[bsimpson]

Make Magazine's Make Controller Kit followed the same model. Unfortunately, it was maintained by one guy during nights and weekends (which meant it was never well supported and became deprecated before it was useful). Still, the model of allowing developers to learn robotics in whatever language they're comfortable in is fantastic for making the field accessible to newcomers!

I tried my hand at an MCK because I could do it from ActionScript, a language I was already comfortable with. Asking users to learn both about controlling hardware and a new programming language/model simultaneously steepens the barrier to entry versus decoupling those things.