My name is Gary. I'm new to the site. I have two boys one 11 and one 9 that are very intersted in robotics. I'm looking for some ideas on where to start with them. With Christmas coming up I looked into the Lego Mindstorm set but that seems to be a very large investment for something that might be a whim. Would the Start Here Robot Kit listed on the site be too advanced. I would supervise but I know next to nothing about electronics, though I'm willing and excited to learn.
I want to create an atmosphere that won't overwhelm my boys so that they dont' get frustrated and quit right away. Any ideas or input would be great. We're going to make the standard toothbrush robots in a couple of day but my boys are already giving me the big yawn. Thanks again for your assistance looking forward to a new hobby with my boys.
start with a robot that doesn’t use a microcontroller at all. Instead, they use transistors, resistors, capacitors to control a pair of motors that allow the robot to wander based on either a line that is followed or light that is or is not available. Beam robotics is a similar concept with more components. On the other hand, from what I have read about the PICAXE controllers they should be an easy place to start. It seems they are a less expensive version of a BasicStamp. The programming language is BASIC. So, it should be easy enough to pick up and make work. Just start out slow with your learning ie make a LED blink and work up from there.
i am 15 year old and i made a robot with no prior electronics experience. try making the one i made. Here’s a link https://www.robotshop.com/letsmakerobots/node/22881 . Or you can try making a bristlebot if you want something even easier but i dont think bristlebots ar considered robots.
I got the old lego mindstorms kit when i was 11, and I loved it, except for the fact that the programming software refused to run on anything higher than windows 95, which we didnt have, so I could never program it. Eventually I moved on to real robots, like the Start Here one when i was 12 or 13, and it was very cool, except it only lasted a few days because i took it apart to make more bots. I’ve had electronics experience for a while before however; because I ever since I was 6 I’d take apart anything electronic and tinker around. But anyways… I think it might be best to start with the Legos if none of you guys have any experience with electronics. But then again, there’s only one way to learn, and that’s to try new things. Maybe you all might enjoy the ‘real deal’ more, who knows?
I think that they would be fine with the start here kit. I am 11 and I made the start here kit and made it in a few days with my dads help with the programing. But if you do it in small steps it isn’t that hard.
I second the idea of trying the start here kit - I am 12 and made it easily with little prior knowledge of electronics. Your boys shouldn’t have much trouble putting it together, it is not overly expensive either and a good starting platform.
