Think along the lines of Legos® - you can buy large multi-use packs, or very specific kits good for only one use (like a bulldozer, say). I’d like to purchase a start up robotics kit for my son that can be re-purposed into different things, just like you can do with the big Lego kits, so he can rework components into different things. He’s really good at these endeavors, and loves this sort of play-work. He’s 11 if that matters.
I’ve found lots of things like this on Amazon, but no multipurpose kits so far. I didn’t scroll through every page, but it looks like most of these things are “one-offs” that look like a lot of fun, but have no experimental value past the initial build. I’ve seen the Arduino kits, but maybe I’m looking at the wrong ones - they seem a little too generic. Any experiences you’ve had yourself are particularly of interest.
We have a great bunch of tech-type folks here at the dope - anybody know of any advanced robotics kits that are a little more multi-use? I’m willing to spend a reasonable amount for a decent set.
Thanks as always for any suggestions!
Oh, also, kinda need answer fast - birthday coming up in a week!
Even the “Zombie Bit My Arm” thread got eleven replies.
I don’t usually like to bump, and never more than once, so here’s hoping someone may still have something to suggest. If not, I’ll probably try one of the Arduino sets and try to build on it in some fashion.
I’m reasonably certain there are multi-kits out there, and that my searching skills just sorta suck, but maybe not. I’d like to think so - what a great way to get kids hooked into something that might actually serve them well in the future! I just really enjoy watching my kids playing with something - and enjoying it - that teaches real world skills, even if they never use those specific skills. I like to preach learning=fun, not drudgery, as can so often be the case.
I’ll keep looking, and thanks to anyone who might have any suggestions.
There are several more advanced project books on Amazon. That will extend Mindstorm’s use for several years. Even adults can have fun building Mindstorm projects.
You know, I didn’t consider Lego much at all - didn’t realize they had these types of ‘toys’ available. I saw a few things in my searches, but at quick glance they just looked like typical Lego toys, which apparently they are not.
Pricey, but seems to have a lot of potential. I’m definitely fixated on the multi-functionality aspect of anything we invest in, as I don’t want to put serious dollars into anything with a very limited playtime lifespan.
Thank you for the suggestions - I’ll look into these further.
Have a look at some of the Mindstorm devices on YouTube - people have built some really clever stuff - rigs that assemble little cars on a production line, machines that manipulate and solve the Rubik’s Cube, etc.
It’s expensive, but value for money, IMO.
The dull parts of any robotics project are (again, IMO):
[ul]
[li]Manufacturing lots of boring mechanical pieces[/li][li]Fiddling around with interfaces to troubleshoot them[/li][/ul]
Mindstorms lets you skip those steps and get right on with inventing.
Part of the US FIRST organization, promoting science and technology, the First Lego League is a partnership with FIRST and Lego to build some really cool stuff. The website above should have more info.
+1 on the Lego Mindstorms. I got my friend’s 10-year-old Mindstorms for Christmas and it was hands-down the winning present. He’s still enthusiastically making new robots and programming them.
One of the reasons I got it for him is that along with the robot examples that come with it, there are a bunch of books with new robot designs you can make. Some of them even have stories, where you build and program a series of robots to go along with the story. And I believe there are websites with even more robot designs for free. So if the kid ever runs out of ideas, it’s easy to get new things to try.
You might try the Arduino. It’s a single board computer based on Atmel microcontrollers and programmed in C (or even C++). It can read sensors, control electrical devices, interface to the web, and so forth. For about $30 you can get a simple one.
