I was talking with an associate of mine who has only built robots for robotics competitions. You know the ones. A robot has to perform a talk better than another. Often, these bots are not built for very heavy duty work. They said, "This is the only type I have ever built, and the only type I want to build."
This is my associates competition robot. Cost : $15,000+ USD and growing. Money returned to the owners : $0
I retorted, "I like to build robots that can actually do useful work." I often build industrial robotics (CNC equipment) meant to be brutally punished in manufacturing operations. Mine do not navigate obstacle courses, but mine have made thousands of parts out of a variety of materials, cut traces on PCBs, among other tasks. This is the only type I have every built.
This is one of my CNC lathes. Cost : $2,500 USD. Money returned through parts I have made with it : ~$10,000+
I would image we all fall into only one or two of these categories. In which allegiance do you align?
Cabe
ps. I do have some desire to make some competition type robotics. Is there a competition for industrial types? If not, there should be.
