How to build your own personal robot at home

Robots are no longer characters in sci-fi books & films. They have jumped out of pages & monitors to be actual moving entities which can do some amazing tasks at both work & home scenarios. 

The interest in robots has increased to such an extent that manufacturers of toys have expanded their products to include robot building kits. Before you actually start building a robot, though, there are a couple of things it would be advisable to learn.

First off, it is a good idea to have some basic knowledge of mechanics. After all, there are a whole lot of technicalities involved in creating a robot & without knowing what is what with regard to mechanisms, you may not make much headway. 

A great way to start this learning process would be to get hold of a kit with which you can build a mechanical toy. 

Next, learning a bit of soldering (coax somebody in your local area’s workshops to teach you) would help. You will need other things like a battery and motor to get the toy to move. 

Finally, to program the motor you will need to grasp the requisite codes available online to operate the microcontroller which is responsible for the programming. 

For beginners: You can try out the Lego Mindstorms robot building kits. They are available at a few retail toy stores as well as online at the official website. All you have to do is to put the various components together – the motors, the sensors, the microprocessor controller, etc. Then you have to install the programming app on your computer. Learn the coding online at the official website. The software also includes a drag and drop interface. That's it. You have your very own robot!

Do remember that some parts of the robot building kit are very tiny and it is best not to use the kit when children are around. If you are buying basic kits meant for children, please check the permissible age group and supervise the building process.