Hello there! I have a really important question, and I came across this site and thought maybe the community here could help me out. My boyfriend is 24 years old and currently going to ITT for electronic engineering so he knows a bit about electronics already…BUT his real passion is for robotics and is trying to get into more of a special effects type of career. He mentioned “Arduino” the other day and how he’d love to try it out later if he got the chance, so I thought what a better Christmas gift than to get him a starter kit! He already has a lego mindstorms kit, but is looking for something a little more advanced I think.
I have a pretty tight budget of about $100 (which has to cover shipping too), but I have seen some start up kits in that price range. I just don’t want to go buying something that won’t have everything he needs to start working on something fun! Any info on where he should start would be great! There seems to be a lot of different kinds of “Arduino” kits so i was a little confused in my search.
Special Effects? Animatronics? Excellent!
The Ardublock Starter kit is within your budget, and you should also purchase a few extra small servos ($3.50 each, so ideally four or five extras) and if possible one or two HS-311 servos. The Ardublock kit includes the DFRrduino microcontroller (essentially a copy of the Arduino Uno) and all these parts together would essentially allow him to interact with buttons, knobs, sensors, lights etc (all cables included). The servos would allow him to take a lightweight doll (or his own creation) and animate it - the more servos, the more realistic and complex the motion will be. You are correct that there are many “Arduino” boards and copies - they all use the same software and have similar functionality. The one included with this kit is the “standard” (and most popular) type.
