Opinions on robot kits to give as a gift

Community General Discussions
1

Hi everyone!

I am looking to buy a robot kit as a gift for a 4th year engineering student, and would like some advice.
I’m not sure if he has every built a robot before, but he has experience programming and building computers and other electronic devices (so I don’t think he is completely new to the techniques needed to build robots…)

I have been looking around the internet for some ideas, and read that the parallax boe-bot is an all-around good robot kit. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this kit and has any opinions as to whether this would make a good gift? If so, would you suggest getting it compatible with Arduino or Basic (I have no experience with electronics and no matter how many comparisons I read I can’t figure out which is better!)

Or, does anyone have any other suggestions about good kits on the market (or other robotic gift ideas)? I’m looking to spend under $200.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

2

Thank you, I really appreciate your advice!
I’ll take a look at the DFRobotShop Rover as well.

3

The Boe-Bot is an excellent starter kit. If he has experience with programming in Basic, then the Basic version of the Boe-Bot would be best. However, if he has experience in C, then the Arduino based board is best. If you’re not sure, then go with the Arduino version of the Boe-Bot. Note that all documentation pertaining to the code is found on arduino.cc. For under $200, it’s a good place to start. The DFRobotShop Rover would also be a good choice (and is incredibly popular), but the sensors and accessories are sold separately (we are planning a kit, but has not been released yet).