Re: Fully Autonomous Sentry w/Target Anticipation
Yours is impressive, but don't get too cocky.
http://zero-op.com/mercenary
Yours is impressive, but don't get too cocky.
http://zero-op.com/mercenary
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Re: Fully Autonomous Sentry w/Target Anticipation
i can tell by your name that you're the maker of it. Here are a few problems you need to overcome:- it didn't seem very 'aware.' like i couldn't see very well or took too long to decide to shoot.
- your site is not very visible either. when you search google for anything related to paintball sentry, autonomous sentry, etc., mine comes up (and that stupid EMT turret that's just remote controlled and way overpriced.)
- your site is severely lacking in info. your potential customers are going to want a hell of a lot more info than what you've got on there before they just give up 3k.
- price is too high. mine will cost less for more features and performance.
it is good that you've released something. even if it's inferior, it still may prove better just to have released something vs waiting too long to perfect it (which is my problem).Last edited by David08; August 25, 2008, 20:15.
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Re: Fully Autonomous Sentry w/Target Anticipation
Wow! That video is so awesome, I didn't realize you guys were selling it commercially. I'm really impressed :)
It would be great to get the cost down, what have you found is the most expensive part of production? I know putting together the robotairsoft.com kit just getting the component parts added up quickly.--- The fuck? Have you ever BEEN to Defcon?Comment
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Re: Fully Autonomous Sentry w/Target Anticipation
Thanks :)
Yeah, I really understand the cost of producing something now, as I'm sure you've seen w/ the kits you built. I don't think we want to mention too much of our production costs, but I think we've done a good job finding a cheap route to go. Its priced pretty competitively in my mind, and we're kind of counting on hardware costs dropping at higher quantity.
A lot of cost comes up when your goal is to make everything waterproof and durable. Any custom work, especially machining, costs a good deal up front. A good example of that is our camera enclosure. Look up any commercial waterproof camera enclosure, and you'll pay anywhere from $300 to $600. Not to mention there isn't a standard for paintball-proofing :)Comment
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Re: Fully Autonomous Sentry w/Target Anticipation
looks like you threw money at it instead of ingenuity. i will easily beat you in price and number of features (by at least half). time to get back to work :)
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Re: Fully Autonomous Sentry w/Target Anticipation
Don't get me wrong I definitely get the engineering challenge aspect behind the auto-turret. Also, paint ball is a very cool sport; very good unplugged fun. However for someone who is not a total fiend could you please explain to me why I would want to spend $3000.00 on this(good time to practice sales pitch).
I also have to ask this very low tech hacking question. What prevents some tool from throwing a big rock at it and knocking it over and or damaging it? I would guess the answer is the rules; right? But isn't paint ball all about warfare simulation and like winning? In fact you wouldn't even have to hit it, just find something big enough to block the camera LOS.
Or a high power IR source, and or laser for more high tech approaches.
quote:
Jack Sparrow: [after Will draws his sword] Put it away, son. It's not worth you getting beat again.
Will Turner: You didn't beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd kill you.
Jack Sparrow: That's not much incentive for me to fight fair, then, is it?
Nuff said; just curious.
I mean if you add an auto-turret into the mix it kind of ruins all the fun. I'm sure that's what the Germans thought to when they first came across the Maxim.
xorJust because you can doesn't mean you should. This applies to making babies, hacking, and youtube videos.Comment
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Re: Fully Autonomous Sentry w/Target Anticipation
exactly. very few people, if any, will pay that much. i'm well aware of that which is why i've stayed away from stupid ideas like having a machine shop make anything. you pay an arm and a leg for their 'time' and who know how much for their profit. fuck that. i can pay some kid out of high school minimum wage (or per unit) and just QC his work. but who knows, maybe he has to resort to using a machine shop because he's not good at fabrication.Last edited by David08; August 25, 2008, 20:16.
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Re: Fully Autonomous Sentry w/Target Anticipation
Camera needs windshield wipers.... :surprisedComment
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Re: Fully Autonomous Sentry w/Target Anticipation
from http://www.paintballsentry.com/faq.html (Davido8's site)
So David, your plan is to sell high school kids' metal shop projects to people for $1,500? Does that include the thrift store suitcase or is that like $200 extra?Unit cost and configurations:
I'm thinking there will be 3 main packages: the sentry with a computer (~$1,500), without a computer(~$500-$750) and plans($?). The plans won't be available until the rest is up for sale.
I will not include a gun with the sentry because most people will want to put their own on it regardless.
The computer I have picked out is a 3GHz mini-ITX PC.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong (which I am sure you will do regardless of reality), your mechanical setup is too unstable/flimsy to use with a paintball gun (versus airsoft). You even state on your website that one flaw of your device is that it is "So light that the gun movement shakes the whole thing resulting in false movement detected." (http://www.paintballsentry.com/history.html) and that is just with an airsoft gun which generally has less recoil than an airsoft gun.
Even though I myself cannot afford a $3000 paintball toy, there are some who can. At least those Zero-Op guys are offering something substantial for that price. I dont why you think that utilizing precision manufacturing techniques is a bad thing.
David08, you say it takes you 4 days to make your product using your hacksaw and hot glue or whatever (no machine shops for you). Lets say (hypothetically) that your bot costs you $500 (which you say it does) in materials and you sell it for $750. Your margin is $250 and assuming 8-hr work days you've spent 32 hours of your time building this bot. So you are making about $7.80/hr but that isn't including any distribution or marketing costs. And if you are paying that high school kid minimum wage ($6.79 in your state) then your cut is only about $1.00/hr. So, after 3 hours of QA'ing your high school friend's work you could afford to take a break and get a Happy Meal. Make sure your friend drives though because its going to take you the equivalent of 4 hours of work for you to purchase one gallon of gas.
-wsbpressComment
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Re: Fully Autonomous Sentry w/Target Anticipation
you've got that all mixed up. i would be paying HS kids to make copies of my final design. (i'm trying to be polite, but honestly, your stupidity and poor reading comprehension is blowing my mind right now..)
yup, that was a problem (which has been solved already) with one of the versions. i could just make it out of steel like i did in version 5 but steel is too heavy. so in an effort to make it more portable, like something you could carry in a backpack long distances, I've been experimenting with aluminum. whether on purpose or out of stupidity, you seem to have a selective attention issue. you notice one thing and somehow miss what was on the rest of the page..
it's obviously too expensive. any idiot can just pay others to do their work for them and make the customer pay for it in the end. i'm doing my potential customers a favor by making it as cheap as i possibly can. 3k is clearly retarded and will not sell in any respectable volume. paying $200 for a custom made, water proof, impact proof, camera enclosure for example is even more retarded as one can easily be fabricated for less than $10.
out of all the other paragraphs, this one is the most unbelievably misinformed I've read. i guess i need to simplify the concept for you further. you pay some kid(s) to follow a set of plans and templates for 8hrs a day. during that time you can go do whatever you want because you're not working, he is. at the end of his shift, you check his work (or pay someone else to). the work that is up to par, he gets paid for, the rest he fixes.
are you just messin with me or are you really that incredibly bad at reading comprehension? holy shit
i want some real competition. i got my hopes up with this one but his price totally fucked him so now it's too easy..Last edited by David08; August 26, 2008, 00:09.
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Re: Fully Autonomous Sentry w/Target Anticipation
cue the barbershop quartet guys from Family Guy and their line of "that's the definition of irony"
through this whole thread, i must say i've been on the fence about you since there was an undercurrent of "oh my god... how the fuck can i possibly be so talented" and "boy, i sure am surrounded by a huge community of dickheads and retards here on these forums."
now, that sort of attitude won't win you many friends but generally it's accepted on some level if you truly back it up with technical results. i'm just saying... if and when you show up to a DEFCON robot wars challenge you'd better really bring your A game, or else people will very likely remember these comments that you've made here and you'll become a total joke in very short order.
again, i'm not a mod and not telling you how to behave or speak... i'm just offering some friendly, non-binding advice to someone who has shown come across as particularly outspoken and even somewhat elitist immediately after showing up on the forums."I'll admit I had an OiNK account and frequented it quite often… What made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world's greatest record store… iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don't feel cool when I go there. I'm tired of seeing John Mayer's face pop up. I feel like I'm being hustled when I visit there, and I don't think their product is that great. DRM, low bit rate, etc... OiNK it existed because it filled a void of what people want."
- Trent ReznorComment
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