Nomad 200 was a cylindrical robot around 1 metre tall and 20 inches in diameter and moved on three wheels. It could travel at 0.5 metres per second[3] and rotate at 60 degrees per second.[4] It was built as a synchronous system capable of handling three motors: for movement, for turning the wheels, and for turning its turret.[5]
The basic robot, comprising the mobile base and the control system, cost $16,000 in 1990. It had a base tactile sensor ring outfitted with 20 independent pressure sensitive sensors.[2] It could be equipped with 16 sonar sensors mounted around the circumference, 16 infra-red sensors. For example, it included a bump sensor that protects the robot from bumps that were not detected by the sonar a magnetic compass. There was also a TV camera and laser rangefinder system and two rows of ten contact sensors. The laser system worked by drawing in space a plane of light, producing a broken line when an object intersects it.[6] The additional sensor systems cost between $1,500 and $7000.[3]
It was controlled by an on-board Intel 486 based computer system.[7]
