The Motivation Project

Tonight on Unsolved Mysteries

Creating a robot can be a challenge in itself. What with not only gathering the materials and parts for the build of the robot but also programming it with the necessary commands to control it, it is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and far from cheap especially to young students who work at sandwich shops.

So why build a robot in the first place?

To put it this way, to prove that I can actually finish a project that implements programming.

To fellow Cognitive Scientists, to study motor cognition as embodied through a machine.

That's right. I actually want to apply what I learned in COGS: Robots and Embodied Cognition in real-life using cheaper materials.

Sure I could have used the microcontroller boards used during class but the Arduino offers more resources and more focus on the motor-controlled basis of robotics.

It's a good exercise.

Firstly, I have a very limited amount of funds for something that I only intend to be a fun project.

Funds Already Spent for Resources
Arduino kit = $50-$90
Lego Pieces (that I cannot find in the house) = $35
Arduino Online Course (thank you Udemy sale) = $10

Readily Accessible Resources
Arduino DYI Books and Online Tutorials
MAG Hackerspace LAB
Programming Software

What I need to learn
Arduino Systems
Soldering
C++ (can't be too different from C, right?)
Robotics fundamentals