Robotics Workshop

OK

Despite some negative reviews i went with the majority and hoped that my experience would be positive. However, my 10yr old assembled his first robot and managed to connect to both an android phone and tablet via bluetooth (both latest software versions) and when running a default basic command the bot just beeped and jolted slightly, thats it. I disassembled the bot to test the motors in isolation and still nothing, looks like a fault with the main control unit that others have experienced. Whats more frustrating is there is no supplier product support to try and figure out what is wrong, very disappointed child on Christmas morning - and angry parent paying out for such an expensive toy. Have asked other customers via amazon for support but no reply and now have no choice but to request a replacement/refund but leaves an awkward discussion with my son! I cringe at giving this even one star...

I've set this aside until I can devote full time on this. It's like a course in basic robotic design.

My 12 yr old son is in 6th grade and his science teacher gave an open project to the class where they can explore and work on anything that interest them. My son loves to program in MIT Scratch so he wanted take it further and work on building a robotic that he can program so after doing some research, we purchased this.He worked with 2 of his friends and they came over once a week to work on the project for several weeks.At first, they wanted to design and build something from scratch rather than building one of the sample robots provided with instruction but they soon realized that it would be a daunting task and would take too long to understand all the intricate parts so they scratched that idea (PUN intended) and decided to build one of the sample robots and tweak it afterwards.Let me tell you that these three 6th graders had a blast working on this project and it was kind of fun for me to watch them discuss, brainstorm, and build this thing together.They were able to build a robot that randomly moves and rotates before shooting a plastic ball, which they had to program using a block-based code similar to MIT Scratch. They downloaded the coding app to the iPad and their custom code was sync to the robot's control module via Bluetooth wireless.Overall, they enjoyed the experience and it was a great learning experience from so many different aspects, such as team work, collaboration, brain storming, programming, figuring things out on their own, etc.However, I would like to share things that are not so obvious from the product description as sort of warnings so you know what you are getting into before purchasing this.• The recommended age is 10+ and I agree 100%. These are more than advanced Lego pieces so if your child is not so good with Lego blocks or building stuff, this may be too complex.• The small connector that connects pieces together is very difficult to remove once it's been connected. Even adult couldn't remove it bare hand and I had to teach the kids to use pliers to remove it with gentle grip so it won't crack or break the plastic connector.• The product description indicates that robots can be controlled directly in real-time but this is not true. Don't think of it as a remote controlled robot but rather you have to program how you want it to move then sync/upload the updated code to the robot's control module via Bluetooth before the change that can effect.If you are okay with the 3 warnings above then I recommend this product. It sure beats and better than your kids playing on XBOX all day. I do like that there's hardware as well as software/coding aspects in this product.Hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions.

10 types of variable assemble, good age appropriate, detailed manual.