I am a bit of a fish out of water when it comes to robotics. Earlier today I spoke to a very helpful person from core electronics and he suggested posting here for some help.
My daughter is studying engineering at year 9 high school and has asked for a robotics kit for Christmas.
Some of the projects they are working on use Raspberry Pi or Arduino based and programmed with Java or c++.
She is not too sure what sort of robot or kit to get. She doesn’t want a simple bread board circuit kit. More along the lines of potentially a multi use kit that is programmable to do different tasks. She is interested in both the building and the programming of the robot.
Her preference is an Arduino based robot using c++ to program, however, this is not essential and will consider any kit.
Please can you give suggestions on decent kits that is a good starting point that includes controller and hardware. I am working to a budget, but if it’s the right kit and is what she wants, that budget can be a little flexible.
Glad to hear your daughter is interested in robotics - so am I!
A great option is the ELEGOO Smart Robot Car V4.0. Here is the blurb on their site:
ELEGOO Smart Robot Cat Kit V4.0 has multiple modes such as auto-go, infrared control, obstacle avoidance and line tracking modes. In each mode, you will learn how to load programs and command the car to run as instructed. The great interactivity that you can have with this robot car could definitely motive your curiosity and interest to find out why and how it works this way. Learning electronics is not as complicated as you might think, especially with our smart robot car kit it will become more interesting than ever. If your kids, family or friends are attracted to the electronics and robotics world this kit would be a great choice and perfect gift for them to start their first step on the electronic journey.
Another great option is the Arduino Tinkerkit Braccio from Core themselves, however this is not the most budget friendly robotics kit.
Here is the description:
The Braccio was made to be a versatile robotic arm that anyone with some Arduino know-how can pick up and use. You can use the jaws on the end of the arm to pick up anything less than 300 grams.
Some great applications of the Braccio that we have seen are:
Mounting a camera and use the Braccio to track objects
Video conference tracking by holding your phone.
Solar panel holding and using the Braccio for Solar tracking
The final kit I can think of is for the Raspberry Pi, however it does not include the Pi unit itself. It would not need a particularly powerful Pi, just a 1GB model that is $62. It is a great kit much like the first one, with a few extra bits. Here are the links:
But unfortunately I now know what she does not want. This includes the suggestions above or any car like robot.
My daughter likes the idea of the hexapod style of robot. However she is after one that can be coded preferably using C++. She is unsure if a text file is the correct solution for her. Are you able to clarify how the text file is generated and transferred to the robot.
Any other suggestions along these lines would be appreciated.
Core has a great hexapod kit that is not very budget friendly, however will give your daughter everything she needs.
However, the option I would probably go for is a Freenove hexapod from Amazon It is cheaper and has much of the same features.
Both options are Arduino based, meaning that your daughter will be able to code C++ with them!
As to your question about text files, your daughter will be writing her C++ code in a code editor on her computer. The code is then saved as a text file with a .cpp extension instead of a .txt for a text file. Once the code is written and tested on the computer, it can then be uploaded to the microcontroller (Arduino in this case) on the robot.
I looked at both the hexapod core sells and the one on Amazon. I have concerns about the amazon one where the battery is not included and appears to be an expensive battery that is not common or used in other applications. I read the comments and other purchases
With the ArcBotics hexapod, is it shipped with battery/computer control? Also is it easily customised to add new features, or is it limited like the Amazon one by the i/o connections only being sufficient to control what it is shipped with?
The ArcBotics unit is shipped with 4x and 6x battery holders for standard AAs. They recommend using high-capacity NiMHs, so Eneloops should fit the bill:
If you want to use bluetooth to control it remotely (one of its features) then you’ll need 10 batteries total (6 for the motors, 4 for the “logic” power input)
