Agreed embedded is probably a good way to go. Much simpler to understand systems, along with simpler ASM. Many schools in the US have organized robotics progr

Agreed embedded is probably a good way to go. Much simpler to understand systems, along with simpler ASM. Many schools in the US have organized robotics programs, but those are expensive and require a lot of support. Making a demo is know how, and some HW. Probably the main thing missing is the the materials. I've been skimming through the links here to find good starting points. Its a lot to collect -- many of the entry level techniques are so old, they're not always written up (or the target audience is different).