... for this robot:Maker Shed: Official Store of Make: and Maker Faire since 2005
What the heck?! No code writing? No soldering? No... input sensors?!
Where's the fun in this? Do you guys have any idea how many months I spent near tears writing Stamp Basic code (that didn't work) and soldering (burning up 555 and 4017 ICs that weren't in sockets because those cost an extra 35 cents!) as a kid.
To make your elevator: Go to Wal*Mart and by the cheapest RC thing you can find. Leave the controller alone and rip apart the car/plane/whatever it is. Take one of the motors that rotates 360 and put a large spool/wheel on it. Attach one end of your string to the spool and the other end to the shoebox. If you want your robot to go up, push the joystick forward. If you want your robot to go down, pull the joystick backward. That's what he means, "If up is pressed, have it move the servo one direction. If down is pressed, move it the other [direction]."