Testimonials

JCM inVentures Inc.

(403) 284-2876

Here's a few great comments from our favorite people: our customers!

I am a family physician with interest in computers and electronics.

I built your Cybug robot kit (from Active) and having great fun with
it. I have it run around in my office and it amuses my younger patients!

Dr. Ian

hello it's kasey from Australia and I would like to say the cybug solar fly kit is worth every cent it's the best beam robotics kit in the world!.

Just took delivery of our first cybug here at the middle school. Lots
of excitement and anticipation. Kids went through the parts inventory
and we will start assembly tomorrow. Great layout, good instructions,
lots of interesting ideas. Congratulations on a fine looking product.
................................
George Floyd .
Teacher .

. The Cybug is the best entry level robotics kit I've ever seen. It's BEAMish qualities make it easy to build, while it's advanced hunger and preditor -prey boards make it quite interesting to watch. This guy runs on a 9 volt battery and can actually find it's charging station and feed. I altered mine slightly by adding roller beads to the support legs, a charging jack, on-off switch, and a simple cardboard body. If robot colonies are your bag, you'll love this kit. A colony of these little beasties would be really simple to set up as Craig has already worked out all the bugs :). Just make sure you have a lot of room. These little guys really can move. Preditors can even be introduced to the hive to feed on the slower grazers. I wish I could devote a whole room to a project like that!

J Vernon

The Cybug Solarfly kit from Craig Maynard is a fabulous solar powered robot! It is very fast in the sun, and the big torquey motors allow it to push any of my other bots out of it's way. The Chloroplast engine on this little guy runs at around 7 volts, producing a good, quick step with a little capacitor (2200uF). It also holds 5 volts in the cap for other uses, like a micro processor. The options for expanding this little guy are endless, making the critter a great solar platform. It functions basicly the same as a Popper, but is faster and much stronger. I customized this one by adding tactle feelers and jumbo paper clip legs. I also pitched the solar cells up about 20 degrees and added guards around the edges. I replaced the wheels provided with micro cassette pinch rollers and placed the "eyes" on long stalks covered in shrink tubing. For structural strength, I drilled a hole in the motor mount and bolted the PCB, leg assembly, and motor mount together. A super little kit, well worth the price. I recommend it highly.

J Vernon

hello craig

well i have been busy, but i finally finished creating those bugs. they
are absolutely perfect. i was hoping for info on those hosts you
mentioned and, on making them carnivorous. also we have a 'R&D' cafe
where kids can solder, create adn do some ral cool stuff. i was looking
at some of your other kits, like teh fm transmitter. But these kits
have to kid proof. i was thinking i would put them together, and the
kids would use them. any ideas you have would be welcome.

thanks

Hello,
I found your web site on the BEAM mailing list. I really like what you
are doing!!! I am a freshmen at VA TECH and I am going into EE. I have
been keeping up with BEAM for a year or so now. Last year I started a
project to do wha you are doing on your web site. I think that there can
be a good mix between microprocessor and cicuit level
control.....Anyway, I didn't have much knowledge of electronics so I
settled for building a light seeking, solar/battery powered, BASIC stamp
controled robot. It took a few months, and I learned alot. That was my
first robot and it was so much fun. I really wanted to do what you have
done with the microprocessor only operating when the robot has enough
power. Most of the other BEAM ers seem to not like microprocessors, but
I think that BEAM and traditional robotics can work together. Well, I
just wanted to drop you an e-mail to say how impressed I am. Also, like
I said I am going into EE, do you have any advice... I would like to
work on BEAM type stuff for a living.... Well thanks for putting up a
great website and sharing your knowledge!!

Sincerely,
Brian

Hi Craig,

It's alive !!! .... and working the way it's supposed to.

Thanks for a great kit, and I had fun putting it together (now the real
fun starts).

I'm off to build some charging antennae and a "sunflower".

Thanks again,

Frank

Your sight is really cool. I was checking out your Mad Scientist
school, reminds me of computer class. We did all the logic gate tests.
Its amazing what you can do with a few chips and motors. I'm trying to
learn more about robotic design, and how far along our technology has
come. I've seen tapes of different robots that were being tested, and
were able to compensate for changes in terain. One looked like a high
tech pogo stick. It bounced around the room and always landed on its
foot. That was 10 yrs ago, and processors have come a long way since
then. We'll have robots walkin and talkin in no time now that the
PentiumII's are out. Next thing is to crearte movement with the same
type of mechanics that the human muscle structure uses. When we can do
that, Commander Data will be right around the chronological corner.

Real cool sight....I'll be back.
Later
Chris

Hey Craig,
I got the Solarfly yesterday. Very, VERY nice. I built it in a couple
of hours last night. Well, I could have finished it much sooner, but you know
me, I had to fiddle with the look of the critter for more time than it took
to build it.

I'm gonna go out to the shop now and play with the Chloroplast
for a while. Let me know about that check.

Jim

You are fantastic keep the good work going
Bahram Hashemzadeh

LOVE THE CYBUG!!!
Jack Thompson

Hey i got my 36 cybug and built the feeding troughts(5 of them) have my own little colony going on and i used the preditory ir sensors which were hot wired to a clock to bring them back and 8:30 est. not only that i have them all over my 2 story house they are every where and the have little clock on them so i can see what time it is and so they can turn on the preditory sensors at 8:29 est. They all just run a round and there is my pride and joy the linux 4500 this is my little baby, al tweaked and such a way it could hum think on putting on some thing to talk to all of you later Jason Nadeau love the bug
Jason

Your cybug was my fisrt kit project. I cant imagine a better place to start. 'Doofus' now lives at work where he keeps the gang amused for hours. Thanks.
David aka yak2
Melbourne, Vic Australia -

Exciting ! am waiting for delivery of my first Cybug kit. Have been following Beam robotics for some time and have several projects under way. Wes.
Wes Tyler

I really like the cybugs. They are great. I am doing a research group called "CYBUG Colony Experient" and are experimenting with the behaviors of the cybugs and how they interact as a colony. My webpage will have the info under the robotics section in a few weeks. I love your site. It has made our ecosystem for our cybugs like a zoo. We are adding some things like solar panels and a way of communicating with a computer to them. Best of Luck! Matt A. PS If you would like to join the group talked about above, first you need any old cybug and a habitat for it that it can recharge in. Then, email me and I'll help you get started. You can have as many cybugs as you want, as big or small a ecosystem you want, just as long as you will help with the bi-monthly experiments by performing them, recording the data, and sending it to me to be added to the analisis and webpage.

Matt

I was one of the kids who built a cy-bug in the engineering lab at SAIT. I really like your robots and I think it's great that you have this page. Adam 8-)
Adam

Hi Craig,

Love your new web site ! Certainly more fun and educational and a must visit for anyone interested in robotics.
John