Hi Soeren.
Thanks for replying...
Is this just a very odd way of saying that you need to make a line detector?
No is not... I need to literally find spots or mostly flat objects on the floor, with the characteristic of them being darker than the surroundings.
That may be a slight problem with conventional sensors.
How long is your experience in electronics and programming?
I've worked with electronics in the past, both analog and digital. But I have never done robotics "per se".
As far as programming, I have some experience with BASIC, C++ and scripting. I also did a lot of low level programming back in the days (Zilog's Z80)
Ouch. That leaves you around two choices: LASER scanner or camera.
I was afraid that would be the direction to take... and when I say "afraid" I mean it in the sense that this would rule out cheaper sensors, which makes the whole thing pricier to manufacture and sale.
That depends on your experience, but do take a look at the CMU cam.
And before that... Consider if the sensor could be placed closer to ground and be reading closer to the vehicle.
I took a peek yesterday at the CMUCam, and it looks promising...
Making the sensing area smaller would mean that the robot will be very shortsighted, which makes it harder for it to cover a large area finding objects in a "smart" way (other than going around randomly and finding whatever comes really close to it).
Thanks again for your reply... and any other advice would be really appreciated.
Regards.