Last month, we gave the Microbric Viper some control via infrared; this month we’re giving him some eyes, courtesy of a line tracker module.

This allows the Viper to follow a high contrast line (at least 20mm wide). This line can be black on a white surface or it can be the opposite – a white line on a black surface.

Contrast can be set to suit the lighting conditions and the blackness or whiteness of the line, relative to its background. We’ll cover this shortly.

First, as Mrs Beaton’s cookbook says, you have to catch your hare Line Tracker Expansion Pack.

The line tracker expansion module contents, shown here still attached to their carrier, include the LED module(A), the line tracker module (B), two right angle modules (C), two straight modules (D), two strips (3-way, E and 5-way, F),  plus packs containing 4 Brics, 6 nuts, 12 screws and 6 spacers.

That’s the easy part: just mosey into your nearest Dick Smith Electronics store (or visit them on www.dse.com.au) and part with just $29.98 and you’ll receive a pack just like the photograph at right.

Naturally, we are assuming that you have been following this series and have previously purchased and built the Viper robot. It’s a bit hard to do anything unless you have!