[Mike]

Thanks for all the help guys

Originally Posted by Eldarion

I don't think any of the DARPA cars used vision to do very much (correct me if I'm wrong [img]images/smilies/smile.gif[/img] ). They mainly relied on the laser range finders and GPS location being fed into those fancy route-plotting algorithms you mentioned earlier.

Ahh, I was under the assumption that they used mainly vision with redundancy of LIDAR.

Originally Posted by Eldarion

What kind of beacon were you thinking of?

It would have to have a range of a couple hundred feet, without the line of sight that IR requires. Ultrasonic is the next option, but if I choose to use ultrasonic range sensors that may present an interference problem. Overall, I'm not too worried about it right now. One thing I've learned from FIRST planning is to learn what you want to do, and then figure out how to do it.

Originally Posted by 6600gt

Put a range finder on a servo and ever certain incriments record the value to create a map of the area around you.

I'd like to have my 'bot be able to run at least 15mph. This would make it have to go ten feet, stop, take a reading, go ten feet, etc. It is a good idea. If it comes between spending hundreds on laser rangefinders or going slower, I think I'll take your idea.

Originally Posted by 6600gt

What type of microcontroller are you going to use?

Personally, I'm a fan of the AVR ATMega series. That, plus the fact that I have a nifty STK500 sitting in my basement is leading me away from the PICs.

Originally Posted by 6600gt

If you want to use cameras you need far more powerful controllers, possibly a laptop on the RC car.

Yeah, I was thinking about this as well. If I had the money I would purchase a Mini-ITX and mount it. Unfortunately, my budget is exponentially smaller than what that would require.

Thanks for the help Kevin and Avarik