The "Creeper" is a small 8-legged
robot that can be steered by a light source. The robot has tethered 12
and 5 volt power supplies but is otherwise stand-alone. It
was designed and built for the 3rd International BEAM Robot Olympic Games
in Toronto, Ontario in 1994. It was built for the legged race event in
which non-wheeled robots were to race one another from a start line to
a finish line. This little guy won the gold medal in legged
race since its 12volt motors were much quicker that the other competitors
which uses solar cells and contracting "muscle" wires.
The main difficulty I encountered
was that of creating strong enough legs that would hold the body as well
as provide forward motion. The large 12 volt motors added additional weight
which was compensated for by the large external power supply.
Here are the schematics that allow the robot to be steered according to
the amount of light in each eye:
