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LEGO Boost discussion and support
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We were sad to discover that since our old iPad didn't support iOS 10, we couldn't use our newly acquired Boost! :(
DaveE
The instructions for the main robot are accessible now: yesterday the bulldozer-ish model's were shown instead.
What exactly is a LEGO boost and where do I get one?
Can it let me design LEGO train layouts on iPad/iPhone?
And, on that tangent, I'm sure there was once a way to design layouts on iPhone/iPad but for the life of me I can no longer find it. Or, was it another one of those situations where I imagined something really awesome while on a Whiskey bender?
That said, if the bluetooth signals are reverse engineered, then people could write libraries for homemade apps. Although possibly more interesting is if the app can be hacked to connect to other bluetooth devices, then it could open up other home-made electronics like has been done with lego IR remote controls and arduino libraries - you can use lego's controller to communicate with arduino powered devices and, vice versa, arduino to send IR commands to lego's IR receivers. Although I guess if you are going to hack the app and the electronics, then there is not much point to the set. It is really the app part that is special; otherwise the kit side is not that different to other bluetooth devices like s-brick or homemade versions.
thats really all I have to say, only found out it existed a couple days ago...
The result was disappointing. The motor driving the conveyor belt doesn't seem to have the accuracy or resolution needed to reliably assemble the models.
When making a standard bot model, our kit will reliably place the first black brick onto the assembly position of the sled. However, when it attempts to stack the next brick, there is usually just enough of an offset between the sled and the arm so that the two bricks do not connect when pressed together. The green brick remains in the grasp of the arm, and nothing works after that.
I also tried to use the direct conveyor controls to position the sled for stacking, but I was still unable to overcome the offset - the control was not fine enough, and I'd overshoot or undershoot the target position.
Finally, the arm occasionally fails to grasp bricks as it attempts to lift them from the sled. I assume this is from oily fingerprints on the bricks reducing friction just enough for gravity to take over.
We'll fiddle with it a little more before moving on to one of the other four models.
kono
I think I am going to pump the brakes here and wait, the app just went live today right?
It doesn't actually show me why it's not compatible - the only thing I can think of is that they might not want it to be installed on devices that have physically small screens? Nonetheless, the resolution is still 1080P, and I'd rather be able to run it on a 5" screen than not at all.
It's a tad annoying, as I probably wouldn't have bought Boost if I realised I would actually have to buy a "real" tablet as well.
Interesting about the size of the tablet though. Not sure why that would matter. At any rate, I am guessing with the backlash they're fervently working on the software as we speak adding phone support.
However, I'm almost afraid to open it...
I have an iPad Mini 1, iPhones and many Amazon fire products. Of course, none will work with the Boost app. I do have a Chromebook and surprisingly the app installed there.
So here is my question: If I am able to launch the app and got to the screen where it is asking for me to turn on the Move Hub, can I assume that it should work?
Other than the tablet issue, which is very bad imo, I am also a little disappointed about the negative reviews. My kids are too young for EV3 but I really wanted a STEM project based on Lego to really spark their interests (and to also satisfy my Lego addiction). I have a lot of hope for this product and hope it will continue to improve.
As to this
I haven't bought it yet but loaded it on my tablet, if the app comes up and you get to the connection part that's a green light for compatibility. (Assuming your chrome book has Bluetooth)
It wouldn't surprise me if they get loads of open box returns on this set due to non-compatible tablets.
I've not bought it yet, but (before finding this thread) checked yesterday if it would run on my phone (as there was a report from someone on Facebook that it worked on their Galaxy S7).
I only have one compatible device and that's my daughter's Kindle Fire (which I flashed Cyanogenmod Android onto instead of Amazon's OS).
It's "normal" for Google Play not to show why something is not compatible, it's always been like that, and it's very annoying. There are ways to restrict an app from being installable through Google Play on a device: Android version (or rather Android API/SDK version I presume), screen size, and possibly others (but at least those). I don't think resolution is actually one of them.
Based on my devices being compatible or not, I surmise Android 6 + 8" or larger screen is the requirement. The Kindle's resolution is lower than Full HD (1280x800) so that's not a requirement at least.
You could try finding the APK and sideloading it onto your non-8" devices and see if it launches? (it's likely the check is in Google Play itself and not the app)
But my phone is far better and faster than the tablet, and has a much higher screen resolution, so that's why I would have preferred to install it on that (after all, when it comes to Android, a tablet is just a phone that can't make phone calls). But it turns out that I cannot install it on either device, and I think the only reason for that is because of an artificial restriction in the app's manifest file that says the screen must be physically large enough.
The Android requirements are:
It doesn't bode well for the future if it's already that restricted and picky from the start, maybe...
Android requirements are listed on https://www.lego.com/en-gb/service/device-guide/boost. I already feel like I'm beta testing something that isn't yet ready for release.
I really do not need another tablet and since I have already opened the box, I feel really guilty if I have to return it. Heck, I DON'T want to return it. I just wanted it to work.
I get it. I know this is not supposed to be a cheap toy, and I have no problem that the app needs certain minimum requirement. I am more than happy to give Lego almost $200 for this but obviously it's now going to cost me more.
I'll continue to do more research on this. I want to make it work. But definitely very disappointed at the moment.
> I ended up making a cheat sheet
Would you like to share? I suspect others would find it useful. Thanks!
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/5497797
(that pages says it only has 1GB RAM, but it actually has 2GB)
It would be nice to have a 'cheat list' for the icons. My tablet's microphone isn't sensitive enough for 'clap' activation (it works if I slap the back). My tablet has a pop up 'home' menu that clashes with the Boost icon menu so it would be nice if the icons could be parked somewhere else. Once a program strip is set up everything normally works but sometimes after a sequence has been repeated an icon will hang up (it flashes) and I haven't found any way to reset it short of closing the app. The technic elements are quite hard to push together, would a 7-year old be strong enough?
It is an entertaining set though. It would be nice to have data on the hub protocol so that apps could be written in Python, say, and run from a laptop.
1. after you use AirPlay, the sound becomes silenced. I had to restart the app twice in order to make it work again
2. When making the police activity with Vernie, example 1 from the list that comes down with the light bulb seems to engage an audio feedback which makes it go into an eternal loop. I was forced to use the big stop button each time, and I could never see the activity working as it should
Hope to hear soon
Just wanted to drop by and share our experiences with tablet compatibility. We initially bought the Boost alongside an 8,4" Huawei Mediapad M3. Altogether an excellent tablet but would not connect with Boost reliably. After a weekend of trying to get them to work together we had a support chat with Lego customer service and then a support call the next day. The rep hinted at information from their 2nd level tech support that Huawei's Bluetooth implementation may not be fully up to the standards.
We exchanged the M3 for a competing platform and have had no problems since.
Bluetooth is one of those "standards" where actually it's close to magic that it works as often as it does. Huawei's implementation might be further off the standard than most.
We too have noticed the set of AAA (Energizer Max) are already apparently running low so I've purchased some Duracell Ultra Power to see how they fair. If it really does eat batteries, then that's not great.
We've not experienced any issues with coding using an 9.7" iPad (2017 model).
More building tomorrow. We're loving it so far...
The last green icon where you put What does this do is for shooting, something that Vernie does by turning his head readically, IIRC
I currently have the rover MTR4, so I can begin doing the same for this model