As soon as I knew they existed, I got a Hexbug Spider. I wish these things existed when I was little. It is COOL!
Now that I’m older and can buy toys for myself, I can do more interesting things with my toys. The Hexbug is IR controlled, like a tv remote control. I have a Microsoft MCE IR blaster connected to a Mythbuntu linux box. LIRC is pretty easy to configure.
Of course this is just a substitute remote control. It isn’t as awesome as what EMGRobotics is doing with the hexbug spider. The biggest advantage of a computer remote control is scripting moves!
DANCE HEXBUG DANCE!