Rush Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 (edited) Ds is learning programming languages for the last 6 months and wants a cool toy to practise his new skills. He has RPI. We were planning to get him GoPiGo and then Mindstorm, but he is still not fully ready for it and asking for something that provides more fun like Meccanoid or BB8. We do not really wish to buy Meccanoid as a new version will be out in a few months time and bb8 is not really programmable. He likes this one too https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1675705129/rokduino-buildable-robotics-and-coding-for-childre ,but it's not out yet. Any suggestions what else we could get him instead? Edited June 13, 2016 by rushhush08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Dash and Dot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 Dash and Dot? Thanks, but ds says it's too babyish :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I plan on getting Edison the robot. I can't find the Pi Bot anywhere actually in stock. https://meetedison.com/technical/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 How old is he? Mindstorm, while it can get quite complicated, is good for the beginner as well! It is also fun! All three of my kids started around 8 years old. FLL is a fun option to look into...all three have done it and one went to the world festival and another to international competition and medalled. My 15 year old is now on a nationally competitive FTC team and will most certainly major in a comp sci field. He had a Raspberry Pi...it held his attention for a few months until he figured out how to gain access to the internet with no filters on it and we took it away but I think it is more complicated to get started than Mindstorm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I plan on getting Edison the robot. I can't find the Pi Bot anywhere actually in stock. https://meetedison.com/technical/ We have an Edison. They have an online tool to program it with that you can play with even without puchasing. I'd reccomend having him look at it to see if it would do what he's hoping for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 We have an Edison. They have an online tool to program it with that you can play with even without puchasing. I'd reccomend having him look at it to see if it would do what he's hoping for. Do you guys like it? Does it have "high replay value?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 How old is he? Mindstorm, while it can get quite complicated, is good for the beginner as well! It is also fun! All three of my kids started around 8 years old. FLL is a fun option to look into...all three have done it and one went to the world festival and another to international competition and medalled. My 15 year old is now on a nationally competitive FTC team and will most certainly major in a comp sci field. He had a Raspberry Pi...it held his attention for a few months until he figured out how to gain access to the internet with no filters on it and we took it away but I think it is more complicated to get started than Mindstorm. Thank you for your post! I had shown ds it again, we went through all the possible projects can be done and in the end he has decided to get Mindstorm :thumbup: My dh and me are excited to get our hands on it too :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 We have an Edison. They have an online tool to program it with that you can play with even without puchasing. I'd reccomend having him look at it to see if it would do what he's hoping for. Thanks. I will look at it now too :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Do you guys like Edison? Does it have "high replay value?" My son is pretty happy with it. He doesn't do the programming too much. But he likes to use the other features (line follow, drive with an IR remote, build on it with Lego) well enough. He had programmed it to play a little song when he presses a key on the old TV remote we gave him, and he's pretty pleased with that, so he hasn't bothered over-writing that code with new code. I think two would have been more fun (there are some features that require two), but one is fun enough, especially using Technic pieces with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 My son is pretty happy with it. He doesn't do the programming too much. But he likes to use the other features (line follow, drive with an IR remote, build on it with Lego) well enough. He had programmed it to play a little song when he presses a key on the old TV remote we gave him, and he's pretty pleased with that, so he hasn't bothered over-writing that code with new code. I think two would have been more fun (there are some features that require two), but one is fun enough, especially using Technic pieces with it. Does he like programming in general? That's my only pause with it, is that DS loves Python and Scratch and Java and C++ and it looks like Edison has like it's own deal irt programming. It's completely DS' area of expertise; I don't know enough about programming to evaluate it. I really wish I could find some pibots! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 We have an Edison. They have an online tool to program it with that you can play with even without puchasing. I'd reccomend having him look at it to see if it would do what he's hoping for. Wow! This toy is great! I will definitely buy it for my youngest ds 6th b'day together with a lego set he is dreaming about. it will compliment it perfectly. Thank you very much! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gstharr Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 For a pi-bot, try STEM Center USA (pomona, CA). the program was on SHARK TANK and got funded for $250,000.00. Their pi-bot is $99.00. My son takes classes at the center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 For a pi-bot, try STEM Center USA (pomona, CA). the program was on SHARK TANK and got funded for $250,000.00. Their pi-bot is $99.00. My son takes classes at the center. Thank you very much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Does he like programming in general? That's my only pause with it, is that DS loves Python and Scratch and Java and C++ and it looks like Edison has like it's own deal irt programming. It's completely DS' area of expertise; I don't know enough about programming to evaluate it. He had only done Scratch prior to getting the Edison. Edison uses its own thing, but it was pretty easy to figure out, as it has a similar drag and drop to Scratch. Edison has a pdf you can download that walks you through some sample code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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