Robots are undoubtedly the most important part of life these days – be it applications like welding, assembly, processing in manufacturing industries, defence, space, or domestic areas and building a operational robot is definitely a tough job with all the complex coordinates calculation, calibrations, drawing and other scientific stuff which only a thorough geek would grasp.
But, thanks to development of Arduino, an open source hardware platform, it is now easier for even a newbie to venture into this fascinating field of developing robots.
Given below are a list of educational Arduinos based robotic kits, feasible enough for beginners to build using assembly instructions and program using simple block based graphical or C programming, and also for professionals to upgrade their robotics, programming and electronics skills.
1) ELEGOO UNO R3 Project Robot Car Kit V 3.0
Features:
- Obstacle avoidance feature to automatically detect obstacles irrespective of direction, with the help of ultrasonic sensors.
- Easy to control using smart devices through ELEGOO BLE tool application.
- Line tracking feature for a smooth motion on a predesigned runaway using infrared transmitter and receiver tubes, only constraint being a clear and long run-away.
- Version V3.0 available with facility to learn about loading programs and command the car movement, thus enhancing user interaction with the robot car.
- Version V1.0 available with facility to add extra sensors for more functionalities.
- Easy to assemble feature with XH2.54 modular interface for easy wiring while installing sensors.
Components inside ELEGOO :
- Arduino compatible ELEGOO UNO R3 controller board with provision to learn programming, robotics and electronics.
- USB cable.
- V5.0 extension board for V3.0 robot.
- L298N motor driver board with V3.0 robot.
- 1 servo motor along with fixed plate.
- One line tracking module
- 4 motors
- 1 remote
- 1 charger
- 1 cell box
- 2 18650 batteries
- 1 tape
- 8 separation shims
- 2 pieces acrylic plates
- 4 wheels
- 8 bags of screws and nuts for sensors and modules
- 4 pieces Aluminum blocks
- 10 pieces copper columns
- 1 piece plastic box
- 1 pieces CD with tutorial
- Several DuPont wires
- Several fixing tools
2) Makeblock mBot Robot Kit with DIY mechanical building blocks
Features :
- Educational robot kit to learn STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)
- Easy to assemble within 15 minutes through given directions in user guide.
- Hundreds of add-on parts and packages available to create customized mBot.
- mBlock app available for beginners to learn block-based coding using simple drag and drop method.
- 100% compatible with building block pieces which in turn encourages users especially children for innovative designs and enhances their creativity.
- Two versions available with infrared remote control.
- One version available with Bluetooth control using smartphone (iOS or Android – Makeblock App).
- Another version available with 2.4G wireless control using laptop.
- 3 pre-set modes available; IR control mode, obstacle avoidance mode and line-following mode indicated through on-board RBG LED.
- White color: Default IR control mode.
- Green color: Obstacle avoidance mode.
- Blue color: Line follower mode.
- Controllable through Makeblock app with 30 predefined modules for users to customize the robot by combining different modules.
- Arduino C controlled robot for electronic geeks.
Components inside mBot :
- IR remote control.
- 1 AA battery holder.
- 1 Lithium battery holder.
- 2 motors.
- 2 wheels
- 1 ultrasonic sensor and 1 line follower sensor
- 8 M4x8 mm screws.
- One M3 x 25 mm screw
- Bluetooth/2.4G wireless module.
- 4 M4 x 25 mm brass studs and 4 M3 nuts.
- Two M2.2 x 9 mm self-drilling screws.
- One USB and RJ25 cable.
- mCore layout with battery holder interface, reset button, USB connector, power switch, motor interface, 2 RJ25 ports, buzzer, IR receiver, IR transmitter and light sensor.
3) KINCREA Smart Robot Car Kit with Arduino IDE
Features :
- Easy to assemble chassis with necessary socket for sensors and directly charging interface with 8.4-volt charger.
- 4 wheel drive forward design supply with enough driving force.
- Two modes of control – infrared remote control and mobile phone app control (Android system).
- Feasible to learn and develop electronics, programming and robotics for both starters and professionals.
- Infrared tracking to follow objects at the forefront using infrared obstacle avoidance module.
- Obstacle avoiding using infrared and ultrasonic detection.
- Line following function with infrared tracking.
- 100% compatible with Arduino IDE along with source code for beginners to learn and develop coding.
- Extended pin interface for Arduino Uno with the need to only solder pins.
- Stable and improved shock absorbing high quality wheels with inner tube.
Components Inside KINCREA :
- 4 rubber tyres.
- 4 motor driver modules.
- One IR remote.
- One adaptor.
- One ultrasonic module.
- Two 3.7Volt rechargeable Lithium batteries.
- Other Electronics circuit and mechanical components
4) KOOKYE Robot Car Electronics Parts Kit with CD Tutorial for Arduino Tank Platform
Features :
- Easily customizable robotic car with open source Arduino compatible learning kit.
- Easy for DIY assembling w5r4eith tutorial guide containing sample codes, circuits, assembly instructions and videos in 6 different lessons.
- Can work in any mode – Auto go, Infrared control, Obstacle avoidance, Object following, or line tracking.
- Easily controlled through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth using Android App
Components Inside KOOKYE :
- One Acrylic board for tank chassis
- One UNO R3 board with USB cable
- One Expansion board
- One Bluetooth module
- One Motor Driver Module
- Three Tracking sensor modules
- Three IR Obstacle Avoidance modules
- One servo Motor
- One Ultrasonic Sensor module
- One Buzzer sensor module
- One IR Receiver
- One IR Remote controller
- One Voltage meter
- One Box for 18650 3.7V battery
- One DC power connector with wires
- One Mount holder for Ultrasonic Sensor
- Three 8pin Jumper wires female to female 20cm
- One 10pin Jumper wires female to female 30cm
- One 20pcs Plastic ribbon
- One Cross and Slotted Screwdriver
- One DVD
5) UCTRONICS Smart Bluetooth Robot Car Kit
Features :
- Easily controllable through smart phones using Android App and Bluetooth.
- Easy to assemble kit with step by step guide.
- Easy object detection through ultrasonic module.
- Can also be controlled using remote control and IR receiver.
- Can also work in line tracking mode.
- Easily programmable using Arduino IDE or other related software.
Components inside Uctronics :
- One UNO R3 Board for Arduino
- One L293D Motor Drive Expansion Board
- One HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor Module
- One Line Tracking Module
- One HC-05 Bluetooth Module and holder
- One 9g micro servo motor
- One Infrared Remote Controller
- One cable
- One car chassis
- Four Geared Motors (1:48)
- Four 65mm Wheels
- One Battery Container
- Two batteries
- One battery charger
- Screws and Nuts
6) Yahboom UNO R3 Based Smart Robot Project Super Starter Learning Kit
Features :
- STEM educational kit for kids to learn and enjoy installing electronics and programming robots using graphical or C programming.
- Easy to assemble and install using given detailed dual language tutorials, without the need for welding.
- Developed on a bat shaped integrated circuit board used as chassis.
- Controlled through Android App or through IR remote control.
- Can work in different modes – infrared tracking, obstacle avoidance and line following.
Components Inside Yahboom :
- 1 UNO R3 board
- 1 Robot car chassis
- 1 Ultrasonic module
- 1 WIFI module
- 2 Gear motor
- 2 High-quality car wheels
- 4 Connection wires
- 4 Motor fixing brackets
- 1 Battery box
- 2 3.7 V batteries
- 1 Charger
- 2 Universal wheels
- 1 Hardware fitting pack
- 1 IR remote control
- 1 USB cable
7) Jun-Electron Starter Robot Car Chassis Kit
Features :
- UNOR3 controller based educational and fun based robot kit for enthusiasts and professionals to upgrade their electronics, robotics and programming skills.
- Easy for DIY with given tutorial and welded sensor equipment chassis.
- Car chassis with built in sensors, motor driver for driving 4 wheels.
- Infrared obstacle avoidance at any direction, through two inbuilt infrared diodes on front and rear sides of the car.
- Obstacle avoidance detection using LED indicator and potentiometer.
- Line tracking function through infrared transmitter tube and infrared received tube.
- LED indicator to indicate line tracking functionality and potentiometer to adjust sensing distance.
- Obstacle detection using ultrasonic module installed at front of the car, irrespective of the direction.
- Ultrasonic ranging distance indication using LCD 1602.
- Easy to control using Bluetooth control through Android App or through IR remote control.
Components Inside Jun-Electron :
- One robot car chassis
- One UNO Control board
- One data cable
- One battery box
- 4 pieces wheel
- 4 DC motors
- 8 DuPont line
- 8 pieces motor holder
- Screws for motor, battery box & control board
8) ADEEPT Remote Controlled Smart Car Kit
Features :
- Arduino Uno R3 and Nano controller-based DIY smart car kit using detailed guidebook containing complete circuit diagrams and assembly steps.
- Remote controlled robotic car using NRF24L01 2.4G wireless communication between the car and remote control, for smooth movement in all 4 directions and obstacle avoidance.
- Inbuilt Wi-Fi and Bluetooth interface for a smooth functioning.
- Operated at 7 to 12 Volts DC, through rechargeable batteries.
Components Inside ADEEPT :
- One ADEEPT Uno R3
- One ADEEPT Acrylic
- One Arduino Nano
- One ADEEPT Motor Shield V1.0
- One ADEEPT Remote Control Shield V1.0
- 2 ADEEPT RGB LED Modules
- One ADEEPT Passive Buzzer Module
- Two Servos
- One HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Module
- Two DC Motors
- Two NRF24L01 Modules
- Twelve M2 Nuts
- Eighteen M3 Nuts
- Two M4 Nuts
- Twelve M2*10 Screws
- Four M3*4 Screws
- Thirty-Two M3*8 Screws
- Six M3*12 Screws
- Six M3*30 Screws
- Two M4*4 Screws
- Four M3*10 Countersunk Head Screw
- Six M1.4*6 Self-tapping Screws
- Four M3*6 Copper Standoffs
- Six M3*12 Copper Standoffs
- Eight M3*30 Copper Standoffs
- Four F687ZZ Bearings
- Four F624ZZ Bearings
- Ten M4 Spring Washers
- One Cross Screwdriver
- One Slotted Screwdriver
- One Cross Socket Wrench
9) XIAOR Geek HD Camera Based DS Wi-Fi Smart Robot Car Kit
Features :
- Inbuilt Wi-Fi/signal hotspot for easy control using Android/iOS App on smart phone or through PC, video and image transmission using 2DBi External Wi-Fi Antenna.
- Feasible for beginners to get hands-on experience in robotic designing and installation.
- Adjustable HD Camera for image and video capturing, with maximum video resolution up to 640 by 480 pixels, 30F/s frame, and manually adjustable focal length.
- 2 axis pan and tilt servo motors for video capturing at any angle.
- Extra pins available on expansion board to add more sensors for functions such as ultrasonic obstacle avoidance, ultrasonic detection, line tracking, and many more.
- Power supply through rechargeable batteries and long operating time of 3 to 4 hours.
- Easily programmable Arduino control board using drag and drop graphical programming method.
- Easy to assemble kit with given detailed tutorial containing source code, necessary programs and learning materials.
Components Inside XIAOR GEEK :
- Four 2-Degree of Freedom cloud platform servo motors.
- Four motor driver modules.
- 4 solid rubber tyres.
- One 2200 mAh 7.4V/4A Battery pack with protection circuit
- One manually adjustable focal length HD camera.
- One Adaptor.
- Other electronic circuit and mechanical components
10) VKMaker Avoidance Tracking Motor Smart Robot Car Chassis Kit
Features :
- Simple and easy to install mechanical structure.
- Highly integrated system with equipped start-stop switch.
- Obstacle avoidance and detection using ultrasonic module.
Components Inside VKMaker :
- One Car chassis.
- Two Car Wheels.
- One DC Gear Motor 1 48: a deceleration DC motor (otherwise 120: 1 Optional),
- Two 20-line gun code disks
- 4 high intensity black acrylic fasteners
- One Caster
- One Six battery box
- One Quality Rocker Switch
- One assembly drawing
- Several screws and nuts
- One V5 shield
- One UNO R3 control board
- One SG90 servo motor
- One L298N motor driver
11) XIAOR GEEK 4WD Robot Chassis Kit with a 4 TT Motor
Features :
- DIY compatible smart robot car with 4 TT DC gear motor.
- Powerful driving force using 4 motors and non-slip solid tires.
- Easy to control using wireless remote control.
- Provision to add micro-controllers and sensor modules, to realize tracing, obstacle avoidance, distance testing, speed testing, with multiple circuit mounting holes.
- 3 Volt motor with no load speed of 125RPM.
- Line tracking using IR sensor module and remote control.
- PCB material-based robot chassis kit with maximum load of 500 g.
- Easy and smooth movement using high quality rubber wheels with sponge liner.
- 3 to 12 volts operating voltage.
Components inside XIAOR GEEK :
- One PCB car chassis Kit
- Four gear motors (with reduction ratio of 1:48)
- 4 x Car tire
- 2 x screwdriver
- Motor wire, some screw and nut
12) UNIROI Arduino Based Smart Robot Car Kit
Features :
- Easy to assemble robot car kit with given tutorial (which includes instructional videos, schematics and source codes).
- Can be controlled using IR remote control or Android based mobile App.
- Obstacle detection and avoidance using both ultrasonic and infrared techniques.
- 100 percent Arduino IDE compatible to learn and experiment with coding.
- Directly charging functionality with inbuilt DC socket to plug the included 8.4- volt charger.
- Extended pin interface to solder more pins for adding extra sensors.
- High quality 4-wheel drive design for optimal driving force, providing more stability and shock absorbing feature
Components Inside UNIROI :
- One Arduino UNO Controller Board
- One Ultrasonic Module
- Four Reduction motors
- One Infrared Remote Controller
- Two Infrared Tracking Modules
- Two Infrared Obstacle Avoidance Module
- One Robot Car Chassis
- One L298N Motor Driver Module
- Four Wheels
- One 8. 4V Charger
- One Battery Box
- Two 3. 7V Batteries
- One USB Data Cable
- Two 3 Pin DuPont Wires
- 2. 5cm 2 x 2. 0 Lead wire
- 50mm 1 x 2. 5 Lead wire
- One 50mm Cross Screwdriver
- One Small Cross Screwdriver
- Four 25mm Copper Pillars
- Four 10mm Copper Pillars
- 20 M3*6 Screws
- Eight M3*25 Screws
- Two M3*6 Countersunk Screws
- Twelve M3 Nuts
- One CD with Code
- One Plastic Storage Box
13) Yahboom Professional Raspberry Pi Tank Smart Robot Kit
Features :
- Real time video capturing with 480-pixel resolution camera; MJPEG or YUYV, which can be manually adjusted for focal length up to 2 degrees of freedom.
- Camera rotation can be controlled in all directions, by 180 degrees through servo motors controlled by Android phone app.
- Real time video transmission through 5G Wi-Fi network compatible Raspberry Pi 3B+.
- Maximum climbing angle of 60 degrees achieved through aluminium alloy chassis, high power 370 motor and metal coupling.
- Power expansion board compatible with UNO R3, Raspberry Pi, STM32 and 51 controllers and sensor interface.
- Provision for achieving different coloured searchlights by controlling RBG LEDs’ brightness.
- Easy to assemble within 60 minutes, with cable socket design instead of traditional Dupont line connection.
- Programmable through both C and Python language.
- Raspberry Pi 4B/3B controlled vehicle through Yahboom app on Android operating system, Wechat on Android and iOS operating system and PC for computer control.
- Multiple functions supported: Ultrasonic sensing for obstacle avoidance, video capturing and transmission, and line tracking.
Components inside Yahboom:
- 2 Degrees of Freedom High Definition camera.
- SG90 servo platform.
- LM25965 IC power supply IC.
- TB6612FNG IC motor driver IC.
- 370 motor
- 3.7-volt 18650 power rechargeable battery pack.
- Other electronic board components.
14) SunFounder 4 Dancing Sloth Programmable Arduino Robot Car Kit
Features :
- Obstacle avoidance using HC-SR04 ultrasonic module built as ‘eyes’.
- Arduino compatible SunFounder nano board, visually programmable using Arduino IDE.
- Feasible to change gesture, direction and speed using programmable 9G servo motors.
- Easy to assemble educational toy kit using detailed instructions.
- Controllable to perform different actions such as racing, kick a ball and battle.
Components using SunFounder :
- 4 SF006C Servo motors.
- One Velcro tape.
- 1 mini USB cable.
- 6 M1.4*8 screws.
- Twelve M2*8 screws.
- 6 M1.4 nuts.
- One HC-SR04 ultrasonic module.
- One expansion board.
- One battery buckle wire.
- One cross socket wrench.
- Eight M3*5 screws.
- 12 M2 nuts.
- 4 M3*8 bi-pass Copper standoffs.
- 4 M3*25 bi-pass Copper standoffs.
- 8 M3 self-locking nuts.
- 1 Phillips screwdriver.
- One 4 pin anti reverse cable.
- 10 M1.5*5 self-tapping screws.
- 8 M3*8 countersunk screws.
15) Anki Cozmo Robotic Educational Robotic Kit
Features :
- Artificial intelligence imbibed robot with human emotions like recognition, expression and even evolution with more human interaction.
- Edge detection feature for safe self-exploration.
- Instruction follower robot which can go to places and even greet people and pets using explorer mode.
- Game playing machine with games like Quick tab, KeepAway, Memory match, Code Cracker, Stack Attack, etc.
- Re-programmable robot using Code lab, especially for children to explore varieties and showcase their ideas using creative methods.
- Sandbox: Suitable for beginners to use creative visual programming methods like using different block combinations to make Cozmo play your creation.
- Constructor: Intermediate coders can use this mode to create complex projects like designing games or interactive dance party.
Components inside Cozmo :
- 4 motors and over 50 gears for a smooth motion and exploring.
- 30fps VGA camera and facial recognition software for smooth vision and memory.
- 128 by 64 resolution facial display for human like expressions.
Arduino Robot Kits Buying Guide :
- Ease to Assemble: As a beginner, it is always easier when you are given a kit with inbuilt holes to mount essential components to realize any of your required functions, add sensors without the need to weld or solder anything.
- Versatility: An Arduino robot kit with easy to assemble feature with DIY feasibility gives scope to achieve multiple functions and leverage its functionality to maximum use.
- Reprogrammable: An easy to assemble and versatile robot would be no fun to its users (unless you are an expert professional), if it involves complex programming and coding. A simple visual programming would always be preferred over complicated lengthy codes.
- Microcontroller Integration: An on-board microcontroller with easy to control feature is always preferred over kits without an in-built microcontroller.
- Price: It is no doubt that price is a disputable factor with one having to consider each feature since cheap doesn’t means mediocre nor expensive means too excellent.
Conclusion :
While there are multiple factors to decide upon the best Arduino robotic kit suitable for the user needs, I would still recommend Makeblock mBot Robot Kit with DIY mechanical building blocks based upon its easy to assemble feature and programming feasibility using the given user guide. However, it is a contentious issue and definitely the buyer’s call to select required product.
