YahboomRobot Kit for Microbit STEM Education for Kids to Programmable BBC Micro:bit DIY Toy Car with Tutorial Electronic Science for 8+ (Without Micro bit)

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.

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!

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 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!