Hank, The Bumper Tank - LEGO MINDSTORMS Robots Manual

The MIT Programmable Brick
http://el.www.media.mit.edu/groups/el/projects/programmable-brick/
The MIT Programmable Brick is the forerunner of the RCX. Looking through this site is like leafing through the RCX's family photograph album.
Crickets: Tiny Computers for Big Ideas
http://fredm.www.media.mit.edu/people/fredm/projects/cricket/
If MINDSTORMS robots aren't small enough for you, take a look at Crickets, another project from the fine people at MIT. Hardly larger than a nine-volt battery, Crickets are a very tiny mobile
robot platform. Crickets are not publically available, but this site can give you the inspiration to build your own tiny robots.
What's New at Eureka
http://www.eureka.com/whatsnew/robotvac.htm
I'm not the only one who doesn't want to vacuum the floor. This page at Eureka describes the Eureka Robot Vac, a kind of concept car in the world of vacuum cleaners. Supposedly it will navigate
through a room, around obstacles and over electrical cords, vacuuming as it goes. My favorite part: "Switch on the robot vac and you'll hear a robotic tone" What's a robotic tone?
2

Hank, the Bumper Tank

In this chapter:
• About the Building
Instructions
• Building Instructions
• A Simple Program
• Wheels
• Bumpers and Feelers
• Gears
• Multitasking
• Online Resources
Hank is the first robot we'll be building. He is a friendly robot who explores the floor of a room. Whenever he bumps into an obstacle, like a chair leg or a shoe, he backs up, turns away from the
obstacle, and goes forward again. This chapter includes complete building and programming instructions so that you can build Hank yourself. Hank is a fairly simple robot that will serve as a good
jumping-off point to discuss:
Page 14