Mapping robot

Alex1

I want to make some kind of robot that can navigate around the house (perhaps map it). I'm guessing the most cost effective way is having some kind of sensor to measure the distance traveled and in what direction, and to periodically 'sync' its position to some kind of a fixed beacon.

Perhaps there is some kind of pre-made robotic platform that I can get with basic navigational instruments?

Mike Green

Generally, that's how people do it.

With the BoeBot that Parallax sells, there's a wheel encoder option that tells the controller how much the wheels have rotated and the program calculates how far the robot has gone and in what direction (less any slippage). This can be combined with a compass for confirmation of direction and the use of IR distance sensing and/or ultrasound distance sensing and obstacle avoidance (PING sensor).

The BoeBot kit includes a BS2 microcontroller which is the "smallest". It's certainly adequate for learning and experimenting with the techniques needed for an autonomous house robot, but expect that eventually you will replace the BS2 with one of the other Stamps with more memory. You should also get the wheel encoder kit and the PING sensor with its servo bracket.

There's all sorts of documentation and examples available for download for free from Parallax. Explore their "Resources" and "Downloads" tabs on their main web page. All documentation for their products is linked from the webstore page for the product.