object avoidance photovore

[quickflame]

is it possible to add an ability to a photovore/light follower robot to have an ability to avoid objects?
and how woud this be attained???  has anyone did this before? any help woud be appreciated (ideas,schematic diagrams, programming) thanks!

[parallax]

If you give the range-finding sensor priority over your photoresistors in the code you'll be all set. This can be achieved with an if-else statement in the main loop of your program. Here's some example psuedo-code:

Do-While(){
if (object is to close){
    avoidance_behavior();
    exit();
    }else{
    Lightseeking/fleeing_behavior();
    }
Other code here
}
End_Do-While

If the first condition is true then the robot will skip the light seeking (or fleeing depending if your building a photovore or a photophobe) and go into whatever avoidance routine you program. Otherwise it will continue to love or hate the light. 

Hope that helps!