Hello.

> How powerful are modified hobby servo's?  Is this a agood way to
> go for a small rolling platform?

Yes.  I have built a robot like this.  See BiMo III, at
        http://www.ee.calpoly.edu/~jcline/labbook.htm

I used 1/8" thick clear plastic (acrylic) for the body, and two R/C
hobby servos for the drive motors.  I used the PIC 16F84, and
source code is given.  I also have several references on
using/modifying hobby servos.  BiMo III ran around on carpet
fine, using a battery pack of 6 x 1.25volt AA's (900mAh).  The battery
pack lasts a few hours (supplying motors and pic board).  I'm
unsure how much power the servos gobble.

Forget trying to make your own gearbox and trying to find small,
cheap DC motors.  Use hobby servos.  The only other choice people
favor are steppers (bad choice in my opinion).

I was considering whether or not a PIC 16F84 would be able to
successfully navigate a true IEEE micromouse maze.  I doubt
there's enough power to implement an algorithm for finding the
shortest path..  but to find any path, it is probably do-able.



Jonathan Cline
jcline@ee.calpoly.edu