So you have decided you want to build a robot. Before we dive in head first, I want to be sure there is water in this pool, so bear with me for a minute.

Before you get started working on a project, investing you time and very likely money into something you have never tried before, you need to ask yourself a very important question. Why?

I'm not saying this to be a wise guy. There are far worse things you could spend your time and money on than robotics. However, there is a bit of a learning curve. And often you will find information that assumes you already know what you are doing. If you don't this can get frustrating, and if you don't have a good understanding of your "why" for doing this, you will most likely give up quickly.

So, why do you want to build a robot? Do you have something specific in mind for your robot? Do you just want the satisfaction of putting something together and making it work? Reasons are individual.

OK, so now that you know why you want to do this, where should you begin? This will also depend on you and your why. Do you have something specific you want to build, say a robot that can clean your bathroom? (If you do make this, please tell me because I may want to buy it from you.)

If you are just interested in learning, or looking for a cool project, you should start with projects that other people have already designed and which you can find information about how to build. Start with a beginners project that you can build cheaply and relatively easily. This will give you a quick taste of success that could motivate you to try more advanced projects.

Some other considerations for this are your budget, the amount of time you want to spend on it, and your past experience with related subjects such as electronics, programming, engineering, etc.

As with any journey, you need to know where you want to go, and where you are now, and then you can determine how to get there.

So you've figured out why you want to build a robot, and now you want a project to get you started. The books I recommend above are a good place to start.

Alternatively, you may be so excited you can't wait for a book to come in the mail, or you don't want to take the time to drive to your local bookstore to get one, or for whatever reason you prefer to start online.

Lucky for you, there are some really great web sites with tons of information out there that can help you get started on a project right away.

First is a site that brings to life one of the projects from "The Absolute Beginners Guide to Building Robots" (See book recommendations above).

Coat Hanger Walker Robot

The site details how to build the coat hanger walker robot, which is a simple walker.

Another interesting site with a couple of tutorials is the Society of Robots. This site assumes you are in it to learn, so it gives you a lot of information.

Society of Robots

For a very detailed set of instructions on a robot called the beetlebot check out this site:

Beetlebot Instructable

And finally, for those of you like me who are interested in robotics because you like to make things, check out Make magazine's website. The link below is specifically to a project where they make a mousebot from an old computer mouse. There is a link on this page to a pdf document with the instructions.

Mousey the Junkbot

Much of the rest of their site has nothing to do with robotics, but it is all about how to make stuff. Very cool.