Electrical Craft Series No.20 (Item 75020)

LINE TRACING SNAIL KIT

Snail actually follows the line! The 21st century is said to be the age of robotics. Tamiya explores this new trend with the release of an assembly robot snail. The Line Tracing Snail uses a special LED sensor to detect a black line (magic marker, etc.) drawn on a white background. It uses two small motors and rubber tires to slowly but surely move forward and turn. The body of the snail is made of transparent (HIPS) plastic to allow viewing of the intricate mechanisms inside.

This clever snail comes with Infrared LED and Photo Transistor The snail emits an infrared light from the Light Emitting Diode on the underside of its chassis. A photo transistor picks up the reflection of the infrared light to distinguish black from white surface. Transistor sensitivity can be adjusted to adapt for a variety of paper sizes and line widths.

Cute little guy ain't he! Snail eyes move in-synch with tires. Snail capable of low/high-speed setting. Low-speed mode suitable for fine lines and narrow areas. High-speed works best for wide areas and thick lines.

Robotics made simple and fun! Snail follows the line without fail. Feel free to line up a family of snails for even more line tracing, robotic wackiness. Opaque body can be painted for added style. (picture features snail painted with Mini-4WD fluorescent paint).

Line Tracing Snail Caught on Film!!

Look at it go! Click here to download 240x180 pixel approx. 16sec. (1.2MB) *Approx. 5min. to download with 64K modem

Basic Specifications

Total height: 176mm Chassis material- ABS resin (2) Type 130 motors (sensor unit and motor come pre-wired). Max. running time (w/ alkaline batteries): low-speed- approx. 2hrs., high-speed- approx. 3hrs. Uses two R6/AA/UM3 batteries (sold separately).

How to draw a snail course

Draw a line on a white surface with an oil based black pen. Tamiya Paint Marker is ideal. Draw curve radius over 8cm, line width over 3mm. *Strong sunlight or lamp light may interfere with sensor. Please use product indoors or in shady areas. Adjust transistor sensitivity and line width to best suit snail running environment.