Jan 25, 2024 | Makeblock
Do you still think the children nowadays would love to play with dolls and toy cars like you did 20 years ago? It’s time to throw them away. Robot kits for kids are some of the most cutting-edge products available on the market. With matching apps, gestures, voice control, and advanced mechanics, these electronic robot kits for kids will be given life, and keep the kids entertained, engaged and educated. This article is aimed at introducing 10 of the most popular educational robot kits for kids, and teaching you how to choose an operable and instructive robot for your kids.
1.Sphero 2.0
3 years after Sphero 1.0 launched, the second version of the popular little ball has came into the market in 2014 with more cool LED lights and interactive functions.Sphero 2.0 pairs with iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth allowing kids to control and program their spherical robot to do some truly amazing things. The shell made of makrolon enhances the impact resistance and ensures it undamaged even falls from one metre high.
Apart from being a plaything, Sphero is also a learning tool. You can download free SPRK lessons and learn the basics of programming, then dig more interesting functions of the smart robot.
2. Ollie
Coming from the same company of Sphero, Ollie can move faster and better adjust to different kind of terrain than Sphero does. You can command if to run, jump, spin, drift, and flip using a Smartphone via Bluetooth. It takes rather long time before you can perfectly control it. The LED lights changes color during the run to communicate to the controller. For example, it turns red when it stops suddenly. Ollie can also be customized with all sorts of different tires and hubcaps to conquer any indoor or outdoor terrain.
3. Makeblock mBot
Instead of a toy played by kids, mBot is a masterpiece created by kids. mBot is an educational robot which is easy to handle. The original intention of the design is to make it convenient for children to learn programming, Arduino, and robotics. To start with, kids have to assemble the robot by themselves.
To make it possible, modular design simplifies the assembly so that it can be finished in 10 minutes. As for the software mBlock, users do not need to code, instead, they only have to drag the pattern to design a program. All these make it easier for kids to use and learn about robots. Particularly, the affordable price helps to realize the goal of “one robot per kid”.
4. Romibo
Romibo is an engaging smart character for autism therapy and language learning. It helps children practice communication and social skills. It looks like a stuffed toy with an LED screen on its face which shows the expression designed by users. Romibo snaps the action of kids by its front camera. Educators or therapists can control its voice and movement.Romibo tells stories and delivers prompts and praise. Many children prefer communicating with Romibo in times of high stress or anxiety.
5. Cubelets
Using Cubelets to create a robot is like building blocks. The only difference is that each brick is a single robot.The included brick adapters connect Cubelets to each other and bring vivid motion and life to the toys you create. There are 3 different kinds of functions the blocks have, respectively are Think, Action and Sense.
Think blocks have math or logic functions that enable to serve as ones giving directives to the corresponding blocks; Action blocks then perform actions accordingly; and Sense blocks are capable of responding to different sights, sounds, or touches. Cubelets are excellent educational robots for kids that will enable kids to think logically during the operation.
6. Ozobot
Ozobot looks like a big candy. It is not a complete toy, instead, it acts according to what you program. It offers a fun and educational way to play while learning important logic and programming skills. Kids can direct Ozobot to move around or do some more complicated actions like dancing. By simply drawing color-coded line patterns, which is called “OzoCodes”, OzoBot can identify them with the sensors installed in the bottom and move along the line you draw.
The sensors can even identify the colors and stick to one. So you can draw whatever you like even labyrinth on paper or iPad. If you are looking for a robot to help your children develop coding skills and logical thinking, then Ozobot is an amazing piece of kit.
7. Dash &Dot
Dash &Dot are robot duo with the same blue shell, and the bigger one is Dash. They are designed to understand what happen around and respond to them. They can hear sounds, detect objects, and know if you are moving them. For example, they will bark when kids slap their hands. Toward this end, the little robots are installed with various sensors to allow them to detect certain objects. The robots are driven by software.
There are 4 different apps to control the Dash, which are suitable for kids at different age. In addition, these two robots are built to teach kids simple coding skills. Using the accompanying free app, kids can start off creating simple actions for Dash and Dot.
8. WowWee MiP Robot
The WowWee MiP Robot looks like a little man as a whole, except for their leg replaced by wheels. Just like many other robots, MiP can be controlled by smartphones. Beside that, it also allows you to control the robot’s action by using hand motions and object movements. It’s a robot that can understand gestures, allowing you to lead it around like a little puppy.
The WowWee MIP’s body is perched atop a pair of Segway-like wheels, so its body can lean forward and backward during movements. Armed with a self-balancing mechanism, it can spin in place, make sudden turns and carry objects on its arms without falling over (it comes with an included tray for carrying larger items). The robot is stable enough that it can carry the weight of another MIP, too, so you can use it to ferry small items around while doing its robot thing.
9. Robobloq Alloy Block Robot
Robobloq has various robot kits for kids. Their basic kits allow kids to get engaged in rudimentary robotics, with some even more advanced kits to support kids’ growth in interest and skill. These robot kits for kids are to be assembled as various shapes with blocks and several servomotors, structures, and parts connected to the main module. Users can make variously shaped robots according to their taste with various sensor modules that can recognize the circumstances.
Q-scout assists kids in mastering programming through a progressive approach, starting with engaging and easy-to-use Scratch-based drag-and-drop interfaces and advancing to more sophisticated coding with Arduino and Python. By engaging in hands-on projects and play, children develop their coding, electronics, and robotics skills, enhancing their logical reasoning, practical abilities, creativity, and other competencies.
10. PLEO rb
With a dinosaur appearance, PLEO rb is a next-generation robotic pet that teaches kids about biology and life cycles. It is designed to mimic life, which means PLEO rb thinks and acts independently, just like a real animal excepting its obvious robotic insides. PLEO rb has organic body language, exhibits emotions, is aware of his/her surroundings and has recognizable behaviors. It’s an intelligent “toy” that responds to kids’ level of engagement – depending on how kids choose to interact with them, PLEO rb can turn out useless and without skills or into a self-sufficient dinosaur who’s learned to respond to things in its environment.
It’s clear that progress in robotics has changed the way of entertainment the kids enjoy, and makes it easier for kids to learn about programming and robotics. Even adults would love to own one of these interesting toys.
