Ask Slashdot: Entry-Level Robotics Kits For Young Teenagers? 153
An anonymous reader writes "So, it's that wonderful time of year again. Instead of buying the latest, greatest whiz-bang, overpriced fad toy of the year, I thought I might try my hand at corrupting my nieces (ages 12 and 14) in a nerdier direction with some sort of introductory robotics kit. They have no programming experience, and part of my idea is that it would be encouraging for them to see interactions of their code that they write with the real-world by being able to control some actuators and read sensors. The first thing that comes to mind is Lego Mindstorms, but I find them a bit on the pricey side of things. My budget falls between $40 and $100, and the ideal kit would focus more on the software side than on soldering together circuits. I'd be looking for a kit that provides an easy to learn API and development tools that will work with a standard Windows PC. I don't mind spending a few afternoons helping them out with the basics, but I'd like for them to be able to be able to explore on their own after grasping the initial concepts. Has anybody gotten their younger relations into programming through robotics, and what kits might you recommend?"
OWI robotic arm (Score:5, Informative)
About a year ago I was looking for something similar to the Radio Shack Armitron I had as a kid. I ended up getting an OWI robotic arm [imagesco.com] for my kids, which is pretty cheap at $35 on Amazon, also has a USB control board for an extra $15 or so. You assemble it yourself, but it's fairly easy as plastic models go, even relative to Legos, and the build quality is pretty high for the price.
There's even code [livejournal.com]. to get the USB control stuff working under *nix . I had to make a few minor tweaks to get it to compile on my Linux box, and it's a bit basic, but it worked! Would be fairly trivial to build a web interface to it along with a webcam. The only downside is that it still draws power from D-cells, but that's easy enough to live with.
Arduino + cheap chinese toys + lego (Score:4, Informative)
Arduino makes electronics and programming simple.
Cheap chinese toys provide you with part( set)s like motors, gears and radio links, with the additional engineering tricks to observe.
Regular Lego parts provide you with fast no-brainer mechanics. Fear not the drilling and abusing of Lego blocks to mount that motor!
The hard part now is for them to come up with ideas and interest.
the Roomba people sell a programmable platform now (Score:5, Informative)
It's a bit higher than that price range though, at $130 [irobot.com].
Parallax! (Score:4, Informative)
Sources for kits (Score:5, Informative)
Cant really recommend one in particular, as it depends on what you want to do. There are several categories : 2wheel differential drive bases, legged hexapods, 4wd bases, even bipeds and robotic arms.
If you get one that is designed to be Arduino-compatible, and can take any number of Arduino expansion shields, you will have endless possibilities. I'd say easiest starting point is a complete 2WD kit with some accessory sensors. This is a nice one http://www.makershed.com/product_p/mkseeed7.htm [makershed.com] , comes with motors and all. Just pick a "mainboard" and motor driver shield and you are good to go.
Fisher Technik (Score:2, Informative)
Fischer Technik is an absolute winner here.
Excellent for teenagers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischertechnik [wikipedia.org]
It goes well beyond what lego mindstorms has to offer.
True 6D connections, and even has stuff like pneumatics!
http://www.robotmatrix.org/Fischertechnik-Pneumatic-Robot.htm [robotmatrix.org]
Bram Stolk
http://stolk.org/HoverBiker/ [stolk.org]
snap circuits? (Score:3, Informative)
Snap circuits price point better than Lego Mindstorms, appear to be less complex than RadioShack's 50 in 1 electronics kits...
i bought a couple of the RS electronics learning lab kits in anticipation of my kids developing interest, but they are still too young..
http://www.snapcircuits.net/
several choices...
Re:snap circuits? (Score:4, Informative)
These kits are really nice. Basically one of those old Radio Shack XXX-in-1 electronics kits with lego building simplicity. I have a couple of them (the 300 kit and the advanced rover) at home.
Re:Fisher Technik (Score:5, Informative)
Posting as an AC because my job requires me to work with FT products...
I couldn't disagree more with regard to FischerTechnik. The mechanics are almost decent enough for what they are, but electrically it is a disaster. It feels industrial, but it doesn't deliver.
The electrical connectors are very flaky and prone to pull out. On the brick, the connectors are too close together, so you are often forced to pull by the wire. Even if you don't, there is no compliance in the set screw that holds the wire in, so they will easily fall out with vibration. They recommend folding the exposed copper back over the insulation to give some springyness, but this only reduces the symptoms and does not solve the problem.
The sensor options are decent, and it shouldn't be overly difficult to jerry-rig new sensors in. However, the wiring can be confusing for anything that requires 3 wires.
Programming wise, their default "language" is utterly unworkable for anything beyond the most basic "if sensor then motor" logic. They do provide dll hooks for other languages, but be sure to add 10ms waits between all function calls if you want reliable communication.
Mechanically, it is extremely easy to make a robot disassemble itself. For example, the gripper on the crane will disconnect itself if you close it "too hard" (motor >80% power): the detents on the axles are too weak to handle side loading. With some experience, you can work around these short comings by understanding what the pieces can and can't do.
Re:FIRST (Score:3, Informative)
If that's not an option, I'd still recommend Mindstorms. It's more expensive, sure, but it really is leaps and bounds better than the alternatives. Younger kids (late elementary through middle school, 10 - 14 or so), tend to struggle with some of the less-developed kits, particularly if they lack a large community. Mindstorms is a great development kit, as you can see from all the /. articles about it. Adults and kids can make great use if them - I do all the time.
If that's still out of budget, VEX may be somewhat less expensive. I believe kits run about $200 and there's still a large community and yearly competitors and challenges to participate in. It's not quite the same community as FIRST, though.
Basically, there's no cheap way to get a (good) robotics kit. Even homebrew stuff (Arduino and the like), is going to be $100 at the absolute minimum. The cheapest way is to find a local team, or perhaps try starting one - many schools districts offer funding, support, or even full kits for new teams, in addition to lots of FIRST scholarships.
Disclaimer: I mentor FLL (Mindstorms) and FRC teams, after having been on several myself through middle and high school.
My List (Score:5, Informative)
1. Innovation FIRST's Vex Robtic system. [vexrobotics.com] This is hands down the best system available. The kit is basic enough that you can get something working while also open enough that the possibilities are limitless. You can interface your own custom circuits with it. It comes with default software in source code form that you can modify to whatever you would like. It also has mechanical kits where you can build almost anything. It's also not flimsy. This is one of the most expensive options, but you can start around $300 and add on for years.
2. Lego Mindstorms [lego.com]I would reccomend this kit for someone younger (8 or so.) It's not quite as extensible mechanically or electrically but is easier to use.
With those two out of the way and actually answering your post based on the budget, I would recommend a Basic Stamp kit from Parallax [parallax.com]. The kits are aimed at learning electronics and software. They're not a lot to them mechanically, you need additional parts and know-how for that. The kits are low cost and require you to learn. I cut my teeth on the Basic Stamp 2 (BS2) and I turned out to be a successful software engineer.