"Robots are hard to drive. ROBOPuppet exists to make them easier to drive." This is a first sentence on ROBOpuppet "About" page and it explains this project perfectly.
ROBOpuppet is basically a miniature copy of full size industrial robot that you can move and use it as simple low cost control unit. All the movements of the ROBopuppet are followed by the big robot.
This teleoperation control unit can be made for as low as 85 USD.
http://www.iu.edu/~motion/robopuppet/
You can make this robot control unit yourself. All the files and instructions are published at:
http://www.iu.edu/~motion/robopuppet/method.html