NoamZ wrote:

keeping our fingers crossed for this project's success!

Well I've encountered a hurdle (and things were going so well).
The little Bot I'm using can only handle about 2 1/4 ounces
(about 62 grams) of weight and still be able to move. BotPot #1
currently weighs 220 grams or about 6 1/2 ounces.

Because I started with green wood (dumb choice) - this thing
is warping - which means centering is out - but I'm still close.
THAT means I can't thin the walls much more without risking
turning through the side - a definite No No given how much
time I've got in this piece. Next time I'll start with a more
stabile wood - and dry to begin with.

As the piece dries, in addition to continuing to warp, it'll get
lighter, but not 70 percent lighter. So it looks like this piece
is going to have to have a LOT of piercing in order to get it
light enough to work. That's a real pity because I lik the look
of the grain and the One Half Dark and One Half Light thing.

I'd like to see a video of ten of these bowls moving randomly in a room.

That's the drawback to doing dynamic pieces - still photographs
dont' show the piece as you'd experience it first hand. A video
would be necessary - but the file sizes are too big for newsgroup
and forums.

As for ten of these things - this first one's really testing my
limited
attention span. Two or three I could probably do. Ten? Don't hold
your breath.

Have you figured out thsi bowkl will always be on the floor? no table
top for these, huh?

When this thing runs into a wall it'll back up and turn left then go
foreward again. So if it' in a display case - or in a large shallow
bowl with vertical side walls . . .

HexBug also makes an ANT which has wire sensors front and back.

The Roomba (the little round robot vacuum cleaner) may be the
basis of the next Scurrying Piece. It has Edge Detection so it
won't fall down the stairs - or off a table - and it can move a lot
more weight. Of course that'll require a bigger lathe ; ).

Look for a Scurrying Bowl float in this year's Rose Parade!