A new educational robot kit, now fully funded on Kickstarter, creates modular machines that help kids learn to code.
The Robo Wunderkind is built around a core system module that contains an ARM Cortex-A8 processor with 4GB storage and a 1500MAH battery. It is Wi-Fi enabled, and also includes a speaker and microphone. The blocks snap together, without needing any wires or magnets to connect them. The optional peripheral pieces, which can be gained through upgraded packs on Kickstarter, include motors, Bluetooth cubes, servos, LED displays, wheels, Lego adapters, cameras, and proximity, light, and weather sensors. Their goal is to make a robot kit as simple to put together as Lego, with an easy-to-use programming interface to teach kids to code while they play.
The programming interface is accessed through an app, which is compatible with Android and iOS via Bluetooth 4.0/LE. The visual interface means that even children who aren’t entirely comfortable with reading can learn to code. At higher levels, the robot can also be programmed with Scratch.
That core system is built on an Allwinner A13 SoC and RAM 256 MB DDR3. Pass-through bi-directional communication between all modules is enabled using a I2C bus.
“We want to revolutionize the toys our kids play with, we want them to be more than pieces of plastic,” said Rustem Akishbekov, the CEO of Robo Wunderkind. “The LEGO brick hasn`t changed over 60 years while everything around it has. Now is the time for a smart toy like Robo Wunderkind that will help kids develop the skills they need for the future.”
His team’s early robot designs were based on ARguinos, but they found that this was too difficult for kids just finding their entry into programming. It took two years for the project to reach its present form.
The Kickstarter campaign for the initial robot kits hit its $70,000 goal rapidly, blasting to $123,000 with 27 days still to go. The funding will support the initial production tooling test for the product, following by volume production in Shenzhen, China.