Who hasn’t dreamt of building a robot of their very own at some point in their life? It’s one of those things that always stuck with me, and while for the most part its been a pipe dream, the idea of making a robot something from nothing has stayed with me. Sure, kids today have things a lot better with all the gadgets and radio-controlled dinosaurs and dancing puppies. In my day you’d be lucky to have a Teddy Ruxpin and just pretend he was real robot. For all the advances in technology we have now it still seems that a robot is a ways off; until now. Thanks to Makeblock kids and parents finally have an educational tool that really lets you get into robotics at any level.
Kids today are much more advanced when it comes to technology. Heck, I’m only 30 and I am still often surprised by how quickly the youth pick things up. You can only imagine the feeling one gets of searching YouTube for a tutorial on something, only for it to be explained in precise detail by someone still in grade-school. This distance in comprehension is one of the things that keeps family activities from often being fun, especially when it comes to electronics of any kind. The mBot does a fantastic job of having everyone on the same level, and offers up a number of avenues of fun for everyone. Want to simply build a robot to pilot around? You can do that. Want to learn to program said robot to do your bidding, from simple movement to more advanced patterns? You can do that with the mBot as well. You can even jump onto the Makeblock website and order new pieces of tech to add to your mBot, thus expanding its capabilities are the pace you choose.
The mBot Educational Robot Kit was created to help provide kids with a low-cost tool that teaches basic robotics and programming, but also something that is an incredible amount of fun. Opening up the kit this can be seen with the mBot theme of, “One robot per kid” printed right on the inside flap. The box contains everything that you’ll need to get your mBot up and running. The included instructions are so simple that you can easily follow along with only a simple set of pictures. This not only makes the process a breeze, but aides in both hands-on and visual learning. The box claims that it’ll take you about 10 minutes to finish the initial build, and while this is entirely possible, I spent more time with it as I was really enjoying getting an in-depth look at all the circuit boards included in the kit.
The mBot comes with a gorgeous blue aluminum frame of which all the various circuit boards attach to. The unit isn’t enclosed, so you’ll have full view of all the exposed circuit boards, but each is strategically placed so as to protect it from damage. While I usually think of circuit boards as being very delicate pieces of kit, these hold up really well under construction and even with taking a few bumps while running around. One of the coolest aspects of the mBot is in how Makeblock set up the unit visually. The fame has a mouth and you add the included collision sensors just about that look like eyes. The mBot is a really cute looking robot and every-time I brought it out people always gathered around just to see it do its thing. The entire unit runs of four AA batteries and the two included motors are surprisingly strong, making the mBot a quick little bot.
The mBot Educational Robot Kit is fantastic because when you open up the box you will have everything you need to get the most out of the unit. Makeblock should be commended for giving us everything, and not making something that requires parts upon parts to have fun with. While toys of this nature love giving you the bare basics and then nickel and dime you to get all the extras you need, the mBot puts it all in one kit and then allows you to purchase various add-on kits that only add to the fun, but aren’t necessary to get hours and hours of enjoyment. In the box you get nine parts –impressively sparse for a robot kit– that come together. The main brain of the unit is the mCore board that houses all the connectors, the wireless board, lights, and power input. The front holds the Me Ultrasonic Sensor that allows it to see, and on the underside you mount the Me Line Follower that lets the mBot follows paths. You also have the two motors that attach to the included wheels, and finally the battery holder that attaches just under the mCore to the aluminum frame with some included Velcro. It’s a nice little package that all comes together in a very clean manner.
The mBot also comes with an included remote control, so if you only wanted to experience the robot just as is –that’s how I did it for the first week– you can. The mBot responds as well as one would expect, but I did come to learn that my dog absolutely hates robots zooming around the house. Still, it was good to see that the motors had enough power to get the mBot to drive easily over carpet and other surfaces. Being a tech/games journalist I get to see, and play with, some really incredible things, but it’s really hard to look to a more rewarding experience than putting together and playing with the mBot. I can only imagine how much more I would have loved the process if a had a kid of my own to share the experience with.
But that isn’t all that the mBot has in store for users, as when you have had your fill of just driving it around the house, you can load up the mBlock software to open up a new world of fun. The mBlock is a graphical programming piece of software that is based upon the Scratch 2.0 that was developed by the MIT Media Lab. The software supports Arduino boards –of which the mCore is based upon– so getting the mBot and Mblock software speaking is a simple affair. Getting your ears wet with the software really ups what the mBot is capable of doing. You can make the mBot play musical tones as it moves, set it to follow any line drawn/placed on the floor, set it to talk to other mBot units for a choreographed dance number, and even –and this is my favorite bit– control the unit with your smartphone app for games and even some BattleBots style melee fun. I can only imagine the incredible things that a classroom full of these little guys can do. If I were a science/technology educator I would love to have access to these little guys.
And yet you can do even more than all that! The chassis that the mBot sits on is compatible with additional Makeblock parts, as well as with LEGO parts. All of this makes for some really inventive experimentation and lets the mBot grow with you. Couple that with being able to add-on and connect with various Arduino and Raspberry Pi boards means the options for new builds is only limited to your imagination. I’d love to get a screen installed on top and figure out voice communication that way I’d never have to physically attend a meeting again! The real magic of the mBot is that it was completely funded through Kickstarter, blowing away its $20,000 goal by hitting $285,463 by its end. This is clearly something people really want, and after getting to play around with a unit over the past week I can see why. And for a suggested price of only $49 via the kickstarter, this is one robot that everyone can enjoy. Head over the their website (http://mblock.cc/)to find out more about the mBot, or straight to the store page here so you can snag one for yourself at retail pricing.
*An mBot unit was provided to us for this review*
About Author
