Micro-machines

	Remember when you wanted a robot when you were a kid? I sure do, STILL do but more importantly I think it was the appeal of playing around with wires and transistors etc., like a mad professor that took my fancy more. Short-cut to 2014 and here I am, a semi grown-up man, looking into getting an Arduino or a Raspberry PI... or even this new Spark So, like always, I went trawling through the internet for information on these great little devices and wow I am absolutely blown away by what I have found...
Raspberry PI For something around the size of a cassette tape and weighing bugger all, this machine is pretty powerful. It boasts a pretty powerful CPU, 512MB of RAM and up to 16g in SD RAM you can make some pretty impressive things. Big future for this in real-world devices that need a bit of computing power for critical decision making e.g., pumps.
Arduino You know, I reckon one day this thing will replace LEGO...unlike the PI mentioned previously, this is a micro-controller rather than a full blown mini-PC. The real strength of this device is in the accessories you can get for it. Add a 3D printer in with this thing and you watch the popularity of this device explode!!
Spark Man spark sounds like a GREAT idea! a micro-controller that is accessible via the web without any special programming, just an AJAX/REST interface... so simple, so easy endless possibilities... this little device is touted as being the next big thing for the "internet of things"
So will any of these make a robot? nah not really... besides I will leave that to Honda, they seem to have all that covered quite nicely :) Cheers, Rhodesie