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I've always been amazed by the controller that came with the Atari 2600.

You must have had a different type of controller than I did because the plastic "seat" which pressed on the four direction switches inside at the end of the stick was a ring connected by four little diagonal supports to the control stick and as soon as one of those supports broke, the two directions controlled by that diagonal would be kinda lame.

but, while as a software engineer and electromechanical hobbyist I fully appreciate all the challenges involved with these robotic drivers, I'm just not impressed by systems that have courses plotted into them and use GPS and high resolution maps and intimate fore-knowledge of the landscape, etc. As a driver, -I- don't need that fore-knowledge to get from Sacramento to Manhattan - thousands of miles successfully navigated without any more fore-knowledge than that I have to travel generally North East through many states.

I will be impressed when driving automation systems can start with a general idea of where their source and destination locations are and can read the signs to figure out how to get there. They must use perceptive powers to avoid colliding with other drivers or running down pedestrians and following the rules of the road instead of range finders and lasers and GPS-based speed limit adherance and other such nonsense.

Until the system can be boiled down to a pair of eyes and a pwerful set of smarts driving , in my view, it's just an elaborate obstacle course being followed by the likes of this robot. I understand "baby steps", but "they" tend to avoid tackling these big challenges and instead continue to focus on these contraptions that just, plain aren't smart enough.

IMHO, of course.

I'd second (or third) the Mindstorms recommendations - it's great to be able to put together a complete robot in an hour or so. When you decide to start building your own robots from scratch, I'd really recommend the David Cook books "Robot Building for Beginners" and "Intermediate Robot Building." The first book walks you step-by-step through every aspect of building a line-follower robot using simple parts and circuits. The Intermediate book is more of an "engineer's notebook" with lots of details and advice on sensors, motors, and garage machining. Great stuff and a of fun just to browse for ideas: http://robotroom.com/

You're looking at three main bits to get the whole thing up and running:

• The body - motors, gears, etc
• The electronics - basic concepts, sensors, motor drivers, and if you get into more complex stuff, computerish things like microcontrollers
• The software - basic AI

(obviously there's some overlap here)

If you have limited experience with these things, a kit from somewhere like Lego or Fischertechnik is an excellent place to start. These will take care of the hard stuff, letting you get straight in. Its also a good way to test the waters - see if you really want to get into robotics (it can become addictive and expensive very quickly).

If you want to do it yourself, I recommend these books by David Cook:

• Robot Building for Beginners
• Intermediate Robot Bulding

See also http://www.robotroom.com/

I tend not to get into the body building much, preferring off-the-shelf stuff. Basic Lego Technic sets have served me well, and I'm currently using Tamiya gearboxes and bases. I'm far more interested in the computer side, building small microcontroller-based computers and writing the software from scratch.

The author's website page on homemade PCBs

Since the submission is a little short on pictures, google was nice enough to point me at the writer's description, which is complete with pictures. I was curious how in-depth the book actually goes...

Basically, he explains how to work with base electronic equipment, basic parts (resistors, capacitors, potentiometers), and how to tie them together with infrared reflectors into an feedback system to direct steering (something my college offers a course to introduce control systems). It appears that it ends with a little writeup on some robotics clubs.

All in all, its basic mechanical/electrical engineering work, basically a bottom-up design for creating an autonomous object. Good project for starters, written in a way that most of us can whip up at home (its made out of legos after all). For those that are interested in more, look up "behavior-based robots" in your favorite search engine.

Since the submission is a little short on pictures, google was nice enough to point me at the writer's description, which is complete with pictures. I was curious how in-depth the book actually goes...

Basically, he explains how to work with base electronic equipment, basic parts (resistors, capacitors, potentiometers), and how to tie them together with infrared reflectors into an feedback system to direct steering (something my college offers a course to introduce control systems). It appears that it ends with a little writeup on some robotics clubs.

All in all, its basic mechanical/electrical engineering work, basically a bottom-up design for creating an autonomous object. Good project for starters, written in a way that most of us can whip up at home (its made out of legos after all). For those that are interested in more, look up "behavior-based robots" in your favorite search engine.

Intermediate Robot Building. Check it out too.

Also his website: http://www.robotroom.com

He attends the Chicago Robotics Club Chibots. Check it out too.

http://www.robotroom.com/

Robot info, projects, and stuff.

He writes books also, scroll down a bit for the free content.

Here is some info on sumo matches. Click me