I’m a primary school teacher in Queensland. I’ve been charged with helping groups of students creating STEM projects. Most students are creating projects using Makey Makey. I have a few who want to go further with robotics. I have bought a few personal items to try and understand the basics. So far I have a MBot starter kit and an Arduino UNO with DF robot kit. I’m familiar with Scratch but to be honest I’m out of my depth with some of these projects.
I have been looking for a solution to building a simple robotic arm, perhaps utilising some of the basic equipment I have. I have found the robotic gripper and a few other items on this site but I don’t know what else I’d need to create a working project. Any assistance I could get would be very much appreciated!
If you can provide us with the utilities and equipment you do have, we can attempt to come up with a robotic arm and what parts you will need to get it going.
I don’t have a lot of resources. I have an M-Bot starter kit, an Arduino Uno with DFrobot beginner kit. I have a Makey Makey and the school has some LEGO robots but I don’t know what models. They look fairly old.
We have access to Scratch on PC, we have iPads and I have the Arduino IDE plus online access, and the MBot apps on my iPad.
I have enrolled in some beginner courses, but the learning curve is quite steep.
I think your best starting point would be to have a look around the Forum and Projects pages to see how the Arduino and M-Bot kits are being used and which suits your style the most. If you run into specific bits of trouble in the courses post here and we can help you out.
For the Robot arm project, I would recommend having a look on Thingiverse for 3D printable robot arms.
Hey Darren,
Just to build on Clinton’s suggestion, there are soooo many community projects that use micro Servo’s and a combination of 3D printed/Laser cut parts to make some awesome looking robot arms.
Here’s a good example of just that -
As always, let us know if you have any other questions.
Thank you Clinton and Aidan. I have checked all your links and have been following some Udemy courses and other tutorials.
As this is aimed at Primary school kids, the easiest platform I have come across is the Mcore from MakeBlock. I am familiar with the apps from my MBot and the kids can code from their iPads which is a big advantage in our school. MCore also uses big RJ25 connect ports which is easier for little fingers.
I think with some servos, the MCore, some ultrasonic senors and a gripper we should be able to make a basic arm that grabs items.
Great to hear Darren. I’d be interested in seeing what yourself and the students come up with (It would be a great learning opportunity for other educators and students too!)
