How to make your first Robot?

Your first robot is one which you never forget. Watching your creation do something as simple as scoot around the floor is exhilarating, particularly if you've built it from scratch. The best part of building a Robot is that it offers something that is increasingly rare in the world of electronics: the opportunity to create a moving, working machine with your bare hands.

Getting started with robotics can be hard, especially if one doesn’t know where and how to start. The best way to start is to build a simple model with less expensive parts available locally. Initially, you need to begin by building a robot which moves forward and backward, left and right through controlling it wirelessly. However after you get the basics right, you can actually add and modify things. Move onto a little more complex robot where you guide it by using a camera or make a manually controlled robot which is controlled using a wireless remote.

Top 5 Tips to follow while building a Robot:

#1: Learn about Electronics

This is an essential part of building a robot. You don’t need to have an engineering degree but you need to know some of the basics. Before you build a robot you need to understand what does resistor, transistor, thermistor, diode, Capacitor mean. Referring right book provides invaluable help. You can also go through some magazines.

#2: Start off small

Stay small! Resist the urge to let your mind run wild with possibilities of cooking robot that will dust and vacuum at the same time. You need to start off small. Robots can get very expensive. One should learn to build your own parts rather than buying the pre-made robot. You can make most of the parts from the household things initially but as the feature increases the robot becomes expensive.

#3: Plan Robot for an application

Once done with the initial robot, one has to start and plan the robot which can actually do something. A common mistake among the students is that they don’t plan their robot ahead of time. When you have a definite goal in your mind then you are much more motivated to finish it. A great way to do this is to participate in a contest. There are many clubs that will conduct competition annually. Participation will also help in exploring new ideas and technology in robotics.

#4: Work regularly on your Robot

Make yourself work on your robots regularly, especially if you want to participate in a contest and coming back to a project after weeks of ignoring is tough. Take that time to think about the project and plan. It will help, even if it’s just for a few minutes before bed. Also, keep a regular journal of what you’ve done. Documenting your work is important.

#5: Ask questions and share your experiences

You get a lot of information on the internet, subscribe to every email list, forums, and newsgroup that you can find and just ask questions. You’ll learn more that way than any book or website. Questions are never stupid. Don’t be shy. If you have figured out something then write an article or email. Let others know how to do things in a right way.