and all coponents are too big in size!!! Currently, I am using an old RCX brick which is cheap and works well with a 9v train circuit. But the brick can not be included into the trains for pfs use.

Maybe there is something to do with your Sbrick. I guess we cannot use sensors but maybe something could be done using the phone/tablet camera. Or even without that sensing function, programming a "routine task" could be a nice thing for running trains.

If you're looking for a pfs motorized switchtrack for your video, maybe I could help you designing it as I'm working on one!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

@pasztori: Zed_43 makes a good point about reprogrammable firmware: check the site of Michael Kroll about his Beacon. He has a chip in his beacon that provides OTA updates to the BLE112 module.

"Maybe there is something to do with your Sbrick. I guess we cannot use sensors but maybe something could be done using the phone/tablet camera. Or even without that sensing function, programming a "routine task" could be a nice thing for running trains."

@Zed_43: sensors are doable with the BLE module, it has on board ADC options: they only need to make it available to the outside.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

you will need to connect/disconnect the devices again and again as far as I know and have experimented with the BLE112/BLE113 modules together with iOS 8. Most latency would be caused by the amount of work that you let the chip do (encryption etc.) I think.

The XBee modules that I use for train turnout control are real-time (deadline < 1 second).

As far as we tried, you don't need to disconnect and reconnect. We already built models that use more than one SBrick, and the phone maintains a connection simultaneously to all devices. A BLE central device (your phone) can connect to many peripheral devices at the same time. Imagine you having a phone in your pocket, wearing a smart watch, a cordless headset, and a step counter in you shoe, and a thermometer on your body. Wearables would be impossuble without this. The whole BLE phisical and link layer were designed with coexistance, interference, and multiplexing in mind. Many SBrick <-> one phone is definitely works, we tried it already. Take a look at our video at

. This is a model with 2 SBricks in it. 8-)

When I talk about latency, I mean a few dozens of milliseconds. 1 second, or even half a second latency with a racing car is quite deadly.

By the way, if you need consulting with your commercial BLE projects, Vengit is here to help you. ;)

@pasztori: Zed_43 makes a good point about reprogrammable firmware: check the site of Michael Kroll about his Beacon. He has a chip in his beacon that provides OTA updates to the BLE112 module.

"Maybe there is something to do with your Sbrick. I guess we cannot use sensors but maybe something could be done using the phone/tablet camera. Or even without that sensing function, programming a "routine task" could be a nice thing for running trains."

@Zed_43: sensors are doable with the BLE module, it has on board ADC options: they only need to make it available to the outside.

Our solution supports OTA too with our SBrick application. ;)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

it is indeed a nice step forward and I like the form factor too although it is still quite bulky for train applications (especially for turnouts)

Is there any plans for a smaller SBrick, with only 2 ports, so that's it's easier to put inside smaller models, or models with limited width like trains?

I understand that it's not easy to implement as it would require the software to make a distinction between each size of SBricks.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

that is great to hear pasztorl! you guys have done good research that is for sure! in future a bridge between IR and BLE would be great as well I think. That way you could even use the normal controller (which has also some advantages over a tablet/smartphone of course since it is very kid-friendly).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

that is great to hear pasztorl! you guys have done good research that is for sure! in future a bridge between IR and BLE would be great as well I think. That way you could even use the normal controller (which has also some advantages over a tablet/smartphone of course since it is very kid-friendly).

Thank you! I'm happy for the big interest from train fans. Please spread the world about this project. We need your support @ kickstarter!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

IR is just not what we were looking for so such a solutions will be a great addition! Most LEGO train fans will keep an eye on Train Tech and the Frontpage I'm sure!

I'm still puzzled how you can connect the different BLE modules from one piece of software at once, very interested in that :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would like to ask you, if you know more LEGO trains forum, share the SBrick project with them and please tell them to write questions here, in this site to keep the information in one place.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Is there any plans for a smaller SBrick, with only 2 ports, so that's it's easier to put inside smaller models, or models with limited width like trains?

I understand that it's not easy to implement as it would require the software to make a distinction between each size of SBricks.

The point is valid, although you may realize this also intends to be a "direct" replacement of LEGO IR Receiver, which is also 4x4 and has very similar form factor.

So it might be easy to integrate with a wide variety of trains, like LEGO is doing with the IR receiver in their latest RC trains. Then you need to integrate also the battery bos, like LEGO does. So this is better suited for 6-wide compartments or above.

It is correct it may be not that easy with some very complex steam engines, but the availability of SBrick in black color come handy here! Even if it needed to be place into a 4-wide section (you must hide the PF connectors somehow...). Battery box can always go in the tender. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

IR is just not what we were looking for so such a solutions will be a great addition! Most LEGO train fans will keep an eye on Train Tech and the Frontpage I'm sure!

I'm still puzzled how you can connect the different BLE modules from one piece of software at once, very interested in that :)

Me too, I gave up, but this was BT 2.0 not BLE i guess this standard is different, i think that with the older bluetooth the limit was around 7 devices on a good spec android, i wonder what it is with BLE, I think I read 16 somewhere

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.