Robot or Kit

detect an edge...  you mean the edge of a table, or a wall?

I had a robot that would do this when I was a kid (with walls)

it rolled around, turned when it hit things, smoked (you put
drops of oil in it), and had a tiny record player in it that said
"I am the atomic powered robot.  please give my best wishes
to everyone"


Rich

Hi bjk,

many small kits can do that providing that they have sensors located
in their front.
You have the three choices:
- sonars
- lasers
- cameras (CCD or CMOS)

I think that lasers are somewhat too expensive if your budget is
tight.

You can even buy a Lego Mindstorm Robotics Kit which includes sonars
and up you can quickly program your robot to do just what you want
there. Otherwise, ther are more expensive robots such as the Surveyor
SRV-1 which as a little webcam (CMOS) in front of it.

Anyway, one good source of kits is this one there:
http://www.robotshop.ca/home/index.html

Have fun,

LHR

I would consider the iRobot Create (www.irobot.com).  It has all the
features that you list plus some impressive expandability.  It has a
great support forum, too.

BRW

Looking for a small form factor, something that can fit in your hand
size.

I don't know of one kit off-hand that does both.  Something designed
for your own experiements might be the best way to go.  The Boe-Bot by
Parallax $150 is a popular one and used by many educational
instutions.  I suspect you will find someone on the internet who has
already added these features to their own version.

I just did a quick Google for the words robot, bump, edge and came
across an interesting robot. The Viper by Microbric $180.  It has
components that are purely manufactured on Printed Circuit Boards that
bolt together... the bolted connection providing the electrical
connection as well as structural.  Be sure to watch their promotional
video... very slick.

http://www.microbric.com/page.php?sId=8

Joe Dunfee

Yep...as mentioned by someone before, you want the LEGO Mindstorms NXT.
Does all what you're looking for, it's small (fits in your hand if it's
a good-size hand!), and some great third-party books that show you how
to extend it beyond the projects LEGO provides.

-- Gordon

Hi,

Recently I searched the Web trying to find new platform for my small
Java-based robot.
Finally I created a list of possible platforms for Java robotics.
Mainly for small-size Linux-based robots, which uses single chips with
embedded Java or
small Linux boards, which can run JVM.

See my list if you want:

http://www.RoboHobby.com/platforms_for_java_robotics.jsp

May be this will be useful for you...

Sincerely, Oleg
--
http://www.RoboHobby.com  - Java brain for your small hand-made J2ME
robot, based on cell phone (Siemens S75) with camera.
---