Post by Robotman on Aug 30, 2005 13:05:39 GMT 10
Over the years I've noticed how many people post to a board asking for help with some project (and not just robotics), which is fine, but then they want to start right at the top.
This post isn't an attack or flame at anybody. I just want to add a little air of realism to the whole subject of building robots. So please, help will be given, but as one board I used to read always kept repeating was: "Use the search engine before asking. If you still can't find an answer, then post your question."
For robotics, we all want to start immediately with a fully-fledged android that is equivalent to human status. Just bolt an arm here, a leg there, put the guts of a PC inside, ask someone for the code (as if they might have it lying around in that old disk box under their desk), and hey presto! I'm god and that beats the Japanese by about ten thousand man years of effort.
It just can't be done that way. Sorry.
Robotics for us without huge development teams and lots of cash support doesn't have to be crappy little stuff. I don't expect to have a magic dream during the night and immediately know exactly how I am going to build my evolutionary successor. But that doesn't stop me from trying. And the only way I try is by LEARNING. Learning everything I can - electronics, mechanics, software, psychology, whatever it takes. And these things are hard. They aren't easy subjects to learn and it takes real effort to get results. There are no shortcuts, just like every single child has to learn the alphabet by themselves, so must every aspiring roboticist learn the fundamentals by his/herself.
Before I ask the simple questions of someone I go and do research by myself. That's because the simple questions already have easily found answers. It's the metaphysical type questions that don't have answers - yet. "What exactly is awareness?" "How can a signal processing device, such as the brain, be built?" Those are the hard questions.
What about the cost? Robotics construction is a hobby and it will cost money. How much depends on how sophisticated you want to get. Good tools cost, and so do raw parts materials. Scrounge for the parts, but don't skimp on your tools!
And then finally, there is no substitute for diving in and getting wet. But start at the shallow end first - the deep end won't kill you, but it will drown you with prerequiste knowledge overload. Myself? I'm still paddling my feet in the learners pool, but I am available to answer [some] questions should anyone ask me...
This post isn't an attack or flame at anybody. I just want to add a little air of realism to the whole subject of building robots. So please, help will be given, but as one board I used to read always kept repeating was: "Use the search engine before asking. If you still can't find an answer, then post your question."
For robotics, we all want to start immediately with a fully-fledged android that is equivalent to human status. Just bolt an arm here, a leg there, put the guts of a PC inside, ask someone for the code (as if they might have it lying around in that old disk box under their desk), and hey presto! I'm god and that beats the Japanese by about ten thousand man years of effort.
It just can't be done that way. Sorry.
Robotics for us without huge development teams and lots of cash support doesn't have to be crappy little stuff. I don't expect to have a magic dream during the night and immediately know exactly how I am going to build my evolutionary successor. But that doesn't stop me from trying. And the only way I try is by LEARNING. Learning everything I can - electronics, mechanics, software, psychology, whatever it takes. And these things are hard. They aren't easy subjects to learn and it takes real effort to get results. There are no shortcuts, just like every single child has to learn the alphabet by themselves, so must every aspiring roboticist learn the fundamentals by his/herself.
Before I ask the simple questions of someone I go and do research by myself. That's because the simple questions already have easily found answers. It's the metaphysical type questions that don't have answers - yet. "What exactly is awareness?" "How can a signal processing device, such as the brain, be built?" Those are the hard questions.
What about the cost? Robotics construction is a hobby and it will cost money. How much depends on how sophisticated you want to get. Good tools cost, and so do raw parts materials. Scrounge for the parts, but don't skimp on your tools!
And then finally, there is no substitute for diving in and getting wet. But start at the shallow end first - the deep end won't kill you, but it will drown you with prerequiste knowledge overload. Myself? I'm still paddling my feet in the learners pool, but I am available to answer [some] questions should anyone ask me...
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