You may be familiar with common hardware construction sets, but the addition of a computer brain makes a construction set such as LEGO MindStorms a true robot construction set. To truly utilize this type of kit, you need to have a PC. The kit includes an integrated development environment (IDE), which you load into your PC to help you compose the robot's software control program, as well as a download cable for downloading programs to your robot. The advantage of computer control adds a new dimension to construction sets and allows you to build a truly autonomous robot.

And if you don't like the robot you've built, you can disassemble it and rebuild it another way. Of course, what can sometimes be an advantage can also be a disadvantage because the assembly isn't permanent.

With some construction sets, parts may not stay assembled as you would like and the robot may fall apart at an inopportune time. To remedy this, you can tape, rubber band, bolt, or even glue your parts together to avoid the inevitable hardware breakdown. However, use glue only when you feel you won't ever want to disassemble your robot.

With prefabricated sensor and actuator modules and a prefabricated programmable central robot brain, robot construction sets such as LEGO MindStorms and Fischertechnik have all the parts necessary to construct a robot.

Kits like these have proprietary connectors, so you can connect only their devices, such as motors, lights, and IR sensors. However, even though you're limited as to what you can connect to the proprietary robot brain, a construction set does provide many great options. You can create a robot that can follow a line, detect and follow a wall, sort cards, or even compete in a robot contest.