Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old?

#1

Post by hersko » Thu, Jul 25, 2024, 4:44 PM UTC

Hey all, after discovering the greatness of NHRL[1] my son and i would love to try building a small battle bot, but i know nothing of electrical engineering or robotics.

I prefer to learn how everything works and build something custom instead of just buying a premade kit and following instructions. I was wondering if there are any resources or books that we could go through together that would teach us the basics of electrical engineering and/or robotics.

Thanks!

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GzzckUcnfE

Re: Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old?

#2

Post by PaulHoule » Thu, Jul 25, 2024, 4:50 PM UTC

I was going to recommend

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Mindstorms

but is is discontinued. In terms of easy of build and programming these were great. This kit is still available

https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-education-spi...

Re: Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old?

#3

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jul 25, 2024, 4:50 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old?

#4

Post by floor2 » Thu, Jul 25, 2024, 4:50 PM UTC

You might consider something like the Lego Mindstorms robotics kit.

It gives you an accessible starting point, but is a fully featured programming language and has a variety of sensors, motors, etc which can be made into increasingly complex and diverse robots.

Re: Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old?

#5

Post by germinalphrase » Thu, Jul 25, 2024, 5:43 PM UTC

PaulHoule wrote: post #2

I was going to recommend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Mindstorms but is is discontinued. In terms of easy of build and programming these were great. This kit is still available https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-education-spi...

There are rumors that Lego is working on a future Mindstorm system. Haven’t heard any hard news about it though.

Re: Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old?

#6

Post by anfractuosity » Thu, Jul 25, 2024, 5:47 PM UTC

I've been looking for robots recently that work with Scratch.

I found one called VinciBot that looks kind of interesting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BftyB954_r4 I like the fact it can draw (it doesn't look like it can pick up the pen by default though, but it appears to have a motor inside that you can attach Lego components to).

I installed their android app to have a little look at it.

Re: Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old?

#7

Post by fach » Thu, Jul 25, 2024, 5:58 PM UTC

Checkout out Edison: https://meetedison.com/

Re: Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old?

#8

Post by autokad » Thu, Jul 25, 2024, 5:59 PM UTC

PaulHoule wrote: post #2

I was going to recommend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Mindstorms but is is discontinued. In terms of easy of build and programming these were great. This kit is still available https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-education-spi...

I agree, I think those Lego sets are a great way to go

Re: Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old?

#9

Post by carterschonwald » Thu, Jul 25, 2024, 6:10 PM UTC

Don’t forget to also cover safety :)

Re: Ask HN: Best way to learn robotics with a 10 year old?

#10

Post by JoblessWonder » Thu, Jul 25, 2024, 6:16 PM UTC

I know that you said you don't want a premade kit and following instructions and this is *close* to that... but I think it might still be a great fit.

Mark Rober has a new product where they ship a new robot every 2 months. They give you the basic instructions on how to build/program it but the idea is that you take that knowledge and then expand on it yourself by adding features. My daughter is still a little too young for it so I haven't used it personally. The biggest issue is that it is a subscription and not a one time purchase.

Here is the link: https://www.crunchlabs.com/products/hack-pack-subscription

And here is a brief video explaining how it expands beyond the normal "premade robot kit." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtdOdUi9b_s