> > OK. So now I'm curious. How much would it cost to get the raw materials > and whip up a half-decent robot? > I think that lego has some advantages: > It's modular. Take it apart and build something else. > It's clean. > You don't need solder. (Not that I don't mind. From a child's point of > view, you understand) > It's easy to build for a child. > With the windows GUI programming language, it seems easy for a child to > do some simple coding. > > Those advantages are probably worth the price tag, no? > > Cheers, > Carl.
Hi Carl, I expect this thread is probably veering OT wrt this list, and I'd recommend transferring it to the Christchurch robotics list. In September last year I guesstimated about $100 to build a little tabletop robot (see the thread about the September meeting and Michael Pearce's Slavebot). Whether the build and development environment is suitable for a child is not for me to decide (I was doing similar stuff when I was 12 though, *with* a soldering iron). However, if you have built a robot from angle iron, old saucepans and rubber bands you might find it hard to modify. Lego is of course infinitely variable, and the Mindstorms box allows you to 'breathe life' into the models, and it's easy to change. In the middle ground is a robot built from Lego (Technical Lego) with Lego motors, and a dedicated microcontroller to run the motors and read sensors etc., but it depends on how much (Technical) Lego you already have. At the end of the day it's up to you to decide if it's worth the price tag. I think it probably is, but it's not my money. Come along to the next meeting. Talk to someone who has one. Andy
