Project Goals

Build a very tiny, affordable replacement board for the hexbug spider and transform it into a programmable micro robot.

Delimitation

If i do this project i clearly want to have a few arguments why someone should use this solution against many other existing "programmable Robots".

HEXBUG VEX

Hexbug has it's own programmable robot kits called Vex Robotics. There are different flavors of these kits.

The simple Vex Robotics construction kits are more toys than robots. There are three models which can be assembled with a click-style system. The "programming" is done via a switch matrix which allows for 64 different "programs". Basically you can route two sensors to two actuators, e.g. make left motor turn backward when sensor 1 is triggered and LED lit when sensor 2 is triggered.

The more advanced Vex IQ or Vex EDR series target the educational sector like schools or universities. Here you get the full freedom of building and programming. Of course the price tag is much higher.

Vex Robotics construction kits

Actuators: LED, Motor
Sensors: Bump Sensor, IR Distance Sensor
Control: The Brain (2 Sensors, 2 Motors), simple (IR?) remote control
Pricing: €60 - €109 (€181 for a 4-in-1 Kit)

Vex IQ or EDR

Actuators: Smart Motor, Touch RGB LED
Sensors: Gyro, Bumper, Touch RGB LED, Distance, Color
Control: Brain (12 smart ports, Display), 2.4/0.9Ghz Remote Controller (2 Sticks, 8 Buttons)
Pricing: IQ €230-€280 per kit (coming soon), EDR beginning from €356