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Ask Slashdot: How To Begin Simple Robotics As a Hobby?
First time accepted submitter nedko.m writes "I would describe myself as more of a 'software guy' rather than somebody who likes to play with hardware much, but I've wanted to start doing basic robotics projects as a hobby for quite a while now. However, I was never sure where to start from and what the very first steps should be in order to get more familiar with the hardware aspects of robotics. For instance, I would like to start off with a simple soccer robot. Any suggestions on what low-budget parts should I obtain, which would provide me, subsequently, extensibility to a bit more elaborate projects?"
Get a kit, start building/programming. Work from there.
EMC2 at www.linuxcnc.org
Robotics is about controlling motors via a computer. Building a mill or router will get you started.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
I'm in the same boat. I've learned CNC machines are simple robots and a lot of them work in very similar ways. A high end 5 axis cabinet CNC mill isn't much different from the cheap 3d printer from Staples, as far as software is concerned. Now CNC controllers are made from Adrino boards and are dirt cheap with whatever options you program to them.
From there, feel free to move into other areas, but with basic CNC knowledge you understand stepper motors and controllers, the basics of software controlled robots.
There are several simple robotics kits using basicstamp or other single board computer systems. They tend to be fairly inexpensive and easy to mod & upgrade.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
A "Robotics" project sounds way to generic, A little more detail on your end goal would help you focus better. If you want a premade solutions with all interfaces I'd start here Lego Mind storms If you want to try your hand at control algorithms without spending a penny I'd start here (sharp learning curve) http://gazebosim.org/wiki/DRC/Install If you want to visually do something with your robot i'd start here, various boards and controls are included. http://www.roborealm.com/ If you want a bit more advanced hardware I'd start here http://www.ros.org/wiki/Robots For pure visual processing fun, this actually is rolled into ROS and DRC sim i believe http://opencv.willowgarage.com/wiki/
Get an arduino, some wire and a cheap motor and start there. Dont worry about going full-blown robotics, jsut get experience controlling the motor, programming the microcontroller, etc.
Good-bye
There is a lot that can be done using the Arduino platform. More sensors than you can shake a stick at, wheeled platforms, motors and motor drivers. If you want to program a control AI that's more complicated than you can fit on a chip, add a Rasberry PI to the stack.
Everything you need:
http://www.sparkfun.com
http://www.pololu.com/
http://www.jameco.com/
https://code.google.com/p/ardurover/
You should have at least given a link:
http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms
You can find starter kits at http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__702__689__Robotics_DIY-Robotics_Kits.html
If you want to go for the soccer project, perhaps the biped kit would do.
Arduino is a hugely popular platform, from which you can create robots and do all sort of things. Sparkfun has an excellent starter kit with awesome tutorials at:
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11227
The IDE is pretty easy to use, and if you're used to 'C', you're gold.
I was in the same boat: been working on software for years, a little experience with PC hardware. I tried a few older custom-made robotics tutorial things, and they were too far out of date and focused more on the components of electronics than anything useful.
I bought an Arduino Starter Kit with the accompanying text (see: http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoStarterKit or http://www.makershed.com/Getting_Started_with_Arduino_Kit_V3_0_p/msgsa.htm, was around $60 at RadioShack back then), went through the text, trying out the examples, and tinkering with the pieces. Once I ran out of those, I started writing my own code, building up little pieces into something trivial but fun. It kept me busy for a while, and I felt like it took the veil of mystery out of the robotics, so I could see how larger projects could be done.
I never went into doing any of those larger projects, thanks to life taking back over. But I still have my little kit, and some knowledge tucked away in my internal databases for another day. All told, I think it made for a great intro set.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/White-Box-Robotics-914-PC-BOT-Development-Platform-He-Robot-Heathkit-HERO-2-/190849690042?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6f8729ba
Mostly random stuff.
Like this guy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-13NSDqIzA
Learn the basis of managing comms on a Arduino, Pi, whatever, (but load of easy add-on stuff for Arduino if breadboarding is not your thing...so far), then grab a cheap Roomba or suchlike.
Robotics generally consists of 3 disciplines -
Mechanical (structures, wheels, chassis, arms, etc.)
Electronics (hardware - resistors, sensors, motors, power, etc.)
Software (the programming)
If you want to focus mostly on the software, since that's where you have experience - then I'd suggest finding something where the mechanical + electrical is already taken care of for you in the form of a kit robot, and you just focus on the software side. Something like a small "Mini sumo" kit is a great place to start. It'll get you used to the whole "Sense-Decide-Act" control loop theory. Other options here are the Lego Mindstorms or the Vex kits, but you might find them a bit annoyingly limited.
If you want to delve a bit into the electronics, then pick up something like the Arduino Inventor's Kit from Sparkfun, which will include all you need (including some instructions) to get you started with basic electronics with a programmable microcontroller. Arduino is REALLY easy to get started with.
Another suggestion is to see if there's a local hobby robotics club. I learned a LOT from the folks at the Atlanta Hobby Robotics Club (botlanta.org). There are several really good robotics for beginners websites out there as well....
Good luck!
Lego Mindstorms isn't a cheap way to go, and it's even worse if you don't already have lots of Lego lying around.
Head to Radio Shack and take a look at their Arduino kits. It's not any cheaper, but it's the popular way to start these days. That will familiarize you with some stuff that's available these days. Once you're familiar with the terminology of what interests you, head to the Internet and see what they have to offer.
I've had a few editions of this book. The author has kept it up to date, and it's been very helpful in helping you pick out a toolkit as well as showing you some simple projects. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/robot-builders-cookbook-owen-bishop/1113937705?cm_mmc=googlepla-_-textbook_instock_26to75_pt99-_-q000000633-_-9780750665568&cm_mmca2=pla&ean=9780750665568&isbn=9780750665568&r=1
Coffee: The lifeblood of intelligence in civilization.
VEX is a good place to start.. modular, compatible... worth a look.. http://www.vexrobotics.com/
"The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing
Buy a Roomba and make videos of a cat riding it around.
A someone who knows a bit about robotics and electronics, I'd recommend the new Arduino Robot: http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Robot It has all the essentials you need to build pretty sophisticated robots; the Compass, IR Sensor, 360 degree turn on the spot, 2 micro-controllers, LCD, sensor ports distributed around.... it's a really well thought out, sound basis for robotics. Here's an interesting account of the story behind it: http://blog.makezine.com/2013/05/14/introducing-new-column-from-arduinos-massimo-banzi/ As for the Lego Mindstorms ( I have one); it's good but basic and you're constrained by what your allowed to do. Put it this way... Mindstorms is the Apple iPad (polished and fancy) whilst Arduino Robot is your fav. Linux machine (very capable, expandable and gives you a sound basis on which to build).
And here's what I recommend to get started on this long and rewarding journey. First of all, if you want to be successful, you need to make friends that are into this subject to learn from, and get inspired by. I teach at the local Makerspace. A Makerspace is where people go who like to build things congregate. Mine is called the Qc Co-lab, and you can view information about us on facebook or at qccolab.com to get an idea of the sorts of things we do. Makerspaces are also often called hackerspaces.
Next, you'll need a point of entry, a place to get started, and parts. Now, you've got a long road with many disciplines to master in order to actually create a soccer robot yourself. You can get started on the programming/electronics side or the mechanical/servo/motor side. In any case, I don't consider a soccer robot a good starting point unless you have help.
If you want to play with the programming and digital electronics, things like sensors and and control, I suggest you get an Arduino ($35). Get an Arduino kit with a good book and some toys to plug in and play with. Learn the electronics. Learn the C programming. "Getting Started with Arduino" is a good foot in the door of a very long hallway.
Next up is the mechanical/servo/motor stuff. Picking up a radio control hobby is a good way to get started with this. Remote control Styrofoam trainer plains can be purchased for $30. A good remote control can be purchased for $30. (Don't let them sell you a $200 control off the bat. By the time you're good enough to want a $200 control you'll decide you don't like the one you bought because of X, where X is some random reason related to your favorite parts of the hobby). Often these plains require you to do some assembly. You'll get experience with servo's, electric motors, batteries, and how all these things come together. Remote control cars are also very fun and exciting if you find those more interesting. (Make sure you get one that requires assembly and is customizable).
If you do want to buy a robot kit to knock around, I recommend the Arduino version of the boebot. I use this as a teach aid because Parallax produces very good documentation and training materials. See http://learn.parallax.com/ShieldRobot. I do not recommend the basic stamp version, because if you get into this hobby you're going to need to learn C, so don't waste your time learning some other language. What I linked is for the Arduino version. The Arduino uses C/C++ on an industry standard chip. It's important to develop skills that are going to give you the most bang for you buck because the rabbit hole you're heading into is deeper than any one person can ever plumb the depths of alone. The downside here is this kit is expensive at $120. For the people in my class I build them a clone of the kit for $40. Maybe your local Makerspace has something similar going on, check them out.
Best of luck. I'll keep an eye on this thread, so if you have questions I'll try to help.
Check out Lynxmotion products. They have a whole line of hobbyist-level mobile robots, arms, controllers, components, and software, all of which work together.
The VEX robotics kits are much more versatile (think Erector Set) than the Lego kits. VEX robots use industry standard PIC microcontrollers, so for a programmer the C programming interface might actually be less of a hassle. They do the same line following or grasping type problems, but I've done things like attaching omnidirectional wheels, porting the code to other non-VEX PIC controllers, and sending instructions to the controller over a serial port from a laptop. VEX kits are still fairly pricy, but compared to the Mindstorm kits you can do a lot more with them. They don't fall apart as easily as Lego robots. I would highly recommend them.
I highly recommend volunteering with a FIRST robotics FRC level team. These teams are high school aged kids that are given 6 weeks to build and program a robot using a kit of parts, limited budget for extra parts, and a convenient API that covers most challenges. You can start by teaching the kids the programming side of things and learn the electrical aspects of simple robots at the same time. Check it out at www.usfirst.org
What is your hardware background? 0 electronics experience? Can wire a bread board? Can Solder? Make your own PCBs?
How much do you want to spend? A couple of paychecks? A couple hundred bucks? Coffee money? Pocket change?
What tools do you have available? Machine shop? 3-D printer? Garage full of power tools? Dremel and a glue gun? Swiss army knife?
What aspect interests you the most? Mechanics? Electronics? Programming? Artistry?
The answers to these questions will determine how you approach the field of robotics. You are getting in at a good time: there are tons of options. Here are a few to get you thinking:
And of course, you can combine any of those options. Lots of people start out with Mindstorms or a BOEbot and end up building custom parts for them, or using salvaged parts to add on to a pre-built robot like a Roomba.
Two suggestions. First, you will need a support group to talk out problems and ideas. Online is fine, in person is more inspiring. Second, find a good book on what you want to do. There are several mindstorms books, there's several arduino books, and of course there is The Robot Builders Bonanza for the DIYer.
Hope this is helpful,
As someone who will do the same thing (and I'm more a software guy), I highly suggest learning arduino with the teensy 3.0. ($19)
This microcontroller is powerful and simple to use. And the creator is extremely helpful on the forum: forum.pjrc.com
Buy a 10-pack of ultrasonic sensors to play with ($2/piece)
Buy a resistor kit, a capacitor kit, and a diode kit. Buy a temperature controlled soldering iron. And of course some DC motors, a cheap stepper motor (28ybj-48) if you have use for one. And whatever other sensors, or actuators you want (photodiode, LED, etc). I highly recommend getting pjrc's microSD card adapter which is amazing with the sdfat library. The performance on all fronts is nothing short of amazing to me. I spend every hour I can working with this stuff cause stuff just works for the most part.
If you are at all a software guy, you are gonna love this, cause the hardware stuff is pretty easy, and the microcontroller is powerful, and the teensy 3.0 code is much more optimized (but brain-dead simple to use) than the regular arduino code.
Going this path, I've been able to accomplish so much more than I ever was when I was working with an Arduino Mega. You will not be sorry.
Soccer isn't really a good case study for robotics. A vacuum cleaner is still a better one, as is a "waiter" robot in an industrial setting. In the first version assume the path is painted on the floor. Obstacle detection/avoidance and navigational error detection are enough of a challenge to begin with.
I'll add in Boe Bots:
http://www.parallax.com/go/boebot
These are really simple to set up (especially if you're not really a hardware/circuits guy) and are a lot of fun to play with. Very limited processor, but that's not such a bad thing to start out. There's quite a lot of add on sensors/motors, etc, so you can accomplish quite a lot.
It's great for building path finding/obstacle avoision types of projects. If you take a liking to robotics though, you'll probably want to move into something more powerful pretty quick. But it is a nice cheap way to get some experience with the basics.
Teensy++. Cheap, easy, full featured.
start with the $50 robot
http://www.societyofrobots.com/step_by_step_robot.shtml
I start my high school students with the Parallax Boe-bot with the Ping ultrasonic sensor and mounting bracket. The accompanying manual is great because lays things out step by step, but also encourages experimentation.
With MakerSlide, it's quite easy. There's a new version of the ShapeOko (Americas - http://www.shapeoko.com/ ) / eShapeOko (Europe - http://store.amberspyglass.co.uk/eshapeoko-mechanical-kit.html ) and it's quite easy to assemble / use, and can be used to build parts for robots as described in the ``Guerrilla guide to CNC machining, mold making, and resin casting (Home manufacturing tutorial for robot builders, model makers, and other hobbyists)'' http://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/gcnc/
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
I was wondering the same thing about a year ago. Been doing software for 25+ years and basically got bored with it. Bought a ton of books. The absolute best book http://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Discovery-Charles-Platt/dp/0596153740. I found a lot of books and documentation even so called beginners books assumed some prior knowledge and used terms I struggled to find a good definition of . For example, references to "pull up resister" drove me crazy. Everyone seemed to know what it was and assumed readers knew what it was. I finally found out what it meant and it was as simple as they made it out, but until you know, you dont know right? I started with PIC chips and trying to move a motor. Well, I have my motor moving and am now looking at USB stuff. Just start with the simple LED stuff and dont get frustrated. I usually spend a few hours every week on it and its the funnest thing I have done in a long time. Every time I learn a something new it is exciting and rewarding. Dont know if I will ever use it professionaly, but it sure is fun.
to get all the moves right. Start with the very basic head rotations: begin with just 3 positions each side of center. Practice until moving your head in jerky increments becomes second nature. Add other moves cautiously, perfecting each in turn.
You can easily add verisimilitude by only answering to 'Robby'.
My three favorite "robot stores" are
I don't work for any of these companies, but in the spirit of full disclosure, I did go to school with one of Pololu's founding partners.
Bought one for my son and learned it to be an assistant coach for his middle school robotics team, and have been disappointed with it. My primary problems with it were:
1) Limited to 3 motors at once, and 2 are usually taken for steering if you want a robot that can move/turn, which means you're limited to 1 for anything else you want it to do (the EV3 may have more than 3, not sure).
2) The "programming" is kid-friendly (consisting of a visible block you can drag-n-drop for each line of code) but the UI is kinda messed up and very unfriendly to anyone who knows they could write the lines of code 10-50 times faster.
3) The math part of the "programming" only supports integer math, and some versions only support 16-bit integers. There's no way to tell the robot "move X millimeters forward" (only turn the motor a number of degrees), and if you know how to use PI and the wheel radius to figure it out, you can't use 3.14159 in an integer-only program. Sure there are ways around that, but the "block" aspect of it makes it a major pain in the ass.
If you're not a programmer, it might be a decent primer to get you started. If you are a programmer, I predict that it will frustrate the heck out of you.
A kit is what you want, building hardware is not as simple as it seems if you have no experience. Once you have the hardware its mostly software dev. During that phase you learn how and why hardware works as it does. And then when you have played around with a kit long enough, maybe you will want to make your own terminator. By then you might have a clue how to go about it.
This is how I started: 1) Start by getting an arduino and a servo (requiring 5v). 2) Figure out how how to turn the servo Now I fabricate my own frames and elbows and I professionally deploy them to customers. Someone above is suggested lynxmotion. That is a good option if you are not willing to make your own frames. Good luck.
Parallax makes stamp chip kits with integrated circuit breadboards. The Propeller uses a variant of C for programming your robot. Basic stamp is a proprietary basic language with an integrated breadboard. And while they are no longer made, there is the Javelin stamp with integrated breadboard that you can program with Java.
Additionally, Parallax makes and/or sells every kind of sensor you could possibly use.
www.parallax.com
Start with Fischertechnik.
It's like LEGO, but German, and much much better.
It even does things like computer controlled pneumatics.
http://www.fischertechnik.de/en/Home.aspx
Bram Stolk http://stolk.org/tlctc/
http://www.ez-robot.com/
DON'T try to run before you can walk.
Learn from scratch starting with each component and how to use test equipment (multimeter, bread board, etc.).
I highly recommend David Cook's Robot Building for Beginners' book for people new to the hobby.
http://www.robotroom.com/RBFB.html
This is the bot you will build piece by piece:
http://www.robotroom.com/Sandwich.html
His second book is for another bot that takes you into programming.
This is my current set up:
Robot Controller:
http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1327
Servo Controller (if you need more than the 8 provided with that particular robot controller):
http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1356 - these can be hooked up to the robot controller's serial interface and daisy-chained for a maximum of ~255 servos
Servos:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXGLN4&P=7 - this one happens to be a giant scale servo for more torque
Documentation:
http://www.pololu.com/docs/0J20
Start by reading and testing their 50$ cheapo robot : http://www.societyofrobots.com/
50$ isn't something that will make you broke, and you'll have a quickstart on electronic parts. ;) )
Then, if you wanna upgrade, go get an Arduino, and put it in your 50$ robots (now 80$robot
Them you can upgrade and add parts as you like, and all with a SMALL budget.
HAVE FUN!
I can't call that English
The iRobot Create is a great platform to start with, and with the attachment points, you can build off of it pretty easily. http://store.irobot.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=3311368
Rules: http://www.botlanta.org/mini-sumo
You can get kits for $100 or less, focus on the programming issues of controlling mechatronics, and reading sensors. Contests happen all over the place, and the robot is a decent starter platform for other contests, like line following.
Flexible, friendly, does not require extensive hardware knowledge, many plug-in adapter/interface boards and robotics kits.
Especially now you can get the Boe Bot as an Arduino Shield http://www.parallax.com/StoreSearchResults/tabid/768/txtSearch/arduino/List/0/SortField/4/ProductID/820/Default.aspx (just add an Arduino).
I see numerous responses for the Lego kits, but is that really what you want? Serial expansion boards were way better for learning in my opinion. Find out what applies what voltage to where, signal passing and processing, etc.. are all required for robotics. While you are not going to get a crawler going in a day, you set up the groundwork for building one of your own later. My son did great starting at that level, and has gone much further because he understands the low level stuff. Making servos turn is a visual cue that the code is working, whether or not a wheel is attached.
Simulink is a great product for visualizing circuits prior to building on peg boards, and last I checked it was free for students (disclaimer, that was a few years ago).
Anyway, you don't have to think in terms of a full working robot in order to learn and get in to robotics.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
from Craig's list or your local goodwill/SVdP store and then go here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Hacking-Your-iRobot/ and many other sites on the web that deal with modifying Roombas. Most of the mechanical stuff is taken care of for you so you can concentrate on programming and adding/reading/using sensors and actuators.
I picked up one of these: http://arcbotics.com/products/hexy/
Arduino based, controlled via bluetooth or USB. Python on the host side, $250.
Not a bad way to start. A lot of possibilities to enhance the code on the Arduino, and on the host side.
"To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
http://www.blackrobotics.com/index.htm Their site hasn't been updated in a while but their TalkBot Brain looks cool.
I got to the chocolate box before you, that's why the hard ones have teeth marks.
Get to a Maker Faire. Several years ago I spent awhile talking with Bre Pettis about his new machine from MakerBot without realizing who he was. Take the kids! Solder your own badge! Learn how to make your own air powered rockets! My kids aren't even into robots think it is a blast. A word of waring... they make you sign a serious waiver for a reason. They expect you to pay attention to your surroundings and not blindly walk into that quadcopter demo. Make sure your kids are not texting as they walk. Look for some of the small booths/tables with guys that brought in their home brewed stuff. They were you not that long ago and would love to talk about hot to get started. The fancy booths are people looking to sell stuff. If your not looking to buy your own laser cutter.... they will let you look and they will be polite but they are looking to sell stuff.
http://makerfaire.com/
If you decide you want to start now and want to learn how things work....
Get this kit for $49:
http://www.adafruit.com/products/193
Follow the tutorials starting here:
http://learn.adafruit.com/lesson-0-getting-started
Soon you will be a master of blinky lights. Think of it as "Hello world" for robotics.
If you think, "HOLY CRAP. I AM MAKING IT REALLY DO THINGS" Then continue. If you went, "HOLY CRAP, I JUST WASTED $50 AND A FEW HOURS OF MY LIFE TO MAKE A STUPID LIGHT BLINK" you might consider some of the more expensive options or re-consider your desire to do this. If you want to continue...
If you have an old printer laying around then rip some motors out of it. In fact anything that has a motor or is older electronics will soon be looked at with, "Hey, that has a nice transformer in it. Those are some nice through hole resisters. Would you look at those hardened steel rods! I wonder why they did it this way?"
Things to consider furthering the addiction:
motor shield with some basic motors
digital multimeter
Soldering iron, do not get one of those nasty Radio Shack $20 pieces of junk. You wouldn't try to build a small deck with a handsaw. This is one of the more expensive pieces you will buy, but it is one of those tools that you will use and will appreciate not having a junk one. This does not mean you need to get a super solder re-work station. Get one with a base station and dial control. Temp controlled would be great.
Go to a nearby electronics place that sells this stuff and buy some general wire, breadboard etc. They will appreciate the business and might be there someday when you really need that one part and don't want to wait for shipping. I was amazed to find one near me. They were rather knowledgeable compared to some certain chains (they had a soldering iron on the counter just in case)
An old computer with the following ports: MIDI(computers used to have a port with real IO, oh my), serial, USB, parallel. You might want to eventually talk to ports and individual pins without the OS in the way. Windows stopped allowing this with XP. A P4 is fast but gets warm and very power hungry. A PIII not so hot or power hungry but not as fast. An old laptop works great for this since it has a small footprint.
Start to follow a few web sites:
http://hackaday.com/
http://www.adafruit.com/blog/?main_page=blog
http://blog.makezine.com/
http://dangerousprototypes.com/
http://www.evilmadscientist.com/
http://diydrones.com/
https://www.sparkfun.com/
Is he strong? Listen bud, He's got radioactive blood.
Lego Mindstorms is cool, but expensive and plastic.
Makeblock.cc is stronger aluminium, has an arduino core and compatible with Lego (to a certain point).
You can use a Raspberry Pi to control either of the above (brickpi is stil on kickstarter).
have fun!
European Linux user, living in Antwerp
The PI gives you a cheap, but fairly capable Linux computer in size of a cigaratte pack and under $50. Then you can plug sensors,e.g. range finder, and actuators, e.g. rolling motor feet, into its I/O ports. Some of the other vendors mentioned in this thread sell these devices. Then you stick a monitor & keyboard temprarily into the PI to program it as a computer.
I havent done this myself, but saw a demo.
Hunt out a local SPAM Robotics high school group. I worked with one when my son was in high school. He learned a lot, I learned a lot and we had a great time. Most groups are desperate for anyone who can help mentor the kids.
KhanAcademy.org has a pair of courses that may be useful here
[to be found under Science / Technology]:
1. Reverse Engineering (showing where some parts come from)
2. Bit-Zee Bot (uses those parts & others, incl an Arduino board)
(A Win 8 app can download these & the other courses cost-free.)
To really come to grips with a lot of the basics, a lot of the pre-fab stuff is lacking.
Although it's from 1979, "how to build your own working robot pet" by Frank DaCosta is an excellent step-by-step guide to the various problems of robotics and how they can be solved. If you can get hold of the components, you can build your own, but even if you can't, it will give a great grounding in the issues.
It gets in to random and semi-random behaviour, machine learning, "self-feeding", navigation/obstacle avoidance, human control without wires or wireless - fascinating stuff.
Beginners often have a hard time mastering all of the aspects involved in building a successful mobile robot. Books and websites are great, but there is no substitute for joining a local robotics club. I don't know where you are, but one of the premier groups in the States in the Seattle Robotics Society (SRS). Fair warning of personal bias: I edited their newsletter ("The Encoder") back in the mid '80s and early '90s, back when it was a paper publication. I also visited and presented to as many other robotics groups around North America as I could in in early '90s, so I can also recommend:
The Austin Robotics Group & the Dallas Personal Robotics Group (DPRG)
The San Francisco Robotics Society of America (SFRSA) and the Robotics Society of Southern California (RSSC)
The Connecticut Robotics Society in Hartford (say "Howdy!" to Jake Mendelssohn if you visit the CRS; Jake is a mate of mine, and he founded and ran the Trinity College Fire-Fighting Robot Contest for its first ten years, from 1994-2003.)
The Atlanta Hobby Robot Club (AHRC)
There are multiple dozens more groups out there, but I've just listed the ones I made personal contact with. The SRS in Seattle and the SFRSA in San Francisco are two of the older groups (both started in the early '80s), and they both have large, very active memberships. Alas, I haven't had the chance to visit any of these groups in more than a decade, since I emigrated to Australia. Anyway, give 'em a google.
-Bobby Nansel
They are also about to release a new one - EV3 - in a few months. Apparently this one will run Linux on the brick so I am finally looking forward to being able to program the thing in python....well technically my son is but I'm sure he will need some "help"!
http://www.societyofrobots.com/
(disclaimer: it's my site)
Ignore what everyone else is saying about servo's. Build a system with hydraulics from the start and you will destroy any servo based robot, yes it will be a steeper learning curve but it will be worth it in the end.
I'm building a robotic arm for a quadcopter package delivery system and servo's can't do shit.
Posting as AC so my work doesn't see me...
I assist at a local high school with their Robocup program (admittedly we mostly use LEGO Mindstorms, but some of the senior students use Arduino) and I think that is an awesome way in.
Robocup
Get yourself whatever kit you like and try to make a soccer robot, or a rescue robot, it will give you a nice and clearly defined target to aim for, but will also allow you to experience the little technical challanges that you will need to overcome. Even if you have no intention of competing, it is a good base to start from, and if you have the time or the desire you can assist schools and kids getting involved in the hobby too.
Leg Godt!
This is a neat little book that gave me a lot of neat ideas back when I still had the energy to dedicate to mobile robotics as a hobby. This is an invaluable reference for any mobile robotics hobbyist.
Qu'on me donne six lignes écrites de la main du plus honnête homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre.
1. Buy an Arduino and learn to make it do simple things like blink LEDs in sequence.
2. Buy a Ladyada stepper controller and an old flatbed scanner or dot-matrix printer. (Avoid newer devices, as they tend to use encorder wheels and ordinary DC motors.)
3. Make the print or scan head go back and forth under your own command. Muahahaha. MUAHAHAHA. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
You should first get an idea about what you want to make. It should really keep you motivated to go through some more tedious times. I made a Quadcopter back in the days... was lots of fun.
To get help, there is a nice little (and growing) community at
http://robotics.stackexchange.com/
Step 1: Build an RC car
Step 2: Add sensors/MCU(autopilot)
Step 3: Code to the limits of your sensors/autopilot
Step 4: Repeat Step 2 with better sensors/autopilot until you need a better RC car to progress.
Step 5: Repeat Step 1
It is my opinion that a robot has to be autonomous to really count as robotics. Unmanned Ground Vehicle, Unmanned Surface Vehicle, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Unmanned Underwater Vehicle. These are sorted by difficulty. Aerial is where everyone goes to because they move fast enough and have enough freedom of motion that GPS is good enough for localization. All that's left is some PIDs making a fly by wire stabalization system and a haversine formula and you have waypoint navigation.
Problem is, UAVs always get bogged down in the mechanical/aerospace engineering aspects which is bullshit. There are some talented people like Jack Crossfire doing some interesting stuff with sensors but it is almost entirely chasing weight savings down diminishing-return rabbit holes. Then consider the expense that goes in to air-frames which are damaged far too easily.
Surface Vehicles do really good work and have more flexibility on weight. Still kind of boring unless you do something cool like sonar.
UUVs are a cost disaster with localization being extremely difficult. Building a working sub is an exercise in spending money and drying off wet electronics.
UGVs are:
-cheap
-the mechanical side can be solved in a day with money at any radioshack. This means you spend more time on code/sensors/autonomy and less time in the workshop trying to give yourself a viable platform to develop your code on.
-Udacity Autonomous car class as a resource.
That's my $.02
Check out http://www.picaxe.com/ .
This has excellent tutorials/manuals, and is very easy to learn.
IMHO it's just a that bit low-level/techier than Mindstorms. "Real" IC's and electronics component to play with and learn to understand, but simple enough to get started. You'll make a couple of mistakes, read the datasheet incorrectly a couple of times, but you'll learn a lot.
It also helps to find something cool to build, like a tracked vehicle or M&M sorter :-) ...) and actuating some actuators (servo, simple motor, PWM/H-bridge), and then combine! :-) Nuts, bolts, MDF, spacers, connecting motors/servos to something, etc.
But you could also start with simply sensing a couple of sensors (temp, distance, light, magn.,
With PICAXE I was able to get some cool prototypes quickly. Also learned that the mechanical part is just as difficult/fun
This magazine was also very inspirational:
http://www.botmag.com/
I would first suggest to use the rule of KISS === Keep It Stupid Simple
Blog your experiences, in Robotics.
Suggested reading about Robots are "R.U.R.", and "I Robot"
I would then suggest using Blender3D to design your Robot
A great game and movie idea, "how could robots be used after a disaster?"
Go to letsmakerobots.com and you will find a large community of people doing exactly what you want and more than willing to help you get started. There are instructions there for a "start here" robot to get you started.
I'm josh , a year ago I was completely new to robotics. I purchased the EZ Robot complete kit which included all the main pieces I needed to modify a toy to make my own robot. I was looking for something to teach me how to get a basic robot to roam about the house and avoid objects. In no time was was controlling other electronics like my saltwater fish tank lights, and pumps and now I'm building a even bigger robot and its never been easier. I use EZ builder a interface that does the hard work for you and accelerates learning how to setup a cool robot. Its EZ-Robot.com. or you can see one of my robots here :) its EZ! Here is the Omnibot 2000http://www.ez-robot.com/Community/Forum/posts.aspx?threadId=1993
Omnibot air soft robot with first person camera for a "in the cockpit view" http://www.ez-robot.com/Community/Forum/posts.aspx?threadId=1956
You can do things like this and more , and there's a huge. Community of builders to help you. - Josh