Robots (Physical Ones)

So /proggles/, lately I've been getting into building robots and remotely operated vehicles, and I have a problem.

I just can't fucking hardware. I'd consider myself a pretty witty/competent programmer, but I've never really done a project where I need to figure out how to power and operate motors (or even what sort of motors to purchase).

I know I can use an Arduino or something similar for microcontrolling, that's not an issue, but do any of you guys build robots/remotely operated vehicles? If so, are you aware of any guides to hardware that you can share?

>>19
>thinking about mathematics, algorithms, and puzzles

You'll enjoy the challenge of squeezing every last byte out of a proper µC, then.