Description

Hardware

The Bandai Robo Pal is a Personal Computer Robot released in 1983 in Japan for several home computers (Bandai RX-78, NEC PC-8801, Fujitsu FM-NEW7, NEC PC-6001mkII, Sharp X1).

It was adapted in 1985 for the MSX system under the product code RBMX-014. It can be used on any MSX computer with at least 16kB RAM.

The package includes a mini-robot, a communication module (tranmitter case), a tape with software and a manual. An extra page has been added for the MSX version.

Some versions operate at 27Mhz and have a Centronics connector, but the MSX version operates at 40Mhz and has another connector, located at the left side of the transmitter case: it is for a data recorder cable and therefore used to record data about the movements the robot has to make.

The robot and the transmitter case have several locations for batteries.

Launch price: ¥16,800

Note: This robot is not compatible with some computers, for example the Daewoo CPC-400, probably because the RAM is in the expanded slot 0.

Software

The general menu of the software includes 3 options: Construction Test - Real-Time Action and Trace - Simulation.

It's also possible to control the mini-robot by using MSX-BASIC. An example for BS BASIC (used in Bandai RX-78) and instructions to adapt it to other supported systems are provided in the manual.