Boulder, CO, March 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, SparkFun Electronics® announced the presale availability of the Basic and Advanced Autonomous Kits for the Sphero® RVR for shipping early fall. These kits transform the RVR into a mobile autonomous robot through the Raspberry Pi® Zero W and a suite of sensors.
The SparkFun Basic Autonomous Kit for Sphero RVR provides both global positioning and vision to the Sphero RVR. A pan-tilt device allows a camera to not only provide video from the viewpoint of the RVR, but provide the ability to look around it as well. The Raspberry Pi Zero W and the camera provide enough power to run most of the machine vision programs that will run on the Raspberry Pi platform. In addition, the GPS board provides global-position capabilities to the RVR. When paired with the sensors already on board the RVR, these components offer all the crucial sensing abilities for autonomous mobility.
The SparkFun Advanced Autonomous Kit for Sphero RVR provides all the functionality of the basic kit with the addition of time-of-flight distance sensing in the front and rear. The Qwiic® distance sensing boards use time-of-flight technology to provide highly accurate distance sensing for things like collision and obstacle detection.
“With the RVR, Sphero has truly opened the world of robotics to limitless possibilities. We started with autonomous kits because the SparkFun community, from students to hobbyists to engineers, have expressed great interest in this technology,” said Jahnell Pereira, Chief Business Development Officer at SparkFun, “Now, anyone can build an autonomous mobile robot - for competition, for play, or for learning.”
Presale orders for the RVR and the kits can be placed at www.sparkfun.com. Shipments will start early fall.
About SparkFun Electronics (www.sparkfun.com)
In 2003, CU student Nate Seidle blew a power supply in his dorm room and, in lieu of a way to order easy replacements, decided to start his own. Since then, SparkFun has been committed to sustainably helping our world achieve electronics literacy and explore the edges of technology from our headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. No matter your vision, SparkFun's products and resources are designed to make the world of electronics more accessible. In addition to more than 2,000 open source components and widgets, SparkFun offers online tutorials and training designed to help demystify the wonderful world of embedded electronics. We're here to help you start something!
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