I am working on a small educational robot for the CREATE lab at CMU. It is going to be used to help hold the interests of Intro to CS students. Starting in the spring of 2009, the Finch will start being used in classrooms at CCAC (Community College of Allegheny County).

The Finch has a differential drive train utilizing part of its tail as a caster. An industrial engineer was hired in order to design a sleek shell for the robot. Along with the sleek design there is added functionality since the tail allows the finch to stand up on its back. This makes debugging easier since you don't have to worry about it driving off your desk while testing.

Some of the features of the Finch include:

-USB powered

-Accelerometer

-Tri-color LED

-IR proximity sensors

-Photocells

-Thermistor

-Buzzer