21st Birthday Wishlist

Indeed. My 21st birthday is coming up.

This year, I've decided I am going to ask for birthday presents in a slightly different fashion, though. I'm going to compile a bill of materials on this blog-post that I would need to make my own little robot. I'll split it up into two categories: parts I need (because I don't have an alternative), and parts I want (but for which I already have an alternative if I don't get them).

Parts I Don't Have

The following parts are those without which I probably won't be able to make the bot I want.

Part Qty. Unit Price Description
Micro Maestro 6-Channel USB Servo Controller  1 $19.95 allows me to control up to 6 servos at a time, and it can act as the slave to a micro-controller that sends it serial commands
HS-55 Sub-Micro Servo 3-6 $9.99 generic robotic actuator, and you can possibly find a cheaper version on eBay or Amazon
Infrared Distance Sensor (4-30cm) 1-2 $13.95 detects distance using infrared light and is cheaper compared to sonar distance sensors

Parts I Would Like

The following are parts I can do without, but would love to have.

Part Qty. Unit Price Description
HS-81 Micro Servo  3-6 $12.69 would substitute the HS-55 Sub-Micro Servo simply because it has a slightly higher stall torque
Raspberry Pi Micro-Computer 1 $35 I know what you're thinking: a Micro-Computer?!? It's only $35 and would allow me to potentially make this bot web-cam capable... but it's true, I can do without because I already have an Arduino Duemilanove, though I also wouldn't mind upgrading to an Arduino Uno
Infrared Distance Sensor (10-80cm)  1-2 $11.95 extends the range of my distance sensing, but I wouldn't go for a range much farther than this because it severely limits close-up sensing; this would replace the other IR distance sensor
Clover CM625P B/W "Ultra Mini" Covert Camera CCTV 1 $21 the cheaper, the better, because I'm going to tear it apart, most likely; however, I may already have a candidate, and will cross this out if I find it
Bluetooth to Serial Slave 1 $14.95 This would allow wireless control (or with a little work, possibly wireless programming, too); there appears to be a cheaper version on eBay (~$8), but if I don't get one of these, I'll eventually buy one from the Robotics Club for cheap

How Do I Contribute To Your 21st, Troy?

Well, if you want to contribute to my 21st and let me know which parts I don't have to purchase myself, you can fill out this Doodle (if you don't want to ruin the surprise, leave your name out or put anonymous):  http://doodle.com/5pgysvn97p934pd9.

Another option is to offer the good ol' birthday dollars if you don't feel comfortable buying the sensor yourself.

If you're thinking about contributing, I greatly appreciate it. If not, rest-assured, I still like you and your friendship is more important to me than robots.

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