Well I am completely new to this. I have no electronic componentry experience, limited soldering ability, an intro class into C++, some VB,  but a lot of drive, determination and a healthy dose of imagination. I got bit by the robot bug in the summer  of 2008 when browsing the local bookstore and picked up a copy of ROBOT magazine. The idea's been brewing in the back of my mind since then and only recently came to the surface. Toyed briefly with the idea of starting less ambitious, like a boe bot, sumo bot, or something tracked, but let's face it, they just don't have the coolness factor of something bipedal!

So, after looking at all the great prefab humanoid robots out there, I had decided on the Robobuilder system as the most bang for the buck. The economy being what its right now,  I just couldn't justify the price tag right now. After much comparison, taking into consideration expandabilty, user community, support, and price, I decided on the Lynxmotion BRAT. This is a great kit and can be expanded later to full torso, using their Servo Erector Set system. As a plus, the Society of Robots AXON microcontroller, which is a possible upgrade, fits perfectly onto the board holder of this kit.

General Info: Running a Intel P4 Core 2 Duo 2.5GhZ on ASUS P5KPL-CM mobo, 2Gb DDR800 Ram, 2 x 500Gb storage, 256Mb onboard video, Win 7!!! It's running GREAT. Till the crackers attack and Microsoft haphazardly patches it. Then we're back to square one... Used to run Debian (ham) long while back but not currently. Tried PC-Linux last year, loved it! May dual boot this.