Advice on Robotics Kits?

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

6th Grade Science Fair is coming up.  Last time I did this, my son and I built a wooden and plastic model of how an internal combustion engine works (something totally within my wheelhouse).  My intrepid daughter declared last night that she wants to build a robot.  Something like this:

So - it turns out these things are kind of expensive.  I absolutely want to support her interests, but I don't want to get something that a kid with a basic grasp on programming (she codes in Roblox) cannot do in a reasonable amount of time.  

(I'm confident she and I can lego anything together and I know how to follow schematics, so the physical construction stuff isn't a concern... it's the programming that I have zero experience with).

 

Anyone have experience with these - and willing to recommend good products or those to avoid?

[Nuke]

after owning the og lego rcx and the first nxt, they leave a lot to be desired. i didn't like visual programming, but both had quasi-c compilers available, which i preferred. they were limited by the official sensors, but third party sensors were available and both were documented well enough to make diy sensors if you liked dabbling in electronics (my go-to is lego technic + arduino/raspberry pi). the technic sets themselves are great for the mechanical parts. the lego motors are ok, but i like to get adapters for hobby servos and various motors and i have a 3d printer to make anything i dont need. i cant speak for newer smart bricks, but lego has always been good stuff.  i suppose its a good place to start, good for kids, really good if you already have a number of technic sets. 

[ColdJ]

@JoeSchmuckatelli

Have you considered foregoing programming and instead using a hobby car remote and hobby car servos in conjunction with the Lego?

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

4 hours ago, ColdJ said:

@JoeSchmuckatelli

Have you considered foregoing programming and instead using a hobby car remote and hobby car servos in conjunction with the Lego?

That is starting to be an interesting line of inquiry - based off responses here and on [H].   If her interest persists I'll likely go full diy / lego (I did this in the 70s/80s with tiny motors salvaged from other toys and modeling glue to make my own crappy cars) and see what we can build.  Options are fascinating! 

Given the cost and time constraints we went a different route.  I found a 'robotic arm' kit that is anything but robotic.  It's an arm that you can manipulate using levers and hydraulics.

Had the epiphany that with a kid, breaking down something complicated into one relatively easy concept - how do robots move their arms - and figuring that hydraulics is more visceral than electronics it seemed perfect. 

So now instead of 'how robots work' her project is 'how hydraulic actuators work' with the robot arm being the demonstrator 

 

 

 Edit:

The thing with her is the fascination with typing a line of code and seeing something intentional happen - so I suspect that she will want to move quickly past the hobby building of the thing to futzing with programming 

Edited January 26, 2022 by JoeSchmuckatelli

[AtomicTech]

6 hours ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

That is starting to be an interesting line of inquiry - based off responses here and on [H].   If her interest persists I'll likely go full diy / lego (I did this in the 70s/80s with tiny motors salvaged from other toys and modeling glue to make my own crappy cars) and see what we can build.  Options are fascinating! 

Given the cost and time constraints we went a different route.  I found a 'robotic arm' kit that is anything but robotic.  It's an arm that you can manipulate using levers and hydraulics.

Had the epiphany that with a kid, breaking down something complicated into one relatively easy concept - how do robots move their arms - and figuring that hydraulics is more visceral than electronics it seemed perfect. 

So now instead of 'how robots work' her project is 'how hydraulic actuators work' with the robot arm being the demonstrator 

 

 

 Edit:

The thing with her is the fascination with typing a line of code and seeing something intentional happen - so I suspect that she will want to move quickly past the hobby building of the thing to futzing with programming 

Well, best of luck to the both of y'all!

Do send pics once you've finished, I'd love to see them!

[Nuke]

i made little lego adapters for the little 9g servos. you start by removing the mounting brackets with a dremel, and take the stickers off too. i used an axle peg, cut off the peg side with an exacto knifre close to the flange, sanded it down, super-glued it to a servo horn (the hub at least, i dremeled away the rest), and drilled out the center to accept the attachment screw. attach it to the servo. then you get an axle brick to line up the servo. then you build a jig out of lego and use hot glue to pot the servo between a couple 2x3 plates. they worked out pretty well. i have a lot of the old style technic (pre-studless) so these came in handy a lot. 

newer technic sets have a lot of transmission parts, and these little servos are excellent at shifting gears. you can also use them to actuate pneumatic valves. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Nuke