Fair enough. 6.832 is an advanced course. Building simple kits is always a good way to get going. You learn by seeing how someone else solved the problem, an

Fair enough. 6.832 is an advanced course. Building simple kits is always a good way to get going. You learn by seeing how someone else solved the problem, and add that to your bag of tricks. The Pololu Romi chassis is not a terrible place to start. The wheels have (kinda coarse) encoders, so you can at least get some decent control going. Even simpler robots can be built by modifying hobby servos for continuous rotation. Pick a simple challenge, like "Drive around on a table without falling off.", that is a decent robot "Hello, World!". (And it isn't as easy as it sounds.) If there is a robot club near by, check it out.