Building a robot, complete beginner!

[fin1tnp]

Hi.

 I am a university student from Leeds, UK, and am wanting to build a robot to use
 in my coursework.

 It should be very simple I hope.

 I need it to function on a hinge, basically like an elbow. Ideally I would be
 able to alter the frequency/speed of the movements.

 It needs to be pretty robust and to withstand shock.

 Any ideas?

 Thank you for your help with this.

Tom

[Admin]

what does it do? what kind of forces should it expect?

here is some material to get you started . . .

from your description, you might be interested in this for the controller:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/microcontroller_tutorial.shtml

this for actuators:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/actuators_servos.shtml

and batteries:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/batteries.shtml

to calculate your force requirements (such as moment arm):
http://www.societyofrobots.com/mechanics_statics.shtml