Makeblock mBot Ranger 3-in-1 Transformable Educational Robot Kit

Simply the best STEM learning tool ever and also rocks as a toy. The extensive learning materials available on the Makeblock website are fantastic. Really well thought out. Every school should have these! They also use a modified Arduino board which means you can potentially use this robot to 'make' anything you want. It's a huge step between using Scratch (visual programming) in schools to coding in C++, but his is an excellent gateway to realise possibilities for the future. The route would be mBot using mBlock (based on Scratch 2) >> coding Arduino >> coding C++ or other languages. I gave this 5 stars because I'm certain most bots are made well (esp according to the blogs). Mine needed some modifications to the front wheels (Ranger) because there was a tiny issue with free movement. I doubt you'll have that issue as I'm sure it was a production blip, but if you do then it can easily be sorted by:- gently file out the holes on the front wheels so the brass coloured spacers literally drop in and out (nice and loose)- pop a tiny washer in between those brass spacers so they didn't bind on the outside of the wheel- position the drive wheels one hole further towards the front wheels because the belt was too tight (instructions could be slightly wrong)This won't power up with conventional AA household batteries. Get down to the shops and buy some proper rechargeable Ni batteries designed for remote control toys. Possibly add in some oil to wheel spindles too, then it whizzes all over at speed! You wont' regret it.PS: if you program the robot, then when you're done wth your program and you want to control it again using the phone App etc, then simply remember to 'update firmware'. This replaces your program with the original so it can be a toy again. The instructions are too clear on that.

Perfect toy for enetring the world of basic programing, kids and adult.

Great fun to build and lots of built in software.

Our 11 yr old daughter loved building this and completed the first of the 3 models quickly. Be warned, with our purchase the instructions were in Spanish (nothing in the Amazon description to warn us of this) - although the pictures are good enough to build the bot. However, we've hit a few technical issues with the bluetooth frequently not connecting (ipad ios9 and iphone6 ios10) and the Arduino coding on the app not exactly being self-explanatory... which is where we'd need the instruction book to help us, but it's in Spanish.Definitely needs a patient, thorough, curious type of child to stick with this - especially at £150. There seems to be loads you can do with the programming (voice instructions, avoiding objects, following a line on paper, changing the LED colours it has, etc) or you just control it like a radio-controlled model and there are 3 different versions of the model to make and remake. After 2 days we're impressed, but a bit frustrated.

Great value and great fun... what more could you want

Kids absolutely love it

This is a superb educational toy. It is the sort of thing that may get your kids interested in electronic engineering and/or computer programming.This mBot Ranger is the big brother of the mBot. It is worth taking a look at that too, especially if you prefer a cheaper model.Key differences between the mBot Ranger (which I will call the “Ranger”) and the mBot are:• Both can be controlled via tablet apps. At the time of writing, only the mBot can be controlled via a smartphone app because the Ranger’s smartphone app is still under construction. By the time you read this, the Ranger’s smartphone app may have been released.• The Ranger has a more powerful chip.• The Ranger has 10 motor/sensor ports; the mBot has 4 sensor ports.• The Ranger has six on-board sensors: Light sensor, ultrasonic sensor, line follower, gyroscope, temperature sensor and sound sensor. The mBot has just three (light, ultrasonic & line).• The Ranger has 12 LEDs; the mBot has 2.If this is a present, you need to add 6 AA batteries as they are not included.*THE THREE ROBOTS*This robot can be changed into three different designs: “Land Raider”, “Dashing Raptor” and “Nervous Bird”:“Land Raider” has caterpillar tracks (i.e. tank tracks) so it is much better suited to traversing rough terrain.Like any tank, caterpillar tracks mean that it travels less quickly – which perhaps explains why “Dashing Raptor” has wheels instead – two powered wheels and a caster wheel."Nervous Bird" has two wheels. It constantly uses feedback to correct its balance, which means it jitters. That would explain why the marketing men have turned this to their advantage by calling it “nervous” – quite ingenious.So, to summarise, the three robots are: tank, 3-wheeled car and self-balancing car.*GENERAL COMMENTS*I have used breadboards to build basic circuits – they can be quite frustrating. If one component is one position out on the breadboard then your circuit does not work. This is SO much easier to assemble, difficult to assemble wrongly, faster to assemble and far more sturdy once built.What is great about this is:• There’s no soldering.• The wiring system is colour-coded. This makes it harder to connect a component to the wrong port (which at best means your robot won’t work and at worst could damage the component).• The cables and connectors are robust so they should take quite a bit of abuse. I get the impression that the manufacturers were planning for school and community use where things get treated roughly.• Similarly, the chassis is made from thick aluminium – it is sturdy.• It’s fun to code i.e. to programme the three robots.• It has a Bluetooth module so you can control it from your tablet using the free app.You can code in two ways – with mBlock or Arduino IDE. You – or rather your kids - will move from the former to the latter.mBlock stands for “Makeblock” which is a graphical drag-and-drop programming tool based on “Scratch”. Scratch is a programming language that is remarkable easy to learn, and is taught in schools. Your kids may well learn it at primary school.Once your child wants a bit more of a challenge he or she can progress to programming in Arduino.It’s a superb educational toy.I received a complimentary product, without obligation to review it. I promised that if I did review it then it would be an honest and unbiased review.

Still in the box since Xmas 🤔