According to a recent study in the UK, 73% of children older than five years are tablet or smartphone. This figure rose to 46% from 2012. Robotics engineer Anish Mampetta that information memorized. Together with its partners – the graduates of Carnegie Mellon University – he created a toy car, which should show the kids how easy it is to program and build the young mobile robot.
But first, they need to collect. In the opening set of children get a real constructor: printed on 3D-printer parts as well as detailed instructions. After the assembly should turn 2 young mobile robot machines. With vinyl stickers, kids can choose their appearance. If you need machines, they can be printed on 3D-printer.
Features of the new young mobile robot from Cannybot
Furthermore. When the machine is ready, it must be configured. Cannybot can run Python or Scratch with Raspberry Pi. But children do not need to learn complex syntax. The project team provides a special application CannyTalk, operates on the principle of the messenger: the children ask questions, answering that they set up a robotic machine.
Speedway for young mobile robot Cannybot can be downloaded online and print on your home printer, or create your own with the help of black electrical tape. At the bottom of the machine integrated chip sensors that can distinguish colors, and watch the young mobile robot is not flew off the track. If the machine still off course, the algorithm returns it to the line.
Cars can go in a straight line and on track with banked turns. But this still does not end. Kids from 4 to 8 years old can only manage a toy using the application. For older children have the opportunity to experiment: to set up robots to logic games, as well as inventing new game mechanics, writing your own code.
The idea to create such a toy Anish came in March 2014 during a conversation with a friend. He told me that his little son just does not leave the tablet. Then Anish remembered about his year-old son and I thought he did not want to order the same fate awaited. It set a goal to create the steep young mobile robot until the time when his son was 6 years old. And when Anish has got 3D-printer work on the project has gone very quickly.
In the same 2014 team participated in young mobile robot Cannybot London Mini Maker Faire, where they met with the school teacher who wanted to try the toy in the learning process. When Anish realized how wide possibilities of his invention, he hastened to tell about it on Twitter. After that, he began to receive orders from teachers around the world, and Anish dropped most of the work, focusing on the project.
In March 2015, the team received a grant of $ 250 thousand. By the UK government. The money went to the finalization of the product as a toy was originally very simple, like a matchbox. “We realized that the young mobile robot should look nice, so the design is more complex, but the device is still possible to create a 3D-printer in the home,” – said Mampetta.
Although the startup has sold more than 200 robots in schools in the UK, Australia, Norway, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland and the United States in September 2015 launched a campaign on Kickstarter to about robots to know more people. Now Cannybot has already collected three times more on the desired amount, and the campaign will last another month. Those who first ordered Cannybot, get the toy before Christmas. Becker rest will have to wait until February.
We have competitors young mobile robot Cannybot – programmable robots Ozobot. Small androids more like a mini-R2D2 or ghosts of the game Pac-Man. Their work is the same: the built-in sensors can distinguish colors and allows the young mobile robot to move along the line. The track is possible for them to draw on paper or program that they moved across the screen of the tablet. For this purpose the editor commands. Ozobot already available on the official website – two robots will cost $ 115. At the same time, the minimum price for Cannybot on Kickstarter – $ 89.
Source: Kickstarter