computer science

Robik

Robik is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Robik rather than just read about it. In short: ALU Robik (Russian: Арифметико-Логическое Устройство «Робик», lit. 'Arithmetic Logic Unit «Robik»') was a Soviet and Ukrainian ZX Spectrum clone produced between July 1989 and January 1998 by the NPO "Rotor" in Cherkasy. Over 70 000 was produced, while few millions was planned.

Key takeaways

Robik belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Robik to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Robik from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

ALU Robik (Russian: Арифметико-Логическое Устройство «Робик», lit. 'Arithmetic Logic Unit «Robik»') was a Soviet and Ukrainian ZX Spectrum clone produced between July 1989 and January 1998 by the NPO "Rotor" in Cherkasy. Over 70 000 was produced, while few millions was planned.

Specification The Robik is a monoblock computer in the keyboard formfactor, with an external power supply block, permanently connected by wire. Older cases produced by the SELTO, and newer produced by the NPO "Rotor" (on the back side of keyboard case there is a logo of manufacturer).

Motherboard It came in four versions, with only minor changes made for Russian internationalization and localization. The hardware remained largely unchanged, but cheaper parts were used for each version. The fourth version had the new addition of a single integrated circuit. This version did not sell well because by then the main market for the Robik was hardware enthusiasts and this design did not allow for modifications. Robik had two EPROM chips. There are two languages in the M2764AF-1 chip from ST, which can be switched by shortcut keys.

Keyboard The computer came with 55 keys,. It had the possibility to switch between Latin and Russian fonts.

A total of 55 keys in the main group: Two RES ("Reset" keys), DEL ("Delete"), EXIT, ↵ Enter; Full English/Russian (QWERTY/ЙЦУКЕН) keyboard; Two ⇧ Shift, and in some variants; , and . stop keys; ⌖ ("Fire" key), MF ("Multifunctional" key, in some variants changed to third one ⇧ Shift), Space; C ("CAPS C") and L ("CAPS L") keys. Four keys in a separate group (on the right, next to main group) — cursor keys (together with "Fire" key it also worked as a joystick). The letters on switches caps were written using laser beam technology, as a result labels represented as outlined symbols (in the last version stamp printing used for place labels as filled symbols instead).

PKM 1B The keyboard buttons are based on the PKM 1B (Russian: ПКМ 1Б, lit. 'magnetic keyboard switch') reed switches, instead of copper or iron contact plates.Initially, the PKM 1B switches produced by the EMZ "Magnit" (Ukraine) was used, but original production of switches discontinued during the production of the Robik, and the NPO "Rotor" launched its own production line for the PKM 1B switches instead.

Peripherals The Robik had four ports on the back side: ВИДЕО ("Video"), RGB, JS-K, ◯_◯ ("Tape"). It had no edge connector and video output was analog RGB on a 5-pin DIN or digital TTL on an 8-pin DIN. Inside the case there was a male 64-pin connector that could be mapped to the standard edge connector.

Display The Robick supports to be connected to either monochrome MDA/Hercules or color EGA monitor (via ВИДЕО out), or color TV (via RGB out). For the RGB out, there are adjusters for each of color channel (R, G and B), as well as overall color invertor toggle – all are accessible via the marked access holles on the bottom side of computer. There was no composite video and all I/O ports were 5- and 7-pin DINs. When writing, the screen memory to the TV/monitor screen did not begin from the top left of the border, but instead began from border right under paper. This meant that most multicolor effects and some games did not work correctly. Errors in the ROM have been fixed and Cyrillic letters were also inserted. The keyboard matrix was extended from five keys in eight rows to five keys in nine rows to allow for more buttons. A reset could be performed by pressing two RES buttons.

Sound NPO "Rotor" produced an external music sound device for the Robik.

External storage Robik has no internal mass storage and uses cassette tapes as an external storage. It requires to connect cassette deck via ◯_◯ ("Tape") port, for read and write data. There was also an external floppy disk drive produced for the Robik by NPO "Rotor", to use diskettes instead of tapes.

Joystick There is the JS-K port for connecting joysticks via Kempston Interface.

Printer Printer has been developed for the Robik by NPO "Rotor".

Software The Robik distribution includes a cassette tape with seven programs:

"BASICTEST" (computer testing and debugging application) "DEVPAC" (compiler/decompiler/debugger) "RED" (text editor) "KRACOUT" (video game) "ART-STUDIO" (raster image editor) "IS CHESS-48" (chess video game) "BAT"

Legacy

There is a number of the Robik computers stored in various museums and private collections around the world:

Software and Computer Museum, Kyiv and Kharkiv (Ukraine) Museum of Computer Technology of the University of Lviv (Ukraine) The It8bit.Club Museum of Retro Computers, Mariupol (Ukraine). Museum was fully destroyed in March 2022, in a result of shelling by Russians during the Battle of Mariupol (website continue to exists as a virtual museum now) Ust'-Kamenogorsk Computer Museum (Kazakhstan) The Peek & Poke Computer Museum, Rijeka (Croatia) Le musée de l'informatique Silicium, Corbarieu (France) Kompjutry.cz, moving computer museum (Czechia) The Home Computer Museum, Oberhausen (Germany) The Number Crunchers Homecomputer Museum (Germany) The Freeman PC Museum, Long Beach (California, USA) Rhode Island Computer Museum, Warwick (Rhode Island, USA) Arcade Vintage Museum (Spanish: Museo del Videojuego Arcade Vintage), Ibi (Spain) Reale-Rydell Computer Museum, virtual museum Hal's friends Computer Museum, virtual museum (Italy) Osmibitóve muzeum, virtual museum (Chechia) The Clueless Engineer, vlogger (Australia) Personal Computer Museum, Ontario (Canada) У 2017, the "LandauCenter" at the National University of Kharkiv organized an exhibition of the 1980s computers. Exposition included the Robik from the Software and Computer Museum collection. Since the end of production, there are a lot of the Robik computers present on the secondary market.

Facts On 22 May 1993, on the cover of the printed addition to one of the local magazines in Kryvyi Rih (Ukraine) was placed the next classified advert:[Proposing] a software for computers the «Robik», the «Master» and others. (the Spectrum) Local schools was gifted with hundreds of the Robik computers by NPO "Rotor" for free. The hardware contained about three to four grams of gold and almost eighteen grams of silver, and some of other rare metals are present in various electronic components used in the Robik. As a result, many of the Robik computers have been dismantled for recovery of the costly parts.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Robik

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Robik claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Robik before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Robik ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Robik

In research: Robik appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Robik in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Robik is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer-related introductions in 1989, Soviet computer systems, ZX Spectrum clones, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Robik outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Robik in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Robik means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Robik out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Robik in simple terms?

Why does Robik matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Robik?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Robik.