Now we’re about to build one of the Microbric "models" – a nifty little programmable robot called the Viper!

The beauty of the Microbric system is that soldering – the bane of beginners and the worry of their mothers – is eliminated. The various circuit connections are made when the devices are screwed together in the correct manner. So no more than a screwdriver is needed to build a Microbric project – and even that is supplied!

In many ways, Microbric can be thought of as a combination of electronics and Lego or Meccano. As they say, it’s "fuel for the imagination."

To be launched in selected News Ltd papers this month (with a likelihood of others later) is the I-bot robot. For SILICON CHIP readers, though, we’re going with something a little more ambitious . . .

The Viper

The Viper is a programmable robot which is easy to construct – but offers the user incredible satisfaction. You still get "the thrill of the build" but the likelihood of mistakes is very much reduced due to the modular construction. And even the finished Viper is not the end of the story: while it comes with both a bump sensor and infrared receiver, there are additional packs which will let you customise your Viper to do, well, whatever you want him to.