What's more, both machines outlived their design's estimated life--the Pathfinder by three times, and the Sojourner by almost 12! Check out of the Sojourner to see just how small it was.

This wouldn't be a GeekTech feature without a bit of Lego. In all seriousness, though, , a series of Lego set that contain programmable software and hardware, were one of the cheapest and easiest ways for anyone to make their own robot. Mindstorms kits were inspired by Seymour Papert's book, , in which the mathematician recommends the simple theory of learning by doing.

Back in 1986, Honda announced it would undertake a project to create a human-like robot capable of not only co-existing with humans, but also eventually surpass their abilities for the benefit of society (which the ).