Nearly frictionless, hovercraft make challenging robot platforms. Robots with wheels travel in the direction they are headed and stop when commanded. Hovercraft on the other hand coast and twist as they travel, requiring new ways of thinking and procedures for controlling them. This characteristic gives the NearSys HoverBot the ability to simulate a two-dimensional spacecraft and the issues involved with controlling it.
The HoverBot kit contains the parts to construct a robotic hovercraft, all you need to add is a robot controller. A CheapBot-14 and CheapBot-18 works well as the robot controller.
Instructions for making a HoverBot
Sample code for testing a HoverBot
