The Darth Vader Robotic Arm is actually a kit that instructs you in how to build a robotic arm and lets you do various stuff with it with fully interactive control over its movement.

The arm uses snap-together parts, so you don’t have to have a degree in engineering to put it together, and it fits well into any super-slick Star Wars room rather easily with its cool, creepy styling.

The price is £28.99 to acquire this for your very own and show off a piece of science fiction history.

More here:

The six included games are interactive environments composed of pieces that include a base station, energy port, special effects hub, and three universal gaming pads; each accessory may be individually programmed using a simple, drag-and-drop interface with the included software (requires a PC running Windows XP or Vista). Depending upon the game you select (or modify using the software) each accessory serves a unique purpose: the base station can act as a depot, timer, or target; the energy port ejects a ball (which is corralled by the robot’s built-in scoop) and recharges the robot; and the special effects hub provides robots with advanced maneuvers and abilities. The robot has infrared sensors and radio frequency identification chips that allow the robot to react to the game’s accessories and other competing robots, helping it to avoid obstacles, navigate autonomously, and participate in any of the six included games. You can also participate in interactive online gaming using any of the robot’s programmed routines–you can identify other robots online as “friend” or “foe” and the robot will interact with them accordingly. The games involve the robot picking up different colors by driving over encoded pads and delivering them to the hub before time expires, collecting a ball while avoiding “bullets”, dropping electronic “land mines” to obstruct competing robots, and more. The robot’s dual monowheel design provides nimble 360º movement as it moves between accessories–you can control it from up to 30? away.

It also helps to own stock in batteries, and it takes a dozen AA batteries to get going. The Programmable Gaming Robot will set you back $299.95 as well, so having a thick wallet helps as well.

Combining electronic gaming, robot stuff and remote control aspects in their initial offering, detailed here from their site:

A smart, fully programmable and highly agile two-wheeled robot, Roboni-i is the first entertainment robot to offer unlimited play patterns. The state-of-the-art robot features 16 sensors and four processors, RF remote control and Zigbee peer-to-peer RF protocol allowing for competitive gameplay with real-world robots. It also comes packaged with game accessories and six action games enabling players to form a playing field and use the gaming controller to select a game as they enter a new dimension of interactive, real-world robotic gameplay. Whether alone or with friends, they will need to beat the odds, race against time, manage resources, neutralize threats, execute special effects and collect bonus points to improve score. The Roboni-i’s online gameplay is out of this world. By plugging Roboni-i into the PC, players enter a virtual world where they can create profiles, participate in virtual missions, play online games and interact with friends who are online at the same time. Its Advanced PC-based Command Center Software allows users to program every facet of the robot’s behavior, edit games and upload performance data.

Many big retailers are jumping on the bandwagon, including ToysRUs.com, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and then the more specialized shops like Hammacher Schlemmer and more. Sounds good to us, if it comes to fruition.

The aforementioned motor is the big draw of this one, and it really depends on your imagination on what you are able to produce. Here’s more from the website:

Other building kits use motors, so what makes OLLO unique? you may be wondering. The difference is how OLLO pieces attach to one another. They attach with an innovative two-part rivet (one goes into the other and presses down to lock the pieces in place). And of course you can always undo the rivets (tool included) to build new and wilder things. The OLLO Action Kit is perfect for getting young minds interested in mechanics and building. OLLO is so much fun to work with, you might just have to buy two: one for the kids…and one for you!

Sound cool? It will cost you $29.99 per set.

It can change into 6 different robots, in fact, which should give you plenty of diversion. And it’s even solar powered, which is even more high-tech and cool. No, there’s little point to this besides the inherent entertainment value, but kids should enjoy it. The various guises include a robotic dog, a boat, plane, car, robotic windmill and a desktop-style plane.

It includes 25 parts (and no screws used), so you might want to give your kids a hand putting this together, if its bought for them. It can be charged using a 50-watt or brighter bulb should the sunlight not be out.

This cool little gadget can be yours for only £13.00 or about $21 USD from Red5.

The Robotic Arm Kit features 5 axis of movement that can be controlled by a (sadly wired) remote control.

From their website:

Command the gripper to open and close, wrist motion of 120 degrees, an extensive elbow range of 300 degrees, base rotation of 270 degrees, base motion of 180 degrees, vertical reach of 15 inches, horizontal reach of 12.6 inches, and lifting capacity of 100g. whew! An LED spotlight on the gripper illuminates your work. Soon you’ll be creating your own tiny union-free automobile assembly line.

According to the company, it takes about 2 hours to put it together, and there’s no soldering needed at all. Sounds like a very cool gift for a young kid or teen interested in robots or futuristic stuff.

It sells at ThinkGeek for $49.95.