Simply put Makeblock mBot It is a programmable and expandable robot car with the goal of making a "metal Lego". It is not only a hardware, but also a platform, which can be used for education and experiment. Fortunately, Makeblock is made by The modular robot building and creative realization platform built by an entrepreneurial team in Shenzhen provides complete mechanical, electronic and software solutions. Although research and development began in 2012, mainly for export, and gained market and technology accumulation, now mBot is officially vigorously promoted in China, which means it will enter the far immature domestic education and experimental fields, providing creative software and hardware for the cultivation of the next generation of "small makers"! As a high-tech enterprise in Shenzhen, Makeblock has a very similar entrepreneurial history to "Dajiang". I wish Makeblock success!

When I saw this trial product and Baidu Search on Leifeng, I realized that it is an advanced "toy", which is very suitable for my children's education. Of course, the premise is that I learn it first and then guide it. There are many ways to educate children, including "traditional" school exam oriented education, extracurricular reading, outdoor sports, interest classes, etc. Every child likes toys and books, including Lego bricks. Children are "small makers" by nature, like to dismantle things and have curiosity, The mBot robot car gives me the impression that it is a tool that can truly teach and entertain. It combines the hands-on and creative capabilities of physics and technology. It is similar to Lego's hands-on assembly, and it also has acousto-optic, function module expansion and creation without standard answers, which makes me full of expectations!

[Product appearance and understanding]

packing  

Makeblock mBot products are a complete ecosystem composed of mBot hardware and mBlock software platforms, and they are constantly evolving. The packaging box of the mBot is a color printed paper box with white background in English. It looks like it is still exported. The paper is thick and environmentally friendly. The bottom pattern on the front is the graphical programming language of the mBlock platform. An assembled mBot robot cute car image is displayed at the front, giving the most basic sensory impression of the product.

On the back is a text explanation printed in black on a white background, including functions, specific parameters, illustrations of assembly parts, the difference between the Bluetooth version and the 2.4G version, as well as the contact information of the product manufacturer, product certification and other information.

On the side, Makeblock's LOGO and mBot are printed in reverse white on a blue background. The packaging is exquisite, safe and reliable.

This evaluation also randomly attached a teaching material "mBlock Small Makers Play Robot", with which you can better learn mBlock step by step.

Open the package, and a qualified serial number and slogan are printed inside: ONE ROBOT PER KID， Every child has his own robot.

The inner box of the package is covered with a piece of foam to protect the host and parts inside. When the foam is uncovered, it is the product manual, followed by the foam shaped module and car base. The second layer of foam is filled with various parts, and small parts are packed in small bags.

The instruction manual is printed in color, clear and illustrated. It mainly introduces the composition, installation steps and wiring methods of the hardware product, as well as the introduction of the mBlock graphical programming and the description of the download address, which is very easy to understand.

The mBot I got is a blue bluetooth version, including an aluminum alloy car chassis, two yellow motors, an ultrasonic sensor, a line patrol sensor, an infrared remote controller, an mCore motherboard, a bluetooth communication module, a four digit 5 battery box (without batteries) One rechargeable lithium battery, two wheels, one omnidirectional wheel, two RJ25 connecting cables, one USB connecting cable, one double head screwdriver, instructions, navigation diagram, velcro screws, etc spare parts.

Spare parts

Spare parts - aluminum alloy trolley chassis. The blue anodized aluminum alloy is made of 2mm thick material, solid and light. The shape is set with holes according to the prefabricated spare parts:

Spare parts - yellow motor:

Spare parts - ultrasonic sensor, which is used to measure distance or avoid obstacles. The measurement range is 3 cm to 4 m. The front two big eyes are very cute, and the back is an RJ25 interface:

Spare parts - line patrol sensor, which is used to identify the line drawing. The front two sets of sensors can identify the color difference:

Spare parts - infrared remote control, with its own CR2025 battery, which can be used by pulling out the plastic paper when using. It uses infrared remote control (why not use Bluetooth... because your mobile phone is a Bluetooth remote control after installing app, ha). The A button is in manual mode, and the direction key is used to control the running direction of the car. The number keys 1-9 can adjust the running speed from slow to fast; B is the automatic barrier mode, and the trolley will automatically avoid obstacles by judging the distance of obstacles through ultrasonic during operation; C is the crazy line patrol mode. It uses the attached circuit diagram to automatically run along the line, and can identify black lines with white background or white lines with black background:

Spare parts - MCore motherboard, with reasonable circuit design and chip mounted components, can easily tell the cost. In addition to various interfaces, there are LED three color lights, buzzers, infrared emission and reception, photosensitive sensors, etc.:

Spare parts - Bluetooth communication module, which communicates with devices with Bluetooth function through specific software:

Spare parts - 4-digit No. 5 battery box (without battery), but it is strange that an additional lithium battery is provided this time. According to the instructions, one of the above options can be selected for power supply. There is no additional charger for lithium battery charging, which can only be charged through the USB port of the mCore main control board:

Spare parts - wheel, plastic disc covered with black rubber ring:

Spare parts - omnidirectional wheel, used for the front wheel of the car, plastic wrapped with a metal ball:

Spare parts - double head screwdriver. One end is a cross and the other is a hexagon, which can be flexibly reversed. Is this screwdriver full of achievement when completing the installation of the robot car?

Experience

MBot installation

Refer to the manual. Under the guidance of adults, 8-year-old children can easily complete the installation. This depends on the detailed steps and installation instructions in the instruction manual with pictures and texts. The three-dimensional drawing process has 12 steps, and the position and parts are clearly marked. It is easier for those with Lego experience, and it takes about half an hour. However, the name of the screw mentioned in it could not be understood by children, and the selection was judged by the shape.

When installing the battery box, pay attention to installing the battery in advance, because the battery box can hardly move after the battery box is attached to the velcro and the motherboard is installed. There is also a rechargeable lithium battery, one of which is optional.

After installation, there are still some parts left, which can be used for expansion of other online shopping modules. It is worth noting that spare parts and replacement methods for motor shafts that are easily damaged are also provided in the spare parts.

After the assembly, the cute mBot appears in front of us. Does the smiling face, two fixed screws and two big "eyes" look like a little yellow man? Very pleasing. Of course, the exposed circuit board still worries me. I can only remind children to handle it with care, not touch components at will, not touch the circuit board with metal and waterproof.

The cable plug adopts the fool type connector, which will not be inserted by mistake. Connect the power supply, turn on the power switch, and the machine will automatically light up and start, waiting for the command or online. At this time, the infrared remote control can be used for simple control. The first time when the car is running, it is found that the direction of the car is opposite to the button. To find the manual, you only need to replace the plugs of the two wheel control cables.

Press button A on the remote control to enter the manual mode. The direction key controls the movement direction of the mBot successfully, and the number key adjusts the speed successfully. Key B The automatic obstacle avoidance mode is normal. Press C to enter the crazy line patrol mode successfully, walk in the shape of "8" on the standard black runway, and adjust the speed successfully. Because of the infrared control, the distance and angle are affected to some extent.

MBlock Installation

MBlock uses Scratch 2.0 graphical programming. It can form program code by directly dragging and dropping graphics like building blocks without writing code, so that children can easily realize their own ideas without learning advanced programming languages. Of course, there is Arduino programmed in C language, which can only be used by people with a certain programming foundation.

There are two versions of Windows and MAC on the PC side, The official download address of mBlock is: The speed of the official website is relatively slow. You can use Thunderbolt to download the mBlock software (Windows version) directly. The address is as follows: , the latest version is 3.1, and the size is 120M.

This version comes with the USB driver Adobe Air、Arduino IDE， After installation, the PC environment will be set automatically. The version interface of the PC version of the mBlock can customize and select the displayed modules. The left side is to select the animation image and scene settings. The middle script position can be customized for the action, appearance, sound, control, robot module and other prefabricated graphical modules of the animation scene. Attention should be paid to opening the mBot module. The right side is the stacked wood programming. Through the simple to complex course training, Even if you don't know how to program, you can also master skills and easily make your own creation. On the far right is the Arduino language that converts the mBlock graphic language into syntax. If it is powerful enough, you can write programs directly here. MBlock dares to assert that it has its own advantages to be able to get started without understanding programming. It used to be "modular". All statements are classified modules, and different hardware modules have different corresponding software modules. Set condition parameters, appropriate basic cycles, judgments, and other basic and complex conditions to form a complete program. The language includes "Chinese" As long as we can understand the logic ideas and familiar with the modules through training, we can almost write programs in multiple languages including. Indeed, it brings children closer to the program.

The following figure shows the editing interface of Arduino. Those who are not familiar with programming seem to be divine books. MBlock is simple and easy to use. You will know after using it~

A formally published mBlock programming textbook is provided at random. It starts with the style design of games or stories, and gradually decomposes programming from design to program implementation. According to the textbook, I tried to write several programs, which were quite fun. Get familiar with it first, and guide children to learn from simple to complex, and cultivate interest later~

It should be noted that the infrared remote control and Bluetooth remote control will not work when you update and install the firmware with a new program... You can go back through "Connect" - "Restore Factory Program" in the mBlock menu.

connect

Wired connection mode: connect the trolley with its own USB cable;

Wireless connection mode: Bluetooth (PC, mobile phone and other Bluetooth terminals, compatible with 2.0/4.0), built-in infrared remote control.

USB connection mode, which can automatically identify the installation driver after installing the mBlock. If the driver cannot be installed, follow the following methods:

Open the mBlock and select "Connection" - "Serial Port" - "COMX" from the menu. This "COMX" can be viewed in the system "Device Manager" - "Port". For Bluetooth, select "Connect" - "Bluetooth" - "Discover" in the menu, select the found Bluetooth device, and click Connect.

After the connection is successful, the words "Connected" appear on the upper left corner of the mBlock:

Recommend a good learning website: Through teaching materials and online case study materials, don't worry about learning! When the mBot robot car runs happily, it will certainly attract children's eyes and interests. It is only an enlightenment tool, but more of a guide.

APP

The mBot has two popular systems, iOS and Android. You can download the Bluetooth remote control app software by searching for "mBot" in the electronic market. It is a pure control software, similar to the built-in infrared remote control function. The interface is very simple. Turn on the mobile phone Bluetooth function, and the software prompts you to search for Bluetooth products and find the connection of the mBot products. On the left side of the interface is mode selection, including unmanned, manual, track and gravity modes. In the middle is direction control, and on the right are shortcut buttons for buzzer, LED light, sprint and Bluetooth device selection. Gravity mode is a function that is not available in infrared remote control. It controls the operation of mBot through gestures according to the sensing of the phone, which is very interesting.

We can also download the app version of mBlock and program directly on the phone. The interface is as follows. Several typical cases are displayed on the front for direct transformation. After entering the case or creating a new project, the left side is the selection of each function module, and the right side is the editable part after dragging.

Enhancement accessories

Based on the Arduino platform, mBot is open to communication protocols and source code, which facilitates the expansion of new hardware. More hardware modules are available on the official website. At present, the official website has a wealth of enhancement accessories such as gyroscopes, nixie tubes, voice recognition, and body sensing for purchase. Taobao website: We found that JD also has a franchise store: //makeblock.jd.com

Buy some accessories to play with:

Users can also use the Me RJ25 adapter module Connect modules produced by other manufacturers to Me series modules, and believe that the compatibility performance is expanded More creativity is waiting for us to set up. It's easy to realize bubble blowing, voice control, dynamic display, etc. Of course, if you have multiple robot cars, you can also carry out robot wars, robot soccer games, etc. It's fun for you and your children to expand~

[Summary and Suggestions]

Since the reform and opening up, the economy and politics have been greatly developed. People's living standards have changed with each passing day, but also brought various problems. Among them, exam oriented education has been talked about but followed the trend, because the concept of quality education has not penetrated into the education industry. Makeblock mBot is just a product and a platform, and we can't expect to change the status quo and concepts at once, but it provides an enlightenment tool for quality education, which allows adults to see the model of quality education, and a platform for children to realize their ideas and creativity into reality.

By experiencing the mBot and mBlock products, the following advantages are summarized:

1) Cute shape, exquisite manufacturing process, accurate hole location, low threshold, quick introduction, simple assembly, children can complete according to the instructions;

2) The free and open source mBlock software platform is programmed in the way of graphical building blocks. The programming is visual and interactive, and the threshold is lowered, It provides children with learning and creation Basis for programming;

3) Modular standard hardware, even compatible with accessories from other manufacturers, More ideas can be realized through the official website procurement module and software upgrade;

4) Various connection control modes, USB、 Bluetooth PC connection, infrared 2.4G and other wireless remote controls, as well as mobile app connection, are compatible with Windows, MAC, iOS and Android, and are omnipotent;

5) Accurate product positioning, rich play methods, easy to stimulate children's creativity and sense of achievement;

Here are some questions and suggestions:

1) The attached screwdriver tool does not have a magnetic suction. Some small screws are inconvenient to operate. It is recommended to change the material to increase the magnetism;

2) The different rotational speeds of the left and right wheels cause deviation of the travel route, which requires strengthening the quality control of the motor;

3) The omnidirectional wheel is made of metal balls, which makes a little noise with the floor and needs to be improved;

4) There are only 4 RJ25 interfaces. At present, there is no module that can add interfaces. It is impossible to use more than 4 other functional modules at the same time. It is recommended to develop an expansion port;

5) The official website is slow to open and download. It is recommended to increase the hosting of domestic multi operator websites. Some web pages are only in English. It is recommended to increase the Chinese version to improve the user experience;

6) The instruction manual is beautifully made, but since it is intended for children, it is recommended to make it more interesting for children, reduce professional instructions, and increase video commentary on installation and various online modes; The teaching materials should be revised and updated accordingly due to changes in the platform version;

7) It is suggested to cooperate with training institutions, government children's palaces, etc. to train lecturers, curriculum design and other standardized education systems;

8) More accessories, such as speakers, cameras, etc.

This is an era of creation. Makeblock mBot has brought us interesting products and has been constantly innovating. Its products have driven more people to realize their dreams. The mBot method of combining education with fun enables children to understand physics and scientific and technological knowledge happily, and stimulate and cultivate the ability of independent creation and exploration. As the slogan of Makeblock is: One Robot Per Kid！ Every child should have a robot of his own. If you are reading this article, why don't you buy a set for your children?