Building and Programming Robots: Part 5

The Robot Challenge: Part 5 --

My kids and I decided to learn how to build and program robots this summer.

None of that virtual stuff for the 13 year old. She wants to build a living, breathing robot that moves through real, not cyberspace. And, since dealing with the physical world is an interesting thing for kids to learn to do, I did not object.

What we learned from the DareDevil

We need a notebook to write our ideas down in.
Balance was important, at least for the DareDevil. In its ski lift implementation, balance was much less important. We could hang nearly anything we wanted from any point and the thing stayed on the string. Gravity can be our friend.
Symmetry was important.
We want to learn how to make a launcher when we learn to program it.
We want to put a claw on the bottom of the ski lift implementation so it can open and close and drop pieces of food on visitors' heads.