Issue regarding practical approach on machine learning/computer vision fields

Question

I am really passionate about the machine learning,data mining and computer vision fields and I was thinking at taking things a little bit further.

I was thinking at buying a LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 robot for trying to experiment machine learning/computer vision and robotics algorithms in order to try to understand better several existing concepts.

Would you encourage me into doing so? Do you recommend any other alternative for a practical approach in understanding these fields which is acceptably expensive like(nearly 200 - 250 pounds) ? Are there any mini robots which I can buy and experiment stuff with?

Answer 1

If your interests are machine learning, data mining and computer vision then I'd say a Lego mindstorms is not the best option for you. Not unless you are also interested in robotics/electronics.

• Do do interesting machine learning you only need a computer and a problem to solve. Think ai-contest or mlcomp or similar.
• Do do interesting data mining you need a computer, a lot of data and a question to answer. If you have an internet connection the amount of data you can get at is only limited by your bandwidth. Think netflix prize, try your hand at collecting and interpreting data from wherever. If you are learning, this is a nice place to start.
• As for computer vision: All you need is a computer and images. Depending on the type of problem you find interesting you could do some processing of random webcam images, take all you holiday photo's and try to detect where all your travel companions are in them. If you have a webcam your options are endless.

Lego mindstorms allows you to combine machine learning and computer vision. I'm not sure where the datamining would come in, and you will spend (waste?) time on the robotics/electronics side of things, which you don't list as one of your passions.