Photovore
as seen in OMNI magazine October 1988

Photovore loves bright places and hates the dark. In the basic mode, it seeks out light sources. When you switch on the next level of intelligence, it cruises around autonomously. You can make Photovore home in on a flashlight's beam, have it zoom in circles around the room, or get it to play keep-away. It is so interactive it seems almost alive! Photovore's brain was modelled after the simple reflex systems of insects using a layered control architecture developed at MIT. The robot cleanly demonstrates the underlying principles of this approach, and its adjustable sensory thresholds allow you to experiment with reflexive control. The 'vore is also just plain fun! This robot is somewhat more complicated to assemble than Muramator and requires about fifty-five dollars worth of extra parts.

Additional Information:

• Big picture - shows the board inside the plastic shell a little better (112KB JPEG)
• Parts - An updated list of required electronic components and prices
• Circuitry - Complete circuit diagram for the robot (163KB JPEG)
• Base - How to select an appropriate vehicle for modification
• PHO-to-vore - from photo "light" (Greek) + vore "swallow up" (Latin)

Contact the folks at Johuco (support@johuco.com) if you have any questions.

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Last updated 8/27/04