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| Pete Birkinshaw, Used Punchcard, https://www.flickr.com/photos/binaryape/5151286161 |
So, when Robo™ Wunderkind asked me to review their Education Robotics Kit for elementary students, ages 6 to 12, they were happy to hear I was no expert, since the kit was so easy to use! (Probably these early learners have much more recent programming experience than I have!)
Upon opening the box, I was presented with colorful cubes with electronics, wheels, buttons, lights, and more.
The overview book, which explained the role of each piece, was easy to understand and I felt confident I understood each component.
I took the items out of the box and arranged them in my workspace. I also charged up the orange Main Block with the included USB cable.
Each color block has its own role.
- The orange Main Block powers the robot, Bluetooths to the student's mobile device where they use the app, and controls all the other blocks.
- The green Connectors have electronics, and both hold blocks together as well as allow block to communicate with each other.
- The little green Lego® Connectors allow students to build up their robots by using Legos on the small baseplates.
- The red Button is a smart button, which knows when students press and release it.
- The yellow Light is just that...a programmable light source.
- There are two large green wheels and a small, articulating green wheel.
- The big red block is a Distance Sensor which measures distances to objects and well as detects sound.
- The darker blue Motors helps a student's robot to move around.
- The lighter blue block is a Servo which can rotate the robot to precise angles.
- The green and black Wired Connector can connect blocks that are not next to each other and help go around the blind sides of the blocks.
- There is also a little plastic pry bar which is used to separate the Connectors from the blocks, when breaking down the robot, in a way that protects them from too much force. Students under 10 may need some help when prying, since the Connector components fit rather snugly.
The first step was to attach the Main Block to the app on the mobile device via Bluetooth. It was a simple process that students, once shown how to do it, would be able to complete. At various times, as I built the robot and snapped on pieces, the app prompted me to tap the screen to apply a quick little update to the piece. In addition, there was a firmware update for the Main Block, too. These updates were simple to apply, and completed by tapping a button on the screen of the mobile device, so students will have no problem completing the task.
I then visited the Web site for a quick overview of the basics, and looked at some of the projects that were available.
The robots students create are controlled from an iOS or Android device. There are two different apps to support the robots- Robo Code and Robo Live.
The Robo Code app (iOS | Android) is the place to learn how to build, how to control, and to try building the sample robots in the tutorials. This is also where students can store, edit, and update their own projects. The sample projects showcase each of the robotic components, so students can learn about them and then experiment and create their own unique robots!
The Robo Live app (iOS | Android) allows students to remotely control their Robo Wunderkind robots by using a drag and drop interface to control the robot's actions like driving, turning, making sounds, and blinking.
I decided just to put some blocks together, based on what I had learned thus far, and came up with this simple robot. I actually clapped when it worked!
I then did a little digging in the projects in the Robo Workshop in the Robo Code app and made both a flashlight, which used the Light, and created an obstacle avoider that used the Distance Sensor block.
I had a ton of fun and learned how to both build and create code to make my robots do what I wanted them to do! I spent about 90 minutes reading the basics, creating my robots, coding my projects, and taking notes, photos, and videos for this blog post.
I feel the Robo™ Wunderkind robotics kit and the two apps -- Robo Code and Robo Live -- would be a great addition to a STEM program or a class that includes programming. The drag and drop interface to code the robots is easy to use and has sounds, effects, timings, and more to allow simple or complex programming for the robots. The kit includes enough pieces to make fun robots and make robots do fun things!
Although the kit states it is intended for students ages 6-12, my recommendation would be to start with age 6 and go right up through high school. The Robo™ Wunderkind kit can be an introduction to electronics, programming, and coding at any age. (Even at my age!)
Getting a Robo™ Wunderkind kit for every four students in a class would allow collaborative building and coding, along with the creative aspects of design, the math computations of angles, and classroom contests with the robots!
I received a Robo™ Wunderkind robotics kit to keep for writing this review.
