Bluetoothkiwi documents his LEGO Mindstorms Swimming Pool Insect Terminator (SPIT) – it’s a great example of the process of problem-solving.

Swimming Pool Insect Terminator (SPIT) is a special self powered autonamous floating robot that locates and destroys small clusters of bugs that float on the top of swimming pools. We used LEGO MINDSTORMS to build this. LEGO TECHNIC wheels are used as floats. The only non TECHNIC part that was used in this project is a can of inspect spray.
The robot uses the light sensor to detect the presence of insect cluster while the Ultrasonic sensor is used to avoid bumping into the side of the pool by telling the steering motor to turn. When the Light sensor detects a cluster of bugs it tells a motor to push the button on a can of Insect spray. Another motor is used to power the SPIT forward. The project was a success and we learned a lot from it – though there are still a lot of room for improvements.