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.
Has no feedback (Score:3)
This isn't really a good system for computer control, because it has no feedback - it uses simple DC motors without potentiometers or servos. So there is no way for the computer to know the arm position.
My son is 13... (Score:2)
...and has shown NO interest in this. I too anxiously await recommendations from /.ers!
Re:My son is 13... (Score:5, Insightful)
Buy them something THEY want or would appreciate. The goal should be to please them, not your own inner child.
What next - "Gee, *I* would like a new chainsaw, so I think I'll buy one for my wife/girlfriend/significant other" ...
possibly too subtle (Score:1)
You couldn't be more off base. Everyone secretly thinks just like I do, unless someone is paying them to think a different way.
Re:My son is 13... (Score:5, Insightful)
You're wrong, of course. The best gifts open up new worlds for the recipient. Do you think I wanted a Radio Shack Electronics Lab when I was a kid? I had no idea. But I spent hours on that thing learning the basics of how circuits worked. I've received gifts that similarly unlocked doors to things I'd never thought about. Sometimes they were merely provoking, other times I ignored them completely. But simply filling in the checkboxes on someone's wishlist is the exact wrong way to go about gift-giving.
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So there's your motive - "I want them to get into programming". A field that has a surplus of labour, terrible working conditions, is extremely easy to outsource, and will eventually be mostly rendered obsolete by AI. Frankly, while I was disappointed at the time, I'm now glad my daug
Re:My son is 13... (Score:4, Interesting)
I completely disagree with you. For one, I do not think you should avoid teaching a child something because you are afraid that they will want to do it when they are older. I think you should expose them to as much as possible so that they can make the decision for themselves.
Also, the "programming bug" is not a bad thing to catch. While I agree that being a code monkey is probably a bad idea, and going to be even more of a bad idea in the future, for the reasons you mention, almost EVERY other field can benefit from programming knowledge. Physicists might have to know how to program (to analyze data). Engineers might need to know how to program CNC. Even librarians might need to know how to program to make SQL queries. Computers are used in just about every field. Knowing how to program is a value-add.
You should try broadening your kids horizons instead of narrowing their vision. If you have been a good enough parent then they should know how to make the right decisions. If not, then you probably shouldn't be telling them how to live their life anyways.
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Hopefully in the future, SQL will die the death it so richly deserves. After 40 years, you'd think we'd have come up with something better ... :-)
Also, if they want to "discover programming", there's this great tool that they probably already have access to, called, hmmm, wait a minute, it's coming to me ... oh, right, the Internet. And if you google for "learn how to program", the first unsponsored hit gives a realistic perspective teach yourself programming in 10 years [norvig.com].
But seriously, if they want t
I'm Marianne Faithful, you insensitive clod! (Score:5, Funny)
If the sweatiest, dirtiest, raunchiest, kinkiest sex I ever had actually involved expensive specialty chocolates, should I multiply by four, eight, or just expect a stack overflow?
Umm, speaking purely hypothetically, of course.
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Hypothetically speaking? I would be hoping that you already had your
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Gift giving for nieces is simple. When in doubt - give chocolate. Because chocolate never goes out of style. If you've ever tasted some of the more expensive specialty chocolates, you'll know what I mean. Think of the sweatiest, dirtiest, raunchiest, kinkiest sex you ever had - and multiply by two. It's that good.
3 little observations.
1) You're giving your nieces something better than the best sex you ever had? I don't know if that is just really perverted, or the best Aunt ever. All relative I guess.
2) This is Slashdot. Anything multiplied by zero is... ummmm. zero.
3) Can you post a link to those specific chocolates? 7 days till Christmas so there is still time left for ordering.
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Actually, it was one of my nieces who gave them to me. Totally awesome - we were still talking about them 6 months later. The sort of chocolate that you don't want to share, but you absolutely HAVE to! Unfortunately, I don't remember the name - it was a specialty store, so it's not like it's something you can just pick up at the local mall. (If I had seen them ...)
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Ok... you don't like SQL. That is not the point. Whatever replaces it will probably still be programming (at least if it is flexible enough to be actually useful).
Also, why do you think it is better for kids just to "discover" things on their own. Its a terrible idea to give the kid a football as a christmas present... let him "discover" it on his own.
Or, you can try to give him (or her) things that you think they might like and help them to discover it. If they don't like it, then you will know. I, in
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You're still missing the original point - this whole gift-giving is based on the ulterior motive of trying to get them interested in programming. Now, if the poster had ANY clue as to what they were actually interested in, perhaps a gift more along the lines of furthering their exploration and interest in THAT topic would be more appropriate?
Or, if I may use your own words in your latest reply:
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Also, if they want to "discover programming", there's this great tool that they probably already have access to, called, hmmm, wait a minute, it's coming to me ... oh, right, the Internet. And if you google for "learn how to program", the first unsponsored hit gives a realistic perspective teach yourself programming in 10 years.
I'm sorry, but that's stupid. These are for people who either don't really want to learn programming, but have to or think they have to, or for people who already are interested in
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What's the first thing most people do nowadays when they're interested in something? They hit the net. It's the same (even more so) with kids today. That's the reality. If they were at all interested in programming, they would be asking around; if they were interested in robotics, they would already have something like the Mindstorm on their list.
You're also completely ignoring the last paragraph of the original post, which asked the following question:
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Buy them something THEY want or would appreciate. The goal should be to please them, not your own inner child.
That is the first rule.
The second rule is that "you get what you pay for."
LEGO Mindstorms --- for example --- isn't cheap as projects get more ambitious, but it is well designed, highly regarded and has a strong user community.
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I didn't get the impression that he was saying "everybody's buying other people stuff that they secretly want".
He only said "don't buy other people stuff they have no interest in, just because you do".
How do I know the write is a "he"? Educated guess.
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No, I have no excuse this time, just blindness and stupidity...
Never mind, better luck next time guessing the obvious ;-)
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Even on Tuesdays. On second thought, make that especially on Tuesdays.
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.
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I would recommend something that uses this simplified "visual progamming" software.
Yes! Get them to write the code using Vi, the Visual editor. It makes everything easy.
Re:Arduino + cheap chinese toys + lego (Score:5, Insightful)
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The issue isn't if they can do it, it's will they. Kids and teenagers want to play video games, hang out with their friends, chase girls, etc. If you don't present programming in the right light, they won't be interested or try it out and set it aside. I've seen it at every age level. Starting with C/C++ is probably the worst approach possible.
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12 or 14 is too old. Give 'em a copy of Logo [wikipedia.org] or Squeak [wikipedia.org] when they're maybe 8, and they'll be off to the races (if they have any aptitude or interest, at least -- and if they don't, find a sport or musical instrument for them instead).
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First of all, all those resources for BASIC you're talking about still exist. Sure they're not new, but they didn't evaporate just because some time has passed.
Second, Logo and Squeak are not like Python and Cold Fusion. They're designed for teaching kids about computing. Squeak, in fact, is a whole graphical environment complete with self-contained guides.
Third, do you really expect me to spoon-feed it to you? You can Google for those resources just as easily as I can.
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First of all, all those resources for BASIC you're talking about still exist.
Yes, but no. There is no new content being delivered in magazines as there was in the '80s. Digging through 30 year old trash for a "new and cool" program is a contradiction that children will recognize and turn them off. BASIC was a "proven" stepping stone such that other languages taught would have BASIC analogs directly referenced so learning BASIC would have some benefit to people learning C+ (even if not a massive leg up). So the "environment" and "community" does not still exist. but yes, you can
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Why should I, a random Slashdotter who happens to know these things exist but is in no way a "representative" of any learning language "community," spend my time looking up a bunch of information so that I could teach it to you, when you could just as ea
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I didn't say it was easy, I said it would be of equal difficulty for you or me. The difference is, I don't care. But you obviously do care (since you said earlier "really, I have a child of appropriate age and would like to know"), so you should do it!
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I vote for the arduino too. I might even build them a 'dumbed down' "case" for them (opto isolators and the such) so they can't break it.
But there is nothing cooler and makes stuff click in programming more than when you say "pin on" and an LED lights up or a motor turns on.
FIRST (Score:3, Interesting)
Alternatively, or in addition, you could find a FIRST team for them to interact with. It would provide a good gateway for them to get into it, and it has teams for every level from kindergarten to high school. Obviously only an option if there's a relatively local one though.
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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 t
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You could probably get started with arduino for around $50, but it would be an uphill battle. But you can get $1 servos now, so it's not totally infeasible if you have some nifty scraps around, broken toys, et cetera. We have a salvation army center pretty near me that sells us armloads of stuff for five or ten bucks, and there's often a lot of electronic toys in the bins in various states of disrepair, some of which have obvious hack value. Flea markets and yard sales are some other good sources. Just pick
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].
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Nothing gets women into robotics better than a programmable vacuum cleaner!
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Well, the 'iRobot Create" isn't actually a vacuum cleaner, though it looks a lot like a Roomba and probably is the same base platform.
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Interesting, I thought they used to cost a lot more (as much as the vacuums, so I figured you be better off hacking one of them).
hmm, it shows in the items included:
Battery Case (holds 12 non-rechargeable alkaline batteries. Batteries not included)
I thought the normal roombas have a big Nimh or so battery, and a dock? Might still be worth while to get the vacuum if that's the case...
Think I'll pick up one of the vacuum models at some point, that way if I get bored of it, it can still have a function ;)
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Ah yeah, it looks like this is the cut-price "feed it alkalines" model. You can get the one with a rechargeable battery and dock for the dearer price point of $220 [irobot.com].
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I guess if the only difference between these two is the battery and charger, at $80, might be wiser to get the cheaper one, and pick those up on ebay? Guess I'll have to look into it some more.
Have you hacked on them at all, yourself?
Cell phone based (Score:1)
www.osbots.com sells a cell phone based platform.
Parallax! (Score:4, Informative)
I read, "root kit" (Score:1)
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.
I am not an expert. (Score:2)
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That's really the point, isn't it? LEGO mindstorms is easier to use. Most parents don't think twice about plunking down $40 for a NERF blaster.
The LEGO device is right priced and provides a good ecosystem of peripherals. If your child loves it, then give him an allowance and let him meander through the parallaxes and what-not.
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Edmund Scientific has robots (Score:1)
I recommend not doing it (Score:3, Insightful)
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+1 Insightful.
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But this is the exact psyche we'll need to develop for our future soldiers [slashdot.org]. Geeks that can handle the technology and who have an inferiority complex and a score to settle for getting kicked around as kids. If we can direct this pent-up rage against our enemy, we'll be invincible.
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]
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Also absolutely expensive
This post is nothing more than an ad for his ios game.
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Also absolutely expensive
This post is nothing more than an ad for his ios game.
First off... how are the two related?
About your first point: yes, FischerTechnik is one of the more expensive options.
I glanced over the OP budget point.
But there is always the 2nd hand market.
About your second point:
'nothing more'?
Really...? Nothing more?
I think bringing attention to FT is very valid here (also according to the moderators apparently), and a lot of nerds would like pneumatics in their robot kit.
I was heavily into FT for a time before moving onto custom made robotics, so I have some valid co
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.
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I repeat, however, that it is used by universities throughout the U.S. in their robotics and industrial control classes. While it may not be perfect, I don't know of any other actual construction sets (as opposed to "robotics kits") that
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I have a soft spot in my heart for FT, because when I was growing up, FT was vastly superior to anything Lego made. I had a lot of fun using FT robotics on my Apple //e. They also had the pneumatics kit, electromechanics, and a whole bunch of things that were far beyond what Lego offered then.
But...
It's not so much that FT has faded as that Lego has caught up in the areas where it was weak and remained strong in the areas where it had FT beat. Modern Lego models are a lot better at showing you how to put pi
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Fisher Technik has long ago been surpassed by Lego.
When I was a child Fisher was big, but Lego Technic has completely replaced them in the retail space.
I would rather recommend starting out with Lego Technic, so they can learn the basic mechanics, and then add PF (Power Functions), and maybe end up with Mindstorm. But starting with Technic sets, you can see if they will have an interest.
Umm (Score:5, Insightful)
No offense, but the way this question is phrased it doesn't sound like they had any interest in the subject. We've had questions like this before, although usually it's "how do I get a kid started in programming", but we need to remember that kids are likely to have different interests and you cannot make one become a geek unless they already are.
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How do they know if they like it or not if they haven't been exposed to it?
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If they like to take things apart with a screwdriver, and successfully put them back together again, they might be interested in robotics. If they are more interested in football or dancing around with a tutu, then it's probably not for them.
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.
Society Of Robots (Score:1)
Why not just get a breadboard and go read http://www.societyofrobots.com/ [societyofrobots.com] ?
Under 100$, you have all you need to create your first robot.
Forget it (been there, tried that) (Score:2, Insightful)
> I thought I might try my hand at corrupting my nieces (ages 12 and 14) in a nerdier direction ...
I once tried that with my nieces of that age. I was told in no uncertain terms that they didn't want no more nerdy Christmas presents. Geeks are born, not made - or at least there must be parental support of actual thinking. Go with the cheapest junk de jour you can find *if* you must maintain family peace, otherwise a small lump of coal will do as well as any nerdy presents.
Do you want cheap or educational? (Score:1)
Don't be a tightwad.
Lego Mindstorms is what I grew up on and it does very well what it was designed to do. Mindstorms lowers the barriers to entry enough to where someone in the age group you specified can actually get some benefit out of the experience.
At the same time, Mindstorms is sophisticated enough that you aren't just soldering together a pre-programmed microcontroller like some of the robots kits out of "Edmunds Scientific".
Arduino can teach someone who has no experience with programming or electro
lousy gift? (Score:3)
They have no programming experience,
and probably no interest. You know the way to give good gifts is to try to understand what the recipient enjoys then give based on that information. When you try to push something "good for them" on them you're like that dentist who hands out toothbrushes on halloween.
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Reminds you of the usual Christmas questions on Slashdot: "This year I've decided to give my family a Linux distro on a USB stick. Any suggestions?"
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They have no programming experience,
and probably no interest.
That was exactly what I thought when I read the summary. If a 12 y/o kid hasn't shown any interest in something like programming, they probably aren't going to be interested in it.
Spend the money, you get what you pay for (Score:5, Insightful)
The thing about robotics is there's a great divide between really cool stuff and really lame stuff in terms of price. There are a lot of really cheap robotics kits.... but they're pretty lame: solder a few wires to a motor and board and watch a car follow a line. BFD. And then that's it, you can't do anything more with it. On the other hand all the awesome hexapods and humanoids are going to run you thousands of dollars. A single servo can cost over $100!
With that in mind, I highly suggest reconsidering the Mindstorms kit. You might even consider buying a Mindstorms 1.0 kit from Ebay. They're apparently on the 2.0 generation, and it seems like the 1.0 kit is significant;y cheaper. But it's seriously worth it.
If I were a kid again, I know something like a mindstorms kit would certainly get me interested in robotics. In fact, what got me interested in robotics initially was a Capsela robotics kit I got for Christmas. It was great having all the pieces and sensors there so whatever I imagined I could create and program. The programs were simple (eg. go forward until bumper press), but I didn't spend hours frustrated and stuck knowing what I wanted to do but unable to do it. Soon enough I graduated honest to god microcontrollers, soldering tools, and C.
Also I would rethink concentrating on the software side. Most people I know who are in robotics (I know a lot of people in robotics, it's my field) started because they loved building things with their hands. The appeal of robotics is to build something and then give it life. Both parts have to be there for you to foster interest. Getting bogged down in the programming is a bad idea, as it will just lead to frustration and then disinterest, especially if they've never programmed before. Again this seems like a win for Mindstorms.
tldr: don't be cheap and spend the money. You get what you pay for.
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This is just flat out wrong. You can do really really cool stuff relatively inexpensive, you just have to plan and think about what you are trying to do. Arduino and its shields have endless possibilities, and if you pair it with a powerful embedded CPU like any of the Android phones ( Arduino has specific support , ADK ) you can do amazing things.
Or if an android phone feels too
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You do realize we're talking about teenagers who have never programmed here? Everything you listed above isn't exactly beginner friendly.
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I've used Arduino. Who hasn't? True they're solderless. That's not the deal. We're talking about kids who have never programmed before, and who we're really not sure if they want to program at all. C/C++ is not how I would introduce them to programming. I teach C/C++ at the college level, and if I had my way the cirriculum wouldn't include C at all, or at least toward the end of the semester.
I agree all the things you mentioned are good once you have some experience, but if you're going to give a kid (again
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With that in mind, reconsider your budget (a useless toy isnt really saving money), and or look for bargains - used V1 on eBay.
The Legos allow you to go from simple with a visual programming environment, to very complex( eg LeJOS or MRDS) if a true interest develops.
And if all else fails, it's still a Lego, build non-robtics stuff.
Buy what YOU like (Score:2)
Whatever my brother and I "played with" is what "neef n' not" (my two nephews) found interesting. I had tools to make metal models and dies. My brother made rockets out of everything, usually things he shouldn't have. Both his kids spent more time with him playing with his toy rockets than they did with the latest cool toys. The excitement of blowing shit up, shooting things into the air, and the ability to build their own transformers had more effect than any commercial had on either of them. Long sto
First Lego League (Score:3)
I signed one of my kids up for FLL ( http://www.firstlegoleague.org/ [firstlegoleague.org] ), and it's worked well. The cost was something like $70 for one season. They use Mindstorms.
Pros:
- Kids develop teamwork skills as well as robotics skills
- More social for the kids than just working at home
- Each season kids are provided with some reasonable motivating problems. Even though the kids won't really solve them with Lego Mindstorms, it could give some kids a sense of the real good they can do if they pursue S&T careers.
Cons:
- Have to drive kids to the meeting every week, sometimes twice/week as end-of-year competition gets close.
- Kids can't totally choose their own problems, and won't have access to the equipment except during meeting times (probably).
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How often, in the real world, do you get to choose your own problem?
Some fuckhead in marketing needs his laptop sanitized again. Sure, you'd rather be writing the next Angry Birds.
You're expected to design a new lawnmower, because you work for a company that makes lawnmowers. Sure, you'd rather be working on race cars.
Drawing up the plans for some dude's garage extension is the pits. Sure, you'd rather be producing the next XKCD.
I don't get the paint by numbers comment. Just because the problem is predef
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You clearly have no experience with Lego League. How does presenting kids with a problem that can be solved in hundreds, maybe thousands, of different ways and letting them figure out a solution compare to "something between a factory worker and color-by-the-number"?
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(that team used the official programming GUI to write a parser, and then wrote their commands in plain text)
Holy smokes! I am glad if I can make my team to follow a line consistently.
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.
Arduino LilyPads (Score:2)
So they're not robots, but if the girls are into fashion it's a a great way to get them started on programming while still keeping their interests in mind, They can make funky pillows for their bedroom or keep out signs for their doors or I dunno something else that a 12 year old girl might actually want. http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardLilyPad [arduino.cc]
The Pololu 3pi is a great little robot. (Score:2)
It's small, fast, pre-built, can be made Arduino compatible, full source available, well documented. At $99 (but you need a $10 AVR programmer and batteries) so it's just outside of your budget. Check it out on youtube.
But I can highly recommend it - http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/975 [pololu.com]
Minecraft has "redstone" circuits (Score:2)
It's not exactly robotics, but for about $20, my kid is learning a lot about electronics Minecraft through building redstone circuits:
http://www.minecraft.net/ [minecraft.net]
http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Redstone_Circuits [minecraftwiki.net]
"Redstone circuitry is a feature introduced in Alpha which allows for intricate Redstone wire based mechanisms to be created by players. Redstone circuitry is similar to digital electronics (based on boolean algebra) in real life. t's also possible to use pistons in redstone circuits. "
You can even bu
Fischertechnik (Score:2)
Fischertechnik was designed from the ground for making robust but easy-to-build precision constructs. While I admit that with the more recent Lego stuff one can build very complex and even impressive "machinery", Lego pales in comparison to the engineering, qu
Indie gaming is in -- use simple games? (Score:2)
Early on something like Lego Mindstorms is good, as others have mentioned. A good thing a bit later on may be experimenting with one of the many free game design engines out there. Something like the Unity engine has a great drag-and-drop IDE compatible with Mac and PC, and supports programming in multiple languages. Simple mini-games and platformer shooters would be a great way to pique their interest if they are so inclined.
And electronics lab kits (Score:2)
Such as the Radio Shack kits. They come with text books that walk you through concepts. A bit lower level than a robotics kit but I think it is still worth it. BTW, it sounds like Heath Kit is back!
Re: (Score:2)
If a boy likes to play with dolls let him be.
If a girl likes to play with GI-Joe let her be.
This.
I just read this article, it's an extreme, but it proves the point I think: http://articles.boston.com/2011-12-11/lifestyle/30512365_1_twin-boys-transgender-jonas [boston.com]
I remember every year asking for an Erector Set and never getting one; as an adult my mom confided she was hoping I would "come out of it" and get interested in football or something. (She also pushed hard for me to go to a Big Campus (UofA or ASU or ...) like she did (NIU); I chose a small liberal arts school and blossomed... She also mocked
Re: (Score:2)
I'm confused. She didn't like you playing with "boys' toys", but she wanted you to go out and play a "boys' sport"? Is this a gender thing, or an indoors/outdoors thing?
I'm assuming that when you say football, you actually mean handegg. Because in the place where football is considered a girls' game, they generally call it soccer.