Nugget!

My very first robot became autonomous last night. I’ve been chipping away at it (ha ha) on and off for several months now, and at long last it can roll under its own power, directed by a C program compiled and flashed down to the processor. It’s still blind (no sensors), but there was still an immense satisfaction just in creating a critter that can roll around according to some C program I create. The goal of the project is (a) to be a total geek and (b) to create an autonomous robot cheap and easy enough to assemble that I will be able to make a dozen or more of them and play with flocking behavior. So far, we seem to be succeeding on both counts. The parts-cost for one machine like the one I’ve got now is just under $40.

So, in the words of Cake, I’m “creating small contraptions that roll across my polished hardwood floor.”