A camera would be a good start, you can easily do face tracking and color tracking. Heck, you could even add some LED's lights up there! And/or a microphone for voice commands! Obviously he will need a turning head, you will probably need to use a 180* servo as you'll have the camera and lights in R2's head, and the wires would get tangled if you used a 360* servo.

Oh and you SHOULD add some sounds, like just of R2's beeps and stuff. If you feel like going the extra mile, try building a retractable leg; however I have read in the past doing so requires a lot of time, skill, and trail and error. One more thing you could consider is adding a Ping sensor, so he can avoid obstacles. Whew that was a lot...Hope that gave you some ideas!

~TXTCLA55

Hello,

Carlos here, form California. I actually have this R2D2 interactive droid. Its the best. I am also way interested and will buy an ez board. i thought about gutting my r2, but really, it does everything you want it to do. (except joystick control) other than that, its perfect. infa-red, voice control, omnibot, special commands and no P.C. needed, completly independent.

So my first project will be a WALL-E.

Then I will have a nearly perfect R2, thats good to go right out of the box and a custom wall-e

Again , i love the idea, but really this r2 is awesome...no need to gut it.

but if you do, please please post pics.....i might be convinced.

Much lovE.

carlos.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll let you know how it turns out. There is a "Fake" camera that sticks out on top of his head. I was thinking of making that a real camera. There are also side compartments that could easily handle something like a grapling arm.

I think the retractable leg is way beyond my skill set at this point, but with time we will see.

Thanks, Ron

Oh man! I would have so much fun with an R2D2 shell! Have you measured the body to see if a Mini-ITX would fit?

If so! That would be unreal to have a fully autonomous smart little R2 unit. You could have it locate a charging station, etc..

I was thinking about a Mini-ITX as well, but wasn't sure if it would fit. I haven't opened it up yet (still playing with its current functions). The external measurements are as follows:

Cylinder Circumference - 20"(50cm) Cylinder Height - 8"(20cm) Dome Height - 5"(12cm)

A Mini-ITX dimensions are 6.7X6.7(17x17), so based on external measurements, it would fit, but that's not including a power source, HD, servos, and EZ-B.