Capsela is a construction toy brand consisting primarily of gears and motors in spherical plastic capsules that can be connected to form various static or dynamic toys suitable for land or water. [1] The capsules typically have six hollow octagonal connectors protruding, where an octagonal sleeve piece bridges between two capsules. The hollow connection pegs on a capsule can have electrical or rotary adapters inside, reaching into the next capsule. There are electric motor capsules, gear capsules, switch capsules, pontoon capsules, and others; there are also battery holders, wheels, propellers, impellers, lights, wires, and miscellaneous supporting pieces.
Capsela products were originally manufactured[ citation needed ] by the Mitsubishi Pencil Company. [2] The series was then licensed out to Play Jour and has since been produced by VTech, Kidology, and other subsidiaries. The range was re-released in Japan by Bandai, adding new colors to the basic range of transparent spheres. In the U.S., the Capsela line was purchased by Educational Insights, a manufacturer of learning toys and educational materials for school classroom, which has discontinued the line.[ citation needed ]
Capsela products were originally sold in at least four ranges:
In January 1987, Access Software announced The Robotic Workshop, a kit designed for home computers that used a range of Capsela parts. The kit includes more than 50 Capsela parts, including two motors, gears, wheels, and sensors. The kit also includes an electronic control unit that plugs into the user port of a Commodore 64, an instruction manual with 50 tutorial projects, and special programming software on a floppy disk. It was later released for Apple, Atari, and IBM computers.
Capsela has been used in school science technology classes, [3] and to promote technical careers [4] in engineering, robotics, [5] and mechatronics [6] to younger high school students, sometimes specifically targeting girls. [7] [8]
Games magazine included Capsela 700 Series in their top 100 games two years in a row. For their "Top 100 Games of 1980", one of their editors described it as "just the best construction set he's ever played with." [9] In the "Top 100 Games of 1981", they praised it as a "construction set that is more than child's play" and noting that "The transparent parts make it easy to learn about motors, gear ratios, and transmission of energy." [10]
Radio-controlled cars, or RC cars for short, are miniature model cars, vans, buses and many more
Meccano is a brand of model construction system created in 1898 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, England. The system consists of reusable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, and plastic parts that are connected using nuts and bolts. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices.
Lego Mindstorms is a discontinued line of educational kits for building programmable robots based on Lego bricks. It was introduced on 1 September 1998 and was discontinued on 31 December 2022.
Lego Technic is a line of Lego interconnecting plastic rods and parts. The purpose of this series is to create advanced models of working vehicles and machines, compared to the simpler brick-building properties of normal Lego.
Erector Set was a brand of metal toy construction sets which were originally patented by Alfred Carlton Gilbert and first sold by his company, the Mysto Manufacturing Company of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1913. In 1916, the company was reorganized as the A. C. Gilbert Company. The brand continued its independent existence under various corporate ownerships until 2000, when Meccano bought the Erector brand and consolidated its worldwide marketing with its own brand. The coverage here focuses on the historical legacy of the classic Erector Set; for current developments under the "Erector by Meccano" brand name, see the Meccano article.
Heathkit is the brand name of kits and other electronic products produced and marketed by the Heath Company. The products over the decades have included electronic test equipment, high fidelity home audio equipment, television receivers, amateur radio equipment, robots, electronic ignition conversion modules for early model cars with point style ignitions, and the influential Heath H-8, H-89, and H-11 hobbyist computers, which were sold in kit form for assembly by the purchaser.
Lego began in 1932 in the carpentry workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a Danish furniture maker. During the Great Depression, he began to make miniature versions of his products, which inspired him to produce toys. In 1934 the company was named "Lego", a contraction from the Danish phrase "leg godt", meaning "play well".
Tomy Company, Ltd. is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as Tomiyama Toy Manufacturing Company (富山玩具製作所), became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pirate. In 2006, Tomy merged with another toy manufacturer, Takara, and although the English company name remained the same, it became Takara Tomy in Asia. It has its headquarters in Katsushika, Tokyo.
Fischertechnik is a brand of construction toy. It was invented by Artur Fischer and is produced by fischertechnik GmbH in Waldachtal, Germany. Fans often refer to Fischertechnik as "FT" or "ft". It is used in education for teaching about simple machines, as well as motorization and mechanisms. The company also offers computer interface technology, which can be used to teach the theory of automation and robotics.
BOE–Bot is short for Board of Education robot. It is the trade name of a robot kit that is used in junior high, high school and college robotics classes. It consists of a main circuit board and breadboard, a plug–in BASIC Stamp microcontroller, two servo motors to drive the wheels, and an aluminum chassis that the parts bolt onto. Students can use Erector set parts, Lego blocks, and additional servos to build custom projects. The BOE-bot has been manufactured and sold by Parallax Inc since 1998.
Lego Mindstorms NXT is a programmable robotics kit released by Lego on August 2, 2006. It replaced the Robotics Invention System, the first-generation Lego Mindstorms kit. The base kit ships in two versions: the retail version and the education base set. It comes with the NXT-G programming software or the optional LabVIEW for Lego Mindstorms. A variety of unofficial languages exist, such as NXC, NBC, leJOS NXJ, and RobotC. A second-generation set, Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0, was released on August 1, 2009, with a color sensor and other upgrades. The third-generation EV3 was released in September 2013.
Manufacturing engineering or production engineering is a branch of professional engineering that shares many common concepts and ideas with other fields of engineering such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, and industrial engineering. Manufacturing engineering requires the ability to plan the practices of manufacturing; to research and to develop tools, processes, machines, and equipment; and to integrate the facilities and systems for producing quality products with the optimum expenditure of capital.
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HEXBUG is a brand of infrared and automaton toys developed and distributed by Spin Master. HEXBUG uses many elements found in BEAM robotics. First piloted in the US through RadioShack, HEXBUG is now sold in most major retail stores. The original HEXBUGs are based on six-legged arthropods but now come in several different varieties. The name "HEXBUG" relates to the six-sided packaging it is sold in, rather than to its number of legs.
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Lego Education, formerly known as Lego Dacta, is a specialized Lego theme created for educational purposes in schools. This theme, introduced in 1999, includes a variety of sets that cater to different educational needs.[2] These sets often focus on Duplo and Technic themes and typically contain a larger quantity of blocks. By incorporating these sets into the classroom, educators can provide students with hands-on learning experiences that enhance their understanding of various subjects, from basic building concepts to advanced engineering principles.[1]
Robotix is a line of toy motorized modular construction sets used for constructing robotic creatures, vehicles and machines, often including action figures. Robotix toys were first marketed by the Milton Bradley Company (MB) from 1984 until 1986. The 1985 cartoon series Robotix was based on these toys. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Robotix toys were sold by RC2 Corporation under its Learning Curve brand. Learning Curve changed the colors of the original MB toys from mostly black and white to bright colors, introduced new parts, and expanded the range of playsets.
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