# From Idea to Finished Robot

Part of the Robotics Merit Badge Digital Resource Guide: [Introduction & Overview](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/robotics/guide/index.md)

*4. Design and Build Your Robot*

> **4.** Do the following:

This requirement is the heart of the Robotics merit badge. You are no longer just discussing robots. You are creating one project from start to finish.

This requirement covers five connected steps:

- **choose a clear task**
- **design the robot**
- **build the robot or subsystem**
- **show the logic with code or a flowchart**
- **test it and improve it**

The official videos below are especially helpful before you begin, because they show what counts as a qualifying robotics project, how robots move, and what engineers mean by degrees of freedom.

Video: [What Qualifies as a Robot for Robotics Merit Badge? (video)](https://youtu.be/6dYq9bBSaWc?list=PLHGEvyG5wuthXQZzTc-mLwFrP5F6_1Lce)

Video: [Methods Robots Use to Move (video)](https://youtu.be/T0JeYyU7R-c?list=PLHGEvyG5wuthXQZzTc-mLwFrP5F6_1Lce)

Video: [Robotics: Degrees of Freedom (video)](https://youtu.be/55O-DGeoFic?list=PLHGEvyG5wuthXQZzTc-mLwFrP5F6_1Lce)

> **Tip**
>
> Read through all of Req 4 before you start building. Seeing the full sequence first helps you choose a project that is realistic from design through testing.

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