My diploma in electrical engineering seems to disagree with you However, that aside, I was asking a question, that is indicated by the ? symbol after the sentence, not stating a fact.

I didn't say going cheap, I said small budget or a budget of nothing. There is a huge difference between cheap and cost effective. Some may have thousands of dollars to waste but if there is a cheaper alternative that's the one to promote, that's the one to shoot for, that's the one that will have more interest.

hows about a gliph...not sure how to say it, those pics with the black squares. DJ Sures says the the robots can "read" they see the gliph and it triggers scripts.

AIBO and QRIO both found the charging station and then positioned themself in the perfect spot to charge themselves, using 2 gliphs (made by sony so im assuming its the best way to find the station)

one gliph is wrapped around a small pole on the floor in the corner of a room its about a foot tall. charging base right infront of it.

seconfd gliph is on the floor right infront of the chraging station.

the first gliph (on the pole) has will run scripts that will "bring" the robot near the base and then instruct it to look down.

the second gliph will adjust the movement just right, with scripts on where to stand.

once in that position the last script the gliph triggers is to roll over the connection.

2 simple pics will trigger scripts that use the sensons and servos to get hte robot to the station....but yes 2 simple qr codes int he corner of a room. as long as the robot is constanly looking around, it will find it.

I asked if compass would do it and you said it would need (and I quote) "you would need a lot more then a COMPASS..."

And again, there is a huge difference between cheap and cost effective. How many times do I need to repeat myself to you before it gets through? If ever you need to find your head I have a number for a great proctologist...

How much I'm willing to spend is a totally different issue. I'm trying to find the best way of achieving this. The best way is a balance between all factors, cost being one of the main factors to most people I have ever come across.

yep that i said ,need more then a compass,one extra fairly cheap sensor ,encoder for the motor or accelometer ,only a extra $25 more ,plus the compass to tell what heading to go I would say about $60 total cost if buy from china

IR and SONARS you all ready have,at the same time sonars and ir tells you when to stop in front of the charging base besides using them to tell the distance from each wall

With a good X AND Z map can almost use only sonars and IR'S ,and you can detect wall corners if you use the correct position and cone shape

Also what i found out since ,i have about 15 neato,s i use for selling parts and biggest item is LIDAR sensor that does a 360 deg navigation tracking

That is only use the LIDAR sensor and mapping software to find home base charger and hook up to it it has magnetic sensor to detect the home base plates

There is no transmitter or receiver on home base like the ROOMBA has can place it anywhere in the area and will return back to home base when battery is low

looks better as a platform then a roomba is ,for robots

Also RICH have you really tested the QR codes,to see if it can be pick up at over 10 feet plus distance on the wall where you have it too most rooms are 12 by 12 feet,and if in another room WILL NOT be able to see it

That a major problem of house navigation,like mine i have 3 bedrooms ,kitchen ,dining room ,plus living room and a workshop room.

robot can be in any of the rooms AND CHARGING BASE IN ANOTHER

On indoor GPS design i read while back is based on using WIFI system at the design

look it up on the internet under INDOOR GPS system

Another idea i heard some has tried is like a wall beacons on each wall with a different code for each one for home base finder AND i know few ways it can be done also

I have done lot of research on home base finder ,and different ways to try it ,more then most of us

My design uses a computer to control the charging base and sensors to guide it in (like a tractor beam) also it switches from charging to low current to keep it charged till you call for it it also uses what called ROBOCHAT to talk to the other computer (robot) ,and tells it how to find it

i cant post any info on the software because DJ said NO

But that's not using the EZB or ARC software so it's of no use here. This forum is for the EZB and ARC/SDK so mapping software, robochat or whatever isn't an option.