Its not exactly cheap but have you looked into the Lego Mindstorm NXT 2.0 set? Link: http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-4544091-Mindstorms-NXT-2-0/dp/B001USHRYI/ref=sr

Its not exactly cheap but have you looked into the Lego Mindstorm NXT 2.0 set? Link: http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-4544091-Mindstorms-NXT-2-0/dp/B001USHRYI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324023851&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-4544091-Mindstorms-NXT-2-0/dp/B00... You can build various things with it because its a LEGO product and it allows programming for specific functions. The homepage is here: http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspx http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspx Let me know if this is along the lines of what you're looking for or if I have the wrong idea. I'll try and help adjust suggestions accordingly.