I am following the Udacity online course on Robotics and Self-Driving cars. I’ve completed the localization lessons and am beginning the motion planning lessons. I am anxious to begin using the coding challenges in real scenarios.
I have been a python developer for over 6 years so the programming is not terribly challenging but robotics hardware is a new area for me.
I am looking for the following features:
- A robot kit that includes some kind of environment sensor
- The kit should be programmable in (C++ preferably)
- The kit should be extensible to other sensors
The Rover V2 seems like a good candidate since it deals with #2 above (Arduino). However it does not have an on-board sensor and I’m worried of purchasing it separately since I don’t have any soldering equipment (nor experience).
It does seem however that the Rover V2 has two additional XBee areas but again I couldn’t find a sensor that’s attachable without soldering.
Any advice regarding the above is appreciated. If anyone is aware of a Kit that’s better suited to the above than the Rover I am open to suggestions as well. I saw the Lego Mindstorms EV3’s for ca. $350 on Amazon and they do meet two of the three criteria. But I would rather learn to solder than program in Java!