I see robots. I see big robots.

[TordelBack]

So the One Big Thing on the Christmas agenda for Tordeltowers is robots, or more precisely, robotics kits.  Any of you brainy types know anything about starter robotics kits for a 10 year old?

Of relevance, the Boy has done basic Arduino IDE programming (a very cut-down form of C+) and simple circuit wiring, some more advanced Scratch games stuff (plus the usual HTML, CSS and a whiff of Java, but no Python yet).  Current Coderdojo project is programming Christmas light sequences with punch cards!

Because this is Educational and It Will Help With His Homework (and he's stuck enthusiastically at Coderdojo for a year now, and thus this is not a mere whim) I understand that Santa is prepared to push the sleigh out on this one way, way further than usual.

The kits I'm favouring currently are the Makeblock Starter Robot and the robot-arm add-on for same, versus their Ultimate 10-in-1 Robot kit, which with free shipping and Black Friday discounts works out about €50 more, but seems a lot more complicated.

Against this is Lego Mindstorms EV3, which Tordelback himself has craved like techno-heroin since first he clapped eyes on its earliest iterations, but which he knows the the Boy isn't so keen on, having developed an irrational belief that Lego is just a bit babyish (oh the folly of self-conscious youth!), and that Real Robots such as you might wish to be seen in public with involve metal and bolts and such. 

For myself, I know that having access to a mound of existing Lego harvested from 3 generations of this family will make a big difference to future expansion, and Starwarsification of projects.  It is however another €50 more expensive again (at least), may lead to initial disappointment, and lacks the native Scratch and Arduino Bluetooth interfaces offered by MakeBlock in favour of some in-house tablet-based drag-and-drop, and an option for some C on a computer.

Thoughts, oh cybernetic-hivemind?

[Professor Bear]

/returns from Googling prices

Buy second hand.

Might be worth taking the long view and not worrying too much about how complicated some of the kits may seem as starter units.  A quick search online will probably yield whether or not hobbyists have posted entry-level code or tutorial videos somewhere that can get a kid started.

[TordelBack]

Cheers, Bear! Prices are indeed fearsome, and my plan (until today) had been to assemble the necessary odds and sods for a kit from eBay and Makershops parts bins, but having been tipping away at Arduino-based electronics for nearly a year now, I'm very aware of the frustrations of not knowing whether something isn't working or will never work, and conscious of my own limitations in helping out. 

That said, the sums of money involved in all my current options are terrifying. But I reflect on the fact that my first home computer (an Acorn Electron) probably cost my parents a similar figure in punts, but at the values of 35 years ago.

[Tjm86]

Meccano have moved in on this as well which looks very similar to Lego Mindstorms.  Not sure if it still qualifies as 'babyish' but it covers the metal and bolts angle.  Just a thought/

[Dandontdare]

Encourage him now. When he becomes a (nice) Howard Quartz, you'll live in a castle with robot servants.

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Is President elect Trump a robot? I have my suspicions.

[TordelBack]

Encourage him now. When he becomes a (nice) Howard Quartz, you'll live in a castle with robot servants.

This is the plan.  And if it doesn't work out I can always blow them all up and claim on the insurance.

Meccano is a good idea, didn't know about that - my Dad still has a biscuit tin full of it in his attic somewhere, so extra bits would be available. 

[shaolin_monkey]

Sod robots - just dig out your Acorn Electron and get him to hack some of that Acornsoft Basic stuff!

[TordelBack]

Grud, no!  I don't want him to end up like me!  I need him to keep me in the manner to which I am sadly not accustomed!

Anyways, I have made my decision, capitalised on stupid fake-holiday discounts and trodden a middle way, with some new bits and some secondhand bits, based around a modified Arduino board.  So hopefully there's enough there between the packaged kit and the stuff we're familiar with to get an unstoppable soulless killing machine on its way to Washington in time for the inauguration adequate robot working by New Year. I'll keep you posted.

Hey, I wonder could we build a Fred 2-L!  Always fancied my y-fronts toasty.

[Satanist]

Hey Tordels, nothing to add robot wise (except please ask him to make it look like ED209) but just wanted to say how great is coderdojo? My boys started a few months back and love it and its one of those great things I actually cant believe exists. Make sure and keep us updated on the robots progress