Yahboom STEM Education BBC Micro:bit Coding Robot Car Kit for Kids to Programmable DIY Toys for 12+ (Without Micro:bit)

I ordered this from Amazon and it arrived promptly. The kit is easy to assemble although some of the bolts and nuts are small enough to require some manual dexterity. Everything fit together perfectly and it looks just as pictured. The tutorials are excellent and it's easy to get the program examples running - you do have to provide your own microbit since it's not included in this kit. I had a problem that one of the gearmotors was stripped - but I contacted Yahboom's Customer Service via email... and they resolved this in no time with a replacement... So I'm giving this 5 stars for the kit, the tutorials and the excellent customer service. I would definitely buy from Yahboom again.

My son took an online robotics class that required this kit and I was excited to find one that didn't require the microbit since we already had one. I honestly can't say how easy this would be to put together on your own since my son worked with an instructor to do it, but with the right videos I think it would be very doable. There is a free online program to code the robot and it has been a wonderful teaching tool and fun toy.

I'm a high-school STEM teacher and micro:bit / arduino programmer / lesson plan writer. We are also working directly with MakeBlock on lesson plans for their robot line, and have worked with BBC on their micro:bit applications. See our 'Makesong - Singing in Code', teacher workbook for the micro:bit, as example of coding applications we write.Yahboom is the micro:bit version of the MakeBlock arduino mBot. They are very nearly identical in function, and use Scratch3 or mBlock5 to communicate with their chipsets. Your basic track following, obstacle avoidance, skid steer. Yahboom is lighter and scampers around the floor. Yahboom wheelies, while the mBot crawls around more sedately.Both Yahboom and mBot are 'easy' to assemble. They both have IKEA-style Getting Started guides, then once the robots are assembled, they have identical Bluetooth hand controllers. Beyond that, you have to learn Scratch3 or mBlock5 if you want students to extend the 'play' function of the robot into sensing and reacting. Yahboom has on-board sensing chips on the micro:bit chipset. mBot offers the sensors as Additional Purchases. Big plus for Yahboom!Yahboom's board is unprotected, compared to the much heavier MakeBlock mBot, but Yahboom comes with a lithium battery. mBot does not. Our Yahboom twin-motor drive tracked straight. Our mBot dragged on one motor, so it went in circles. Again, big plus for Yahboom!Yahboom costs just 2/3rds of the mBot, but be careful, one version does NOT come with the micro:bit chipset. That will cost you an additional $18 + S&H, and that's a lot of money. It's also a catastrophic delay if you don't plan for it.Personally, I prefer Yahboom and micro:bit more than mBot and arduino, because most of my lesson planning is in micro:bit and Scratch3, because we are low-budget. Consider that MakeBlock is the largest toy robot maker and has great customer service, and will be expanding their product line and lesson plan offerings, however Yahboom is not and does not and probably won't. That's a serious consideration if you're buying these in bulk for your students.Consider also, after few days or so, the students are basically bored with these skid-steer toys. That's a high price/day!'Makesong - Singing in Code', teacher workbook has an entire 10-week program, using only the $25 micro:bit chipset!

My son used this as a part of an online robotics course he took with Mr. Salch. We ordered It by request from his teacher, and it is great!!It was easy to understand how to put it together, and he really loved building it!He loves this little bit and even named it.

Very disappointed , from the product ,and from the service.Bought this to build with my son.After completing the build we discovered the robot can't work at all !! without buying another part.It wasn't written in the description, that they sell a robot that r won't work if another part is not bought separately.I contacted the customer service, and asked them to sell !! me the needed part…..I am still waiting for the reply.Avoid this company, save your money !!

Our district purchased sets of these for all the stem classes. I had my Middle School students help put them together. Screws and nuts are extremely small and hard to get into some places where you have to hold the nut to tighten the screw. During use the wheels stop working. I have only used these for 2 years and I have to constantly use compressed air on the wheels, and sometimes that doesn't even help. The wires come off the wheel connections easily and then the robot can't be used.It is a shame they are not built better as the students love to use them.

The media could not be loaded. Well packaged, complete robot project kit. Big plus - no soldering or complex wiring required. From the instruction sheet, I was able to assemble the smart car in about 20 minutes. The URL provided on the box took me to the tutorials and sample files to download to the micro:bit. Using the infrared remote included, I was driving the robot car around the room right away! My tips: use the styrofoam from the box to hold all the small bolts and parts while putting things together. I adjusted the motor speeds in the sample program to make it a little easier to drive. A really fun kit!

My son and I had a lot of fun assembling this robot.When I had a question about the IR remote and the speed of the robot, I reached out to Yahboom directly and received very prompt & detailed support from them. Really impressed!