Robot vehicle adventure begins

I have had the benefit of having access to both the SKI kit (redboard) and a YourDuino three-wheeled robot kit that includes a driver board and ultrasoic sensor. Other materials I have procured include a 4-wheel/motor robot chassis, an additional motor driver board, IR remote, some pressure switch/sensors, motion sensor and a few battery pack options including 9-volt adapters so as to run the vehicle independently.

I have been tinkering with some of these components for a couple of weeks, which has brought me through several learning activities including:

• A comparison between Arduino Uno ("Red Board") and Duemillanovae w/ATA Mega 328 (YourDuino board.) Much the same, slightly different pin configurations.
• Exploration of IR sensor and remotes (burned out the first one by mis-wiring, replaced it and got signals from multiple remotes including a helicopter joystick control)
• Working with driver board (shield) for motor control
• Continued code development (combination of code form sample sketches for each component)

In terms of my final goals, I am hoping to create a vehicle that is controlled by a remote for speed and turning as well as incorporating at least one servo motor function. My "inspiration" for this project was watching our students create a variety of vehicles to compete in the UVM Design TASC competition last fall.