Youth is no longer there. Time flies. In the twinkling of an eye, the post-80s generation have become parents. After having their own families and children, some people continue to choose careers, while others focus on family and education. For parents who get along with their children for a long time, the deeper their feelings, the easier it is for education to be integrated into everyday life.

In order to cultivate their children's intelligence, many parents choose an intelligent product that keeps pace with the times - educational robots. Of course, you hear more about Lego robots like WALL · E. Lego robot kits are the most attractive. Like traditional Lego building blocks, players can freely exert their creativity, piece together various models, and make them really move. What's special about this educational robot? Let's take a look at the game of mBot.

『 Assembly 』

▲ The package of the mBot educational robot is very solid, and the box also provides a prototype image for our assembly.

▲ In addition to the main body, the mBot also provides a programming textbook called "Small Makers Play Robot".

▲ Taking out all the parts is quite a collapse for Xiaobai users, especially for parents who assemble this educational toy for the first time, they may be at a loss when facing scattered parts and various screws and nuts.

▲ In fact, there is no need to panic. We open the installation instructions and install the power motor of the mBot first according to the steps. Pay attention to putting on the nuts before tightening after threading the bolts. I grabbed the metal frame and let my daughter operate it. No problem.

▲ After installing the motor, fix the omnidirectional wheel, ultrasonic sensor and line patrol sensor on the metal base with bolts, and pay attention to throw the connecting wire to the other side of the metal base.

▲ Take care not to damage or excessively bend the thrown wire, and fix the battery pack on the tail of the metal base through double-sided adhesive tape.

▲ The main part is the mCore main control board. All chips and Bluetooth/2.4G wireless modules are on this motherboard.

▲ Connect the power lines of all two motors, sensors and data lines of the battery compartment according to the installation drawing, and complete the overall assembly!

Experience

▲ For the basic function control of the mBot, we can operate it through the Makeblock remote control attached with the machine. Before use, pay attention to pulling down the plastic sheet at the bottom, otherwise the button battery at the back is insulated and does not supply power. According to the instructions, The A key represents the manual mode, the B key represents the crazy mode (free travel), the C key represents the line patrol mode, and the up, down, left and right operations. The number can adjust the speed of the power motor.

▲ Through the author's experience in different modes, the mBot is commendable, especially in the crazy mode, the mBot automatically travels, perceives whether there is an obstacle in front through the ultrasonic sensor, and if there is an obstacle, changes the angle to find an obstacle free path again; In the search for immortals mode, the mBot uses the line patrol sensor to find the black path. The author also specially recorded a video for everyone to enjoy:

『 Advanced 』

▲ For the mBot, it is not simply limited to the remote control mode. We can also achieve more play methods through computer programming. First, download the software on the mBot official website. During the installation process, the hardware driver of the mBot education robot will be automatically installed. We can check the COM port occupied by the mBot in the computer device manager, for example, the author's mBot robot occupies COM3.

▲ After opening the software, click "Connect">>>"Serial Port">>>"COM3" in the menu to connect to the main chip of the mBot robot.

▲ In the building block interface, we can drag the programmed module at will, and each item in the right column can be modified by dragging it, which is very convenient. For example, the author has compiled an mBot to simulate the ambulance, so that the red light will light up, and the sound of the ambulance will be imitated in the process of moving forward. At the same time, when encountering obstacles in the front, play "If there are obstacles in the front, please avoid" Then the motor stops rotating, waits for 1s delay, moves backward, and turns right..., In this program, you can give full play to your imagination. Of course, you must ask for children's imagination. This is to exercise children's imagination, and then use our adults' help to achieve the scenes that children want. It's great!

▲ When the data line is connected, The mBot can't go far. In the software introduction, we can connect via Bluetooth and 2.4G wireless, but wireless requires a Bluetooth receiver (not equipped), and Bluetooth requires a computer with a Bluetooth device, so we have no conditions to test these two items, but fortunately, we can upload the edited program to the mBot education robot, In this way, the data cable can be unplugged for operation. Click "Connect">>>"Install Firmware" in the menu. If we upload an error or want to restore factory settings, click "Restore exit program", which is very convenient.

Summary

In the whole experience process, the mBot educational robot first attracted children's attention, including that during the assembly process, children took the initiative to tighten the bolts. For remote control, it is very easy to use, and the front, back, left and right, crazy automatic obstacle avoidance, and line patrol modes can be operated freely. In the case of programming, parents can let children to open their imagination and set their own desired mode, such as making mBot whistle, making a short song, flashing, lighting lights of different colors, turning left and right, moving forward and backward through obstacles, etc., which will stimulate children's infinite imagination. We adults are just a programming aid, Finally, parents and children will work together to complete the set scene. Learning in games not only develops children's intelligence, but also makes the relationship between parents and children more harmonious.

But for mBot, there are also some "congenital" defects. First, there is no sensor to detect the edge hanging. If you play on the table, you will fall off the edge properly; Second point: The author accidentally fell off the table and fell to the ground when using it with the child. As a result, one of the data ports was broken, which is very painful.

As can be seen from the figure above, data port 2 has been lost. Therefore, I personally suggest adding a cartoon shell after assembly to make it more like a robot on the one hand, and also provide some protection measures on the other hand.

Finally, I present a photo of my little girl and mBot, thank Lei Feng.com for this trial experience, and wish that mBot educational robot can continuously absorb user feedback and make intelligent educational robots that are more intelligent and attractive to children. We will wait and see!