Java based robotics?

[James Elsey]

Hi folks,

A friend introduced me to something called Arduino, which seems quite interesting, but from what I can gather it requires learning C/C++ and some proprietary SDKs.

Is there any alternative products that use Java? I'd like to experiment with something like arduino but would prefer to use Java.

Thanks!

[fred rosenberger]

I happen to have an Arduino book on my desk at this very moment. You don't need to learn C++, you need to learn the language for programming the Arduino, which is BASED on C++.

But then again, so is Java.

[Jesper de Jong]

I haven't tried it myself, but I think you can also program the Arduino using the programming language called "Processing". It's a lot like Java (in fact, it is an internal DSL (domain specific language) in Java).

See: http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Interfacing/Processing

[Walter Gabrielsen Iii]

That's a cool hardware chip, but its language Arduino appears to be procedural (more like writing a run method for a premade object (the hardware being the object)). I haven't heard about such a chip for Java before but I can give you some leads.

Here are some Java technologies that might meet your needs (how active they are I don't know, but perhaps you can track down some hardware makers that support them): JAVA EMBEDDED, Java Card, Java TV.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Apress has a book called "The Definitive Guide to BUilding Java Robots".