Alternatives to kinect

[Phyrxes]

If you use IR instead of visible light you can ignore most ambient light and only see what is being bathed by the IR light source which is generally mounted co axially to the camera. The downside is it is not an Axis so the libraries don't exist if you want to do any automation with it.

IR IP webcams are fairly cheap on Amazon, think we picked one up for $50 or so, and it runs on 12 Volts. Doubt it will make it on the robot due to automation but it was neat to play with and see how different the feed looks when you are ignoring ambient light and just looking for the retro-reflective tape.