Looking for recommendation for intro to robotics kit or platform for highly intelligent 10 year old. Need to focus his activity and robotics is of interest to him. Looking for more than just a single operation kit but something that is more of a platform for adding to. Any recommendations?
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I’ll say up front I’m not in competitive robotics.
LEGO Mindstorms comes to mind as a jumping off point. Chances are good your kid has some LEGO already so they already have stuff to add on.
There’s a Raspberry Pi “hat” that allows controlling LEGO motors as well, so your kid can expand beyond just what the Mindstorms controller can do: https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/build-hat/
I"d second the Lego Mindstorms suggestion. I have had one for a number of years and they have only gotten better. Furthermore, Python, a very useful and popular programming language, opens up a million new possibilities.
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This one below might be a consideration if you’re willing to participate. It advertises ages 10+.
This is from the former Edmund Scientific company.
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LEGO Mindstorms, full stop.
Also find a FIRST LEGO League team for him to join!
Edit: I wanted to elaborate a bit on why Mindstorms is amazing.
The Software: The basic WISIG tool is great for getting started and actually lets you do some pretty powerful things as it is built on NI’s Labview. There is a clear path of advancement with support for Java, C++, Python and even ROS.
https://c4ev3.github.io/
http://wiki.ros.org/Robots/EV3
The Sensors: There is a whole cottage industry producing Mindstorm compatible sensors.
The Hardware: Like most lego products all the components are well designed, durable and with an incredibly deep catalog of parts. Lego also has first party easy to use CAD tool: Studio Download [BrickLink]
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Yes! I am a FIRST alumn and it is an amazing program. It will open so many doors. I did FRC (big kids version) for 3 years in high school and it’s how I learned SOLIDWORKS, and got the opportunity to design, machine, and maintain drive train transmissions.
FIRST Lego League is the starting point for kids in elementary. It is an organization that is focused on cooperation and creativity, and also service. As a big part of each competition is a science based service project to address the theme of the year. I would highly recommend getting involved.
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