The first time I built a robot, it was a course at UVic where we build self-driving hovercraft. We had to start from scratch – styrofoam for the base platform, nylon for the air skirt, an arduino for the brain. One part of me loves that – taking everything from scratch and making it happen.
The other part of me just wants to buy a kit and have everything slot together. When it comes to building a robotic arm, I’ve opted for the kit.
I got this off roboshop.com on a whim, and I’ve finally broken into it and started building. I say ‘started’, even though I only have a few minutes for these projects today. I’ve gone through the parts list, counted everything, and made a note of any tools or extra supplies I need to buy.
Once it’s done I’ll hook it up to a computer and actually try some AI driven command sequences, but for now… well, I guess it’s good to get the plastic off the box.