Onboard Camera?

[dlavery]

We have one of the X-10 cameras, and they work well for this type of application. They transmit in the 2.4GHz range, and do not cause problems with the competition frequencies. You can find them for under $90. The basic package includes the camera, transmitter, receiver, NTSC interface to connect to your TV, and power supplies (the camera and transmitter run off 12v dc, so it is very easy to tap power from your robot's power system).

We used the camera quite a bit during post-season on our robot last year. It is a lot of fun to drive the robot around using only "robo-vision" when the robot is beyond your direct line of sight. I had our robot cruising around the neighborhood on July 4, and was able to get a good signal up to 300 feet away (I increased the size of the receiver antenna). It was quite a sight as the robot drove down the street with lights flashing as fireworks went off overhead, while the drivers hid around the corner in my garage!

-dave