I think the steps are well defined, and with respect to the electronic surely the solution is to attach the robot to the charging station, just an idea regarding points 2, 2.1 and 2.2 mentioned Rich (search and navigation in the charger. portion ideas, but all need further reflection. Step 2.1 - Location Address robot based on charging for Step 2.2 -. Navigating the base load) The idea would be to unify these three points by drawing a picture or drawing of our house (with actual measurements to scale) and that this pattern could be integrated into the floor map ARC. Instead of trying to figure out where the robot at any time or in that room is, the issue would move a red dot (for example) representing the robot on the floor plan and update its position when the robot moves. This would work great programming and would require the compass and sensors above. As the robot moves could take take distance readings on nearby walls to update the map and correct errors during navigation. We should also include in the plan of the house the name of the rooms and the location of the charging station.

Ofcourse the sensors are responsible for avoiding obstacles that are not included in the drawing or have moved. It would be similar to those sophisticated navigation systems that generate a three-dimensional map with laser sensors while moving around the house, but with the difference that the map of the house and we made ??it (bmp or jpg drawing that integrates the floor map. This task is for a programming expert, I'm not trained at all, but I hope the idea is taken into account In short, it would be a kind of game in which the robot is the main character, the house is the area of play, and the joystick to move the character are the sensors and the compass.

you can connect a gps on the charging station with an xbee then connect do and d1 of ezb to rx and tx then have another gps on your robot then caculate the angle then move the robot to it

@R2D2 that's a great addition, as I already have a scaled plan of my house to play with I'll see what can be done using the floor map from ARC and a few other bits and bobs. My guess is it may need the SDK for that though which I have no idea about but we will see and it's certainly worth consideration.

@kudo48pa could you elaborate with more details? Would this method require an additional EZB for the GPS on the charging station? And does the GPS work indoors, accurately enough to be used for this purpose? Explain what you mean by an xbee as from what I gather xbee is a brand name not a specific part.

The idea would be to navigate a hallway using a ping sensor on each side of the robot, taking away side readings and a script that acts as a balance on the wheels of the robot to make the lateral distance measurements are the same and so always walks the center of the hall. The way forward would be a known heading by compass and previously specified in a script, but the script of "balance" an official with the script of "course" continuously to ensure that if there is any object that partially obstructs the corridor, the robot can although the space is smaller and following the course specified. I think that would make many scripts as fata possible contingency.

Well done all this is becoming one of the most challenging and interesting post for us robot builders

May I make a suggestion please If we take a look at Rich's post on the 12th with a layout of his robot location & charger.

Presuming there is no furnture not even a piano in the room . doors are extra wide & no problem to get through the door

is there one type of sensor\transmitter that will get the robot to the charger

I have a suggestion will outline in next post

I see a lot of great suggestions,has anyone tried them yet on EZB to see or compare if they work

@Bravia, it is challenging but that's what makes it so good, if we get a decent solution that can work for many different robot platforms it'll be that much sweeter too

I would say at this stage there is not one single sensor that would do it on its own but a combination of sensors would be needed.