Robot or Kit

I have been looking for a small robot or kit that can do the following:
Detect an edge and turn around and go in a random direction when it finds one.
Do the same when it hits and object or can't move forward.
Anyone know of any?

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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
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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.
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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

bjk wrote:
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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.