(via XRC ITALIA) The latest issue of our  hobby magazine has just been released in Italian newstands. A really cool news is the new Hitech Mavin Robot. I first saw this little bot during last Nuremberg Toy Fair and seems that it's finally been releasead in the European market. What I like of this little robot, beside the accessible price, is the fact that you can choose several blocks (modules) to modify the characteristics of the bot: something like a mix between a Lego robot and the Denshi blocks from Gakken with a little retro touch (the design rminds me the Movit robots from the 80's). The only thing missing from the package is a MAC OSX version of the icon–based visual programming software (right now it's just compatible with  Windows).


There is a free contest for the italian readers of the magazine but I just found out that this contest is actually open to anyone and you can win one robot here.

Applications:

- Line tracer, detect and follow line
- Light tracer, interaction with light
- Sound tracer, respond to sound
- Pathfinder, navigate a maze
- Robot sports, soccer, sumo

Sensor Modules Included:

- LCD display
- 7 segment led display
- Speaker
- 3 x Tactile Switch
- Light detection
- 4 x LED
- Touch sensor
 
System Requirements

- Windows Xp
- Intel® Pentium® 3 or better
- 1 available USB port
- CD-ROM drive
- 256 MB or RAM minimum
- 300 MB harddisk space
- XGA display [1024x768]