I'd like to build a mechanism to press buttons on a remote control. What is a good basic approach to use?
The simplest solution I can currently think of is to use a linear actuator to push the buttons down because they are compact, strong, and have a lot of pushing force.

You can either have one actuator per button or use worm gears to finely move the actuator over each button. This would have to move in both the X and Y direction however because the buttons are in a grid, which is a little more complicated but possible.