My first experiment with the Arduino platform: a simple light-seeking robot, built using a few light-seeking resistors, a toy car and an Arduino. It's practically an exact replica of this: lab.guilhermemartins.net/?p=139.

While he's not formally named, his brazen disregard for walls (as evidenced by this video) has earned him the nickname 'Bumps McGee'.

Bumps' potential coming upgrades this weekend:
- solar power (via solar panel)
- collision detection (using IR sensor)

Not entirely sure how long it's taken me to put him together. All in all, I guess, about a weekend's work spread over a number of evenings. Acquiring basic soldering skills, ripping apart the toy car and learning how the Arduino worked were the biggest hurdles. Faster, better and with less burns will be the aims of the next project.