Selective comments:
> ...Just goes to show the humanity of pleo, watch this:...
And they did it on Mythbusters as well: Season 9 Eps 15 (can't find it on the web, but they discuss it here
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbusters-walk-a-straight-line ). Same results, no straight line on land or in the water.
>...(the original OS won't be used in this project).
I assume you mean you won't be using the default personality, but using the Pleo PDK.
Motion files:
The PDK (either original or RB) has a basic walk straight motion (com_walk_fs.csv). There are half-a-dozen others in the default personality.
Also take a look at this thread from 2 years ago (some similar problems)
http://bobthepleo.com/forums/index.php?topic=1140.0---
>the objective is to knock down all obstacles on the table
As mentioned by others, the Pleo is not very precise at walking. Even on a known surface it will still slip and slide in unpredicable ways.
In general legged robots can't do 'dead reckoning' well. They need some feedback to do course correction.
It sounds like you have control of the environment. That's where you can add additional lights to the table to help Pleo know its location, and while walking, correct the gait to keep on track.
Can you explain more about the project? For example how is Pleo going to detect the obstacles, and the table edge?. How large is the playspace? Are you planning on pushing the obstacles with the nose, or something more elaborate like the tail?