What to do next with our starter kit

#1

Hi folks,

I bought my 12 yr old son the starter 2 in 1 robot and built the tank version.

We built and it works well.

I might have missed something but I’m not sure what to do next with it…

I thought there would be youtube tutorials/suggestions but can’t find any.

Could I get some advice on what direction to push him gently into experimenting with programming and adding other components?

I guess those are the next steps?

Also, I’m curious why there doesn’t seem to be a camera available for it. I thought that’d be fun.

Any suggestions?

Thanks :slight_smile:

#2

As a 12 year old boy, he probably likes some competition. So maybe you could set up some challenges of increasing difficulty. Such as “follow a round track made of a black line on white paper. If there is an obstacle on the line, bypass it, get back to the line, and go on. Stop after the 3rd time you passed the obstacle”.
You could both work out a solution. Winner would be whoever makes the robot finish the course faster. Maybe you can award a 10% time bonus for the smallest program (less blocks used in scratch).

Also, you might look out for other kids in the area who also own a Makeblock robot. Or just make sure that the friends of your son see the bot … some might also ask their parents to buy one.

And last, just check the catalogue here for additional parts.
I think the fun is when the bots can actually do something other than using their sensors and drive around.
So my proposal is:
Servo Pack http://www.makeblock.com/mbot-add-on-pack-servo-pack
Mini Gripper http://www.makeblock.com/mini-gripper
So now you have enough parts to mount the mini gripper on the servo - so the bot can grab and lift something.

Also fun is adding some display so the bot can do more communication, get one of these:
http://www.makeblock.com/me-led-matrix-8-16
http://www.makeblock.com/me-7-segment-serial-display-red

I

#3

Thanks for those tips.

So this is using Scratch and a pc?

Like I say I missed where to find how to start on that.

Do we just download a pc program for this?

How would it connect to the robot? We have the bluetooth version but the PC isn’t Bluetooth.

Thanks

#4

Ah ok, I see where you are now.

Follow the instructions on this page, especially look at the Guide PDF:
http://learn.makeblock.com/en/getting-started-programming-with-mblock/

Using USB works fine, but you might need a long cable :slight_smile:
Alternatively, you can buy a USB Bluetooth dongle for your PC, they are not expensive.

If you have iOs or Android devices, get the mBlockly and Makeblock apps. They don’t have all the features of the PC version, but it is easy to use and the mobile devices are … more mobile.

#5

Ah that’s it!

Thanks very much. I’ll get him going on Saturday or one evening with this.

I think we’ll start with a few programs then I’ll show him those excellent add-ons.

Thanks so much for your help.

#6