Is it possible to build a really simple robot from "scratch"?

Question

How close can you come to building your own robot from scratch if you have some programming experience but not much of anything else? I use the term "robot" loosely here- just something that like has a light that blinks or a motor that whirs if you press a button on it or something.

yeah- making a spaceship out of ramen is impossible.

Answer 1

it is quite easy to build simple light hunting machines from scrap. many tape players (i know, old) have a photo sensor to detect reel motion. and there's at least one motor in there. usually you need two, but I've seen where mechanically a robot moves forward to the left if the motor runs one way, and forward to the right of the motor runs backwards. But again, two motors is much easier. so creatively you can create a 'robot' that does nothing but move towards the light.
Line tracking robots are another common school robotics project that can be made from one photo sensor and two motors.
wall following robots are another project sometimes assigned in classes. that requires two motors and a switch.
If you want to build something programmable, you need a programmable IC. those are commonly available but the process to program them is usually difficult. there are easy to program modules like Parallax's Basic stamp, but the cost goes up.
as the previous writer says, it depends on how complex you want it. but it is quite doable.

Answer 2

I think you have to learn electronics and digital technics. Then you need to plan the bot's digital circuit that controls the robot. There are simulator programs, like TINA that may help you. You need to know the digital gates (like NAND, NOR), and look after some ICs, because those "bugs" can make your work MUCH easier. Then build your planned circuit. Of course it's all depends on the complexity of the robot you want to build. Possible, that you don't even need ICs for the digital circuits, because the problem can be solved with some basic stuffs like capacitors, coils and resistances. But you aren't able to make housing for your machine, because those stuffs can only be made in factories.

Answer 3

nothing is impossible