Update

It's been far too long since my previous post so I'm just throwing in a quick update about the ScoCopTer and then a bit of information about future projects I have planned.

The ScoCopTer V3 was programmed nicely and I had a successful scanner, however because of the placement of the feeding mechanism I lost almost an inch on the margins. So I have decided to scrap this version again, and build it with the feeding mechanism slightly behind the scanning part so it can scan the whole width of the page. I also need to make the rack which the scanning module moves across a lot wider so there's enough space to easily accommodate two motors without it being too wide.

I have just received my linear actuator in the post which makes the raising and lowering of the pen a lot easier and I am toying with the idea of a special mechanism for the pen and colour sensor module which I may experiment with over the next few days.

Hopefully I will be able to properly get to work on the new ScoCopTer over the weekend, I've just had so much homework at the moment it's been hard to find time.

Over the past few weeks I have been developing a list of projects that I would like to complete in the next couple of years, I will provide a little bit of information about each one as I go through:

• A colour sorter - This is a must for all NXT owners, it's a machine that I have always been interested in but it was exceptionally difficult with the RIS light sensor which only sensed black/white so getting colours was difficult and I wasn't experienced to make my own home-brew sensors, however now there's a colour sensor this is a lot easier and there are so many possible mechanisms for a colour sorter that it will be great fun to try out.
• A domino layer - I want to make a model that will follow say a black line and lay dominoes along it's course, or for a line to be drawn on the computer and the robot to lay them.
• A stair climber - I have always been interested in the various methods used to climb stairs by robots and I want to experiment with my own to see what I find to be the most efficient.
• A hexapod - I don't want a hexapod that's connected to gears with rods, I want to try and create a much more mechanical walker, perhaps taking inspiration from Theo Jansen's design.
• A biped - Bipeds have always been a huge challenge to make out of lego and I've never successfully been able to make one, but nevertheless I would like to have a go and see if I can change all that. 
• A transforming robot - This is very much an optimistic idea but I would like to try and create a project that can start as say a car/tank and then transform into a humanoid or something else. 
• 4x4 truck with suspension - A nice compact 4x4 has always been an idea lingering in the back of my mind and it'll be interesting to try and make compact with the size of the motors and NXT itself.

For now this is all the ideas i've got, but I'm sure I'll think of more over the next few months, and it's certainly enough to get me started!

S