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Just think how cool it would be to to have a robot go to your refrigerator, get you a beverage, and bring it back to you - all while you sit and relax in your easy chair! It's possible and it’s all controlled and powered by your Atari 2600. The folks at Chit Labs are hard at work, developing Alfy, the first robot for the Atari 2600.
Chit Labs was so excited about their Alfy robot that they paid for an airline ticket, accommodations at a nearby hotel, and all expenses so I could visit Chit Labs to review and see Alfy in action. When I got to Chit Labs, I was kindly welcomed by CEO himself Horst Chit and his staff. They escorted me to the Chit Resreach and Development Test labs. Horst asked me if I was thirsty and I said yes. I thought that perhaps one of Horst's assistants would go and fetch me a soda or a cup of coffee, but no-one moved. Horst turned to his Atari 2600, moved the joystick a few times, and they all smiled. I could hear some noise in the next room. The noise was like the sound you hear when a bunch of dishes that fall off a table and smash. Then, through the door came this little robot - Alfy - and in his hand was a can of soda for me. He stopped at my feet, and a sound emerged from the Alfy robot’s speaker. "ELLO TEEM". It was saying hello to me! Wow!
Alfy is an amazing little robot that connects to your 2600 through the right joystick port. You can use the left joystick to move him. you can "record" Basically, you control Alfy’s movements. Pushing the joystick left moves Alfy left, pushing the joystick right moves Alfy right, etc., With the included software, you can "record" the movements and then play them back. Upon playback, Alfy performs all of the movements you recorded - perfectly! It's like an instant replay. It's like deja-vu. It's like deja-vu. A practical use would be to record Alfy opening the refrigerator door, grab a prepared dinner dish, open the oven door, and place the dish in the oven. "Think of the possibilities," stated Chit. "You could program Alfy to cook your dinner at home while you are at work, and even how to clean the table of dirty dishes once you are done eating. You can even program Alfy to wash dishes!"
This is going to be revolutionary. I can’t wait to get my own Alfy. I’m sick of mopping and cleaning up all the mud and dirt and mess my dog makes on the kitchen floor when I let her inside. No more worries once I program Alfy to mop it all up!
Chit also demonstrated a new cartridge called Sparky 2. Sparky allows your 2600 to take control of your electrical appliances in your house. With Sparky, your Atari 2600 can turn on your lights at night while you’re not home, turn on your coffee maker in the morning, turn on your oven to cook dinner, etc.
Unfortunately the first version of Sparky tested by Chit Labs was not a success. One of Chit’s programmer later discovered a critical "bug" in the assembly code of the software. For the interface which controls the temperature and oven thermostat, a Chit programmer accidentally programmed one too many zeroes in the code. So originally if you set the Sparky cartridge to turn on your oven at 4:30 PM at a temperature of 400 degrees, Sparky would turn on your oven at blazing 4000 degrees! Unfortunately, this bug was discovered a little too late. The oven melted and nearby Atari 2600 system melted and other kitchen items caught on fire from the extreme temperature and heat at Chit Labs. The fire also spread to half of the Chit Labs corporate headquarters building also, but Chit quickly placed an emergency 911 call and the local fire department was able to put douse the blaze out. Unfortunately, all the code and printed program listings were destroyed by the fire, so Chit had to start over from scratch.
"We've learned from our mistakes," said Chit. "The 'extra zero' bug has been corrected and the new revised Sparky 2 software is accurately igniting ovens now."
Chit has even made an interface that allows the Sparky 2 software to work with Alfy' robot. Alfy can prepare a tasty tuna casserole. Alfy still has some problems getting the dish out of the refrigerator and into the oven. Alfy keeps spilling the casserole dish once he gets it out of the refrigerator. "I'm getting pretty $%#% tired of picking up tuna casserole off the floor," stated a Chit Labs Custodian, who wished to remain anonymous. Maybe Chit should program an Alfy that can clean up after an Alfy!
For more info call 1-777-SPA-RKY2
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