Mindsensors mystery item, "Coming in Feb 2011"

[mattallen37]

Go to Mindsensors Coming soon page, and view the new mystery item, "Coming in Feb 2011". What do you suppose it is?

Here are some things I have gathered from the original orientation:
1 The gray colored part on the right appears to be a wire (the 6 wire interface to the NXT).
2 The holes on the left appear to be 3L apart, thus an overall hight of about 5L.
3 The top holes are about 11L apart, thus an overall length of about 12L.
4 There is a "gray plane" about 7 1/2L X 3 1/2L in size, relatively in the middle of the "item".

Here are some things I have gathered from the original orientation AND from orienting the image 90 degrees up in the front, so it appears thin with a bulge up on the right side, and a gray line representing the very end of the wire:
1 The "bulged" part (where the wire comes out) is about 1L thick, and the thinner part is about 1/2L thick.

Here are some conclusions that seem logical:
1 There is no forth hole, as it would be where there is likely the circuit (supported be the fact that the wire comes from there, and that there is a "bulge" to make room for it).
2 The "gray plane" is glass (or similar). Supported by the fact that if you look at the back, there seems to be a larger area that is sunk, making a nice "frame".

Perhaps an LCD? It does have an area near the "bulge" that appears to be a connector of sorts. I would however rule out an LCD based on the fact that most are not I2C compatible, and that the NXT already has one (not to mention that it is over twice as long as tall, not typical for an LCD).

Perhaps a touch sensitive area sensor to sense where you are touching? Possibly even using capacitive technology, as is in their new Number Pad (Which by the way, is AWESOME!!!). I am wondering though, Why such an irregular shape?

Another thing. What if the sensor "front" is actually the back? This would add a considerable amount to the borders, making the "gray plane" (glass?) about 8 1/3L X 4 1/4L.

Based on this theory, I would venture to say that THAT IS a decent enough size for a capacitance touch sensor. If it is, then you could make any front you wanted, by simply making an "overlay template" (go to the Number Pad product page, and there are some downloads that explain what I mean).

So far, my guess is that it is indeed a capacitance touch sensor.

Please post any known info or statistics that may help us me (or anyone else that is curious) to solve the mystery.

[mightor]

I can tell you that it's in fact the NXTPortal, a worm-hole generator for the NXT. It's a bit like the stargate in the movie "Stargate", where you can use specific commands to open a passage to a matching NXTPortal with the same combination. This is a lot of fun if you have friends on the other side of the continent, or indeed the galaxy with the same sensor. I've had one for over a month now and I love it.

The R&D department of Mindsensors have worked tirelessly on this for many months and are very happy with how it works, with the exception of an unfortunate incident involving a small rodent and a tube of toothpaste.

- Xander

[HaWe]

maybe a bigger screen, maybe even a touch screen?

[nxtreme]

Perhaps an LCD? It does have an area near the "bulge" that appears to be a connector of sorts. I would however rule out an LCD based on the fact that most are not I2C compatible, and that the NXT already has one (not to mention that it is over twice as long as tall, not typical for an LCD).

You could easily put a small ucontroller in there to handle all the 'mysterious object'-->NXT communication. It would only raise the cost by another couple dollars and would really increase the options of what you could do with it. It could also handle some of the lower-level touch screen maths and such. I've actually been thinking of making something like this for quite a while but have had too many other projects to finish and the screen I've been looking at is a bit costly [LINK]. Well, whatever it is, it sure looks interesting!

Next up for the NXT, a WiFi access card so that you can connect it to the internet!

-EDIT- Looks like my wish has been granted.

[HaWe]

after all, this kind of Mindsensor's advertising trick appears to work... ;)

I can tell you that it's in fact the NXTPortal, a worm-hole generator for the NXT. It's a bit like the stargate in the movie "Stargate", where you can use specific commands to open a passage to a matching NXTPortal with the same combination. This is a lot of fun if you have friends on the other side of the continent, or indeed the galaxy with the same sensor.

I'm not sure if the size is big enough so that e.g. you will pass through... (God forbid!)

[mattallen37]

Right Xander, nice one. I understand that if since you know already, you cannot tell. I like your sense of humor.

Ok, NXTreme is right, it IS feasible to use a Ucontroller to make an LCD work. I still see unlikeliness though. Why make such an irregular shaped LCD, especially since you already have the NXT's LCD? Also I think it is too thin to house an LCD. It is only probably about 1/2L thick for the most part. Also LCD's usually have a thin metal border, and I don't think there is room for all the leads and such in there (that an LCD would require).

Look at the "back" (position it so the gray plane is larger). Near the "bulge" you can see a place that appears to be a connector/leads from the gray plane, and it looks about like a touch screen interface leads would look.

I still think it is a touch screen, though I am not sure if it uses pressure/analog, or capacitance technology.

[philoo]

Or it might be a LCD with touch screen... throw in a backlight and you have a really nice and useful device!

[HaWe]

philo, what would be a touchscreen like without a LCD screen?
I thought a touchscreen is always a screen which as additionally touch-sensitive..?

[mightor]

philo, what would be a touchscreen like without a LCD screen?

A mousepad

- Xander

[HaWe]

are you serious?
My English is really skaky shaky, but do you really call a mousepad "touchscreen" in English???