I'm green, how do I get started?

[Rover]

I've always been interested in Robots. When I saw Robot Magazine at Books a Million, I bought the issue and read it. It now has me wanting to get into the hobby side of robotics.

My question is... what is the best approach to getting started. Mainly I just want to learn right now before making any kind of purchase. I do have a degree in aviation electronics so I not totally lost on the electronics side of it.

[HarryBotter]

That's like saying I've got a month's vacation...what should I do with it? :)

Given your question and your desire not to spend any money, I'd head off to your local library and start reading any magazines or books about general robotics. Or start searching for similar posts in this or other forums. If you truly have the bug, something will bite you in time and you'll at least know in what area you're interested in.

Harry

[Kevin Berry]

This is actually a really really good question. My opinion ... heavily biased towards my own interests, of course!

Go combat. 'course it's mostly R/C driving robotics components, not "true" robotics, but its a heck of a lot of fun.

Next choice. Go for any type of competition. A good one to start learning true robotics plus have some fun is robot sumo. A good kit from a good vendor like Parallax can be had for just a couple hundred, and that will help you learn components plus programming.

Or, if you have kids, (or still want to be one) there are lots of inexpensive "dinosaur" type kits out there that are tons of fun. Tamiya puts out a nice line of inexpensive ones.

Another direction that is a total hoot is the "junkbot" approach. THE BOOK TO READ on this one is on line at: http://junkbots.solarbotics.com/ which hits the "BEAM" approach. Building little critters with junked CD drives and calculators is totally a blast.

Last, there are literally HUNDREDS of robot clubs of all varieties. Google for pages of robot links.

Another way I strongly recommend is to mentor a FIRST robotics team. This is the season, the months of Jan - March. Many high schools have these teams and they always welcome adult supervision, even if you don't know a lot about robots. Sounds like you're technically inclined so you're half way there. They also have younger teams with Lego and Vex.

And, speaking of that ... Lego Mindstorms and the Vex kits are great starters, often available on ebay as well as new.

Keep posting, we'll keep helping!

[Rover]

Thanks for the input guys. My problem right now is that every time I turn the page of Robot magazine, I find something new that I'm interested in! :)

[TheDuck]

Uh oh. Yes, I think we all have that problem. The bad news is, there is no cure. It will never go away. The good news is, there is no cure! :D

[dporter]

One place to learn more about robotics is at http://robotics.nasa.gov/ they have some good information especially if you are just getting started, or would like to enter a competition. If teachers are looking for information on how to use robotics in their classes, the site also has teaching materials available. Last summer they even had a webclass on programming using XBC controllers. Robot mag has also done a good job on covering robotics in the classroom.