Robotics / Hardware

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­­­The following is a list of robotics and other hardware that allows users to interact with computer programming beyond a screen.  These are presented in alphabetic order and ask that you provide others with feedback on your experiences.  While you can buy directly from manufacturer, I have listed “Buy From Amazon” when it cost less. Links to youtube videos are also provided for additional information. Finally, let us know of other products that we missed and share all info via our forum.  Thanks, steve@cpatis.org

Arduino
Kano KitOzobot
Banana Pi/ProKibo Robot KitsRaspberry Pi
Bee-Bot and Pro-Bot Lego Mindstorms EV3SparkFun PicoBoard
Dash and DotMakey Makey GoSphero and Ollie
Finch RobotMOSS Exofabulatronixx 5200 Vex Robotics

Arduino  Variety of products and prices

Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. It’s intended for anyone making interactive projects.  Arduino senses the environment by receiving inputs from many sensors, and affects its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators. You can tell your Arduino what to do by writing code in the Arduino programming language and using the Arduino development environment.

Buy from Amazon

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Banana Pi/Pro  $52.49-$79.99

Banana Pro is an excellent educational learning tool that can be used for many projects including: building Multimedia projects,Robots, Arduino applications or Computer Programming with many popular programming languages available including Scratch (a drag and drop programming language for people beginning to learn how to code).

Buy from Amazon

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Bee-Bot and Pro-Bot  $89.95 – $129.95

Bee-Bot is an exciting new robot designed for use by young children. This colorful, easy-to-operate, and friendly little robot is a perfect tool for teaching sequencing, estimation, problem-solving, and just having fun.

Pro-Bot is the latest in Logo technology. A turtle robot, cleverly disguised as a race car, Pro-Bot offers students an enticing, engaging, and hands-on experience with Logo programming as well as robotic controls. Pro-Bot commands are entered via a set of arrow and number keys mounted on the back. Plan a route for Pro-Bot and press the corresponding keypad controls. Press the GO button and send Pro-Bot on its way. Pro-Bot will follow the sequence of commands that were entered step by step.

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Dash and Dot$169.99 – $229.99

Kids can define how they want to play. Whether your child is into having make-believe tea parties, building elaborate forts, or adventuring with friends, Dash & Dot will be there every step of the way. Empower your child to program Dash & Dot into anything they imagine.

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The Finch Robot  $99

The Finch is a new robot for computer science education. Its design is the result of a four year study at Carnegie Mellon’s CREATE lab.  The Finch is designed to support an engaging introduction to the art of programming. It has support for over a dozen programming languages and environments, including several environments appropriate for students as young as eight years old. The Finch was designed to allow students to write richly interactive programs. On-board features include: Light, temperature, and obstacle sensors; Accelerometers; Motors; Buzzer; Full-color beak LED; Pen mount for drawing capability; Plugs into USB port – no batteries required.

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Kano Kit$149.99

Build your own computer. Comes with Raspberry Pi 2, speaker and keyboard.

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Kibo Robot Kits $229.00 – $399.00

Research shows that young children can learn programming and engineering at a very early age. This is possible when children are given tools that are developmentally appropriate, that encourage open-ended play and that allow the integration of technical skills with expressive arts, math, literacy and cultural explorations.

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Lego Mindstorms EV3 $349.95

This core set is optimized for classroom use and contains all you need to teach using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3. It enables students to build, program, and test their solutions based on real-life robotics technology.

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Makey Makey Go $49.95

We believe that everyone is creative, inventive, and imaginative. We believe that everyone can create the future and change the world. So we have dedicated our lives to making easy-to-use invention kits. We believe that the whole world is a construction kit, if we choose to see it that way.

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MOSS Exofabulatronixx 5200  $599.95

The MOSS Exofabulatronixx 5200 kit includes 52 MOSS blocks and 140 Carbon Steel Spheres . A rechargeable LiPo battery with an included Micro-USB cable powers the kit. The Exofabulatronixx 5200 includes a Battery, 2 Motors, 2 Pivots, 2 Flashlights, 2 Light Sensors, 2 Distance Sensors, Microphone Sensor, and a load of connection and support pieces. The most unique block in this kit is the Double Brain block, which lets you connect to your iOS or Android devices using Bluetooth® so you can play with your robots using a suite of free apps.

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Ozobot$39.95 or 2 for $72.00

Provides kids and techies an expressive way to learn and play with robotics in a variety of social and interactive settings. Comes to life when you create mazes, tracks and playgrounds on paper, game boards and digital screens. Also comes with free downloadable apps and can become your physical avatar for some truly one of a kind augmented reality games.

Buy from Amazon

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Raspberry Pi$34.99-$69.99

The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It is a capable little computer which can be used in electronics projects, and for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games. It also plays high-definition video. We want to see it being used by kids all over the world to learn programming.

Buy from Amazon

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SparkFun PicoBoard  $44.95

The PicoBoard allows you to create interactions with various sensors. Using the Scratch programming language, you can easily create simple interactive programs based on the input from sensors. The PicoBoard incorporates a light sensor, sound sensor, a button and a slider, as well as 4 additional inputs that can sense electrical resistance via included cables.

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Sphero and Ollie $99.99 – $149.99

Meet Sphero – the app-controlled ball that does it all. Intelligent and well-rounded, Sphero lets you play, learn, and explore. Create obstacle courses, turn your living room into a video game with augmented reality apps, and upgrade family game night with multiplayer fun. Take crash courses in programming with free SPRK lessons.  Ollie is even faster.

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Vex Robotics $299

We have developed the VEX IQ Curriculum as a completely FREE companion to the VEX IQ platform for elementary and middle school students. Aimed at grades 2-8, the curriculum offers twelve flexible units of instruction that can be used in sequence, in chunks, or as standalone lessons.

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