HummBot, start your engine!

The last days I have been reading a lot about the DARPA challenge with all the spectacular robotic cars. See also one of my previous posts. This inspired me to start a new robot project: build my own robotic car! Of course I don't have the skills, nor the money to build a real car, but I will try to convert a RC car into a robot. In my attic I found the perfect RC car: a Tamiya Hummer! This 1:12 model provides enough space for the electronics.

The HummBot, as I will call the hummer robot, will be controlled by an Arduino board and I will start with a few IR sensors to sense the distance to surrounding obstacles. After that I plan to add more sensors like Ultrasonic sensors, compass module, accelerometer, camera, ... I think I should start saving some money!

Here two pictures of what the HummBot looks like today. This is still the bare tamiya kit. I will first give it some better painting and after that I will start integrating the first electronics. Will be continued!