HaloBOT is a small robot using commercially available parts and, without a working knowledge of electronics, any handy person should be able to build it at home. Featuring some fancy wheels at the rear, a small castor for mobility under the front and a special bumper, it motors slowly and “feels” its way around. It can be easily programmed using a variety of methods.
The background for this project goes back several years. I was asked by the local school to help to get their robot going for the maze competition a few weeks later. While we didn’t have time to teach the students how to program the robot, we were able to turn it into a problem-solving exercise and the class was successful in getting it to complete the maze.

Read more in the Aug/Sept 2010 issue of The Shed