

Ask HN: best (toy) robotics platform? - Tichy

Never mind that I don't really have the time for it, I am tempted by the Pleo. From YouTube videos I get the impression that it does not do very much yet, except purr and twist in a cute fashion, but maybe it could be programmed in interesting ways? For example I have read that it does not have image recognition that is capable of recognizing people (a ka it's owner). I wonder if there is a chance of programming it as an outsider, or is the hardware simply not capable enough?<p>Then again, if the cuteness factor is not the main attraction, perhaps there are other robotics platforms that are more interesting? Of course there is Lego Mindstorms - I just checked, and it doesn't seem to come with a camera per default. So maybe it is far behind the Pleo in computing power? Or what about Roombas, they can be programmed, too. Anything else? I suppose the Aibo was more capable than the Pleo? But the price tag is still too high (still &#62;&#62; 1000€ on ebay).
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apgwoz
One of my college professors used to build all sorts of things with a
<http://www.fischertechnik.com/> set. I think he once mentioned that it was
somewhat compatible with Lego blocks, but I see no evidence of that. Perhaps
some pieces work...

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noodle
another option is lego mindstorm sets.

beyond that, there aren't any cheap, flexible, powerful home robotics kits.

