Spark II is the robot developed to illustrate the light-following behavior that will be running in parallel with other behaviors in a behavior-based AUV project. The AUVs control system will function similarly to my past robots, employing a cascading array of behaviors from high to low priority. The AUV, carrying out it's tasks in water, must operate under complex dynamic environments. This was designed explicitly as a platform for testing light-tracking algorithms.
Built - March 3rd, 2001
Size - 7" x 5" x 3" square body
Body - plastic cover to a Radio Shack project box
Electronics - 1 BASIC Stamp II microcontroller unit, 2 servo motors with wheel attached, 1 2-channel L329D H-bridge motor driver circuit, 3 photo-voltaic cadmium sulfide photo sensors, 1 9V batteries, 4 C batteries for drive motors (stored underneath)
Control System - subsumption controller
Time to Build - 1 day
Cost - $100