If you want to get started with robotics either for yourself, or maybe teach children, Skoobot robot could be an interesting option. It’s extra small with a 2.5 cm cubic shape, support Bluetooth Low Energy, and includes some sensors like ST VL6180 distance and ambient light sensor, and a microphone.
Skoobot hardware specifications:
- MCU – Nordic Semi nRF52832 Arm Cortex M4F microcontroller with 512KB flash, 64KB SRAM
- Connectivity – Bluetooth Low Energy (built into nRF52832)
- Sensors
- ST VL6180X distance sensor (0 to 10 cm range) and ambient light level sensors
- Knowles microphone for word and beep recognition
- Two motors and wheels
- Misc – Buzzer
- Battery – Yes (no capacity specified)
- Dimensions – 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm
A separate companion board is also provided to handle charging, UART and J-Link mode debugging and programming.
The robot can be controlled from an Android app, or a Raspberry Pi board using Python and JavaScript/Node.js programming. The C firmware can also be modified using the free SEGGER Studio IDE. All software and firmware resources, as well as the 3D printer file for the case can be found in Github. Some more details may also be available on the project’s page.
Bill Weiler launched the robot on Crowd Supply, where you can pledge $99 and up to get the robot and companion board shipped by the end of November if everything goes accordingly to plans. Developer and robot swarm bundles are also offered for up to $990 with 10 robots. Shipping is free to the US, but adds $15 to $30 to the rest of the world depending on the selected reward.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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