Before you start planning your awesome giant war robot battle-suit, or even just a friendly cybernetic house-bot to tidy your bedroom and do the washing-up for you, it might be better to start small and learn some of the basics. The Build Your Own Robot Arm is the perfect place to start.

Anyone who wants a fascinating technical challenge can build their own remote controlled robot arm with this absorbing self-assembly kit. Although simple to construct, building the robot arm is a great way to learn more about basic robot technology and control systems.

With five motors for multi-directional control of five different joints, the robot arm features base rotation, shoulder, elbow and wrist motion as well as a functional gripping claw. The gripping claw also has an integrated LED spotlight for extra illumination of anything that you are going to pick up.

The five-way directional control allows the robot arm to grab, lift, position, lower and release items smoothly and efficiently.

A wired remote controller gives the user complete control over all of these functions, and in addition to learning about robotic operation during the assembly process, manually controlling the arm is the perfect way to learn more about how machines work.

So, start with this Build Your Own Robot Arm kit and who knows what you’ll be working on in the future!