Learning Resources LER2938 Botley 2.0 The Coding Robot Activity Se
| Dimensions: | 24.38 x 23.11 x 16.26 cm; 1.42 Kilograms |
| Model: | LER2938 |
| Pack Quantity: | 78 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Age: | 5 – 9 years |
| Assembly: | Yes |
| Dimensions: | 24.38 x 23.11 x 16.26 cm; 1.42 Kilograms |
| Quantity: | 78 |
My 6 year old loves this! He was so excited to get it as a gift. Easy to do and great instructions. Great beginner coding and worth the money!
Sehr guter Lern-/Spiel-Roboter fr meine Tochter (4).
Man kann dem Roboter grundstzlich entweder als Linienfolger oder als Befehlsempfnger der Fernbedienung betreiben.
Als Linienfolger folgt er den schwarzen Linien auf den beiliegenden Karten mit kleinen Geruschen. Man kann auch mit dickem Edding etwas auf eine Tapete malen und der Roboter folgt. Ganz witzig.
Als Befehlsempfnger kann man zunchst einmal Sequenzen schicken und der Roboter folgt der Sequenz blind (z.B. 3x geradeaus, 45 Kurve links, 2x rckwrts…) . Das klappt gut, versteht auch meine Tochter.
Dann gibt es noch Schleifen (n mal wiederholen) und Wenn/Dann mit Objekterkennung. Bei letzterem springt er zu einer vordefinierten Sequenz, sobald er ein Hindernis erkennt. Das verstehen die ganz kleinen noch nicht, aber man kann trotzdem ganz lustige Sachen mit ihnen zusammen erstellen.
Als Zusatz gibt es noch ein paar Spamodi (Disco-Tanzmodus mit Farben-Sequenz) und ein paar Sachen wie Dino oder Frosch oder Polizei-Auto, die man ber eine bestimmte Sequenz erreicht (steht im Handbuch).
Insgesamt sehr lohnend, aber man muss als Erwachsener schon mitmachen. Ganz alleine gelassen entsteht wohl eher Frust bei den Kleinen..
This little bot is awesome. My 5yo loves puzzles, legos, marble runs etc.
This toy is the perfect next level. Even if he just mashes buttons and watches it go he’s LOVING it. Endless options and skills to be built.
I rarely find a toy to be worth the money. But this is 100% awesome.
Only downside is batteries. I wish he was rechargeable.
Bought for my robot obsessed 6yo and he absolutely loves it. His little sister asked if she could have a pink one for her birthday! 2 months later I am still hearing it chirp as the kids turn it on. Telling me it hasnt been forgotten like so many other gifts.
A good starter toy to introduce kids to programming without screen. My 6 year old kid enjoys playing and learning with this . I create a new tasks for thik to move bot and he tries to solve it. It’s fun learning activity.
Cool and fun for what it does. 3 stars as mine does not work out of the box as intended as botley is unable to recognize the dark lines and follow them.
It took a little time to understand the manual, which is not that difficult. we revisited it many time and each time we would find more things to discover. Really a great product and a nice gift. a little pricy but it will impress.
So fun. Easy to work after reading the directions. And hours of fun! The grownups like it too!
My son initially passed this up in favour of other toys but once I showed him how it works and explained the concepts with the supplied cards he loved the challenge. He enjoyed finding the not so ‘secret codes’ too. There’s quite a lot of variety to be had with botley from maze style runs, ball capture, obstacle avoidance and multiple objectives for more challenging scenarios.
Whether this toy will stand the test of time remains to be seen, but as a means to get the kids away from the phone and tv right now it’s great !
My son initially passed this up in favour of other toys but once I showed him how it works and explained the concepts with the supplied cards he loved the challenge. He enjoyed finding the not so ‘secret codes’ too. There’s quite a lot of variety to be had with botley from maze style runs, ball capture, obstacle avoidance and multiple objectives for more challenging scenarios.
Whether this toy will stand the test of time remains to be seen, but as a means to get the kids away from the phone and tv right now it’s great !
My 5yo is moderately obsessed with robots, so I had to get him one of his own! He understood the idea of coding or programming only from watching shows/movies about robots, so coding is limited mostly to his patience/ attention span. This bot has a ton of features and can grow with my son for years!
I purchased this on whim when it was on 50% off before Christmas. Great investment!! My son and I have been setting up different mazes for him to practice. Great for kids working on organization, following steps, building imagination. Once we figured out a few goals together, I can be hands off while he experiments. Battery life has been good so far. Commands go up to 120 step. We love Botley!
Ayuda a la imaginacin y pensamiento matemtico de los nios
Purchased as a gift for a four year old. She took to it right away.
Bought for holiday for 6 year old boy— the gift was a huge hit!!! Great to learn about coding with no screen.
We gave this to a very intelligent 6 year old. After the adult reads the directions you will be able to explain the process in several ways, the toy includes helpful cards. This toy is a must for everyone who wants to promote their child’s education in engineering and programming.
I bought this for my 7-yr-old for Christmas. He has been resistant to other “coding” games like the Robot Turtles one, and I was a little worried that the big wording on the box saying “coding robot” would turn him off, but thankfully the remote control aspect and the dancing light show won him over to give it a try.
I’m including two pictures that I think help understand how the robot works. On the bottom it has a switch between two different modes.
The first is “line follow” mode where it detects a line and follows it – you can draw anything you want on paper and it will follow right along. Haven’t done this yet, but it would be super fun to get out a big roll of newspaper end paper and make elaborate paths for it to run.
The second is where the coding comes in, and where the remote comes in. The remote is very clear with big easy to understand buttons. My kiddo, so far, has just made random codes – pushing a bunch of buttons then being delighted with the surprise of what it does. I think this is a phase that will become boring and naturally lead to him wanting to have more control. I’m looking forward to seeing this progression!
My 5 and 7 year olds have both been enjoying this little robot! The instruction booklet is very engaging and helpful. After learning the functions and completing the challenges provided, your imagination is the limit! My kids love all the “secret” codes that make Botley do fun things like train noises and ghost mode. I like how it stretches their brains to think a whole problem through before transmitting the instructions to Botley. I definitely recommend this toy!
78 item set include following.
40 x direction cards (each having two symbols printed in both sides)
12 x cubes (orange, blue, light blue 4 each)
8 x sticks (orange blue 4 each)
2 x flags
2 x stick holders (cone shape)
6 x large cards (one side black and white, other side printed in color)
4 x Botley hands (orange and blue 2 each)
2 x Botley face mount (orange and blue)
1 x Botley him self
1 x remote
2 x balls (poly sphere blue, light blue)
1 x large circular goal (polygon cut out from middle blue)
1 x sticker card
This product very innovative because it provide many playing options. For example, cubes sticks work as building blocks. those are specifically designed for Botley traveling length. So if you make maze out of these items it fit for botley size and commands.
One down size is botly turn angles are exactly 90 or 45. This lead for errors when programming. However, this is a slight issue and does not bother kids. Its a point where the developers should work on to make perfect. I straight away started using rechargeable batteries. Because single used of batteries is a problem for disposal. I keep 6 AAA batteries for botley where it use 3. My charger need 2 or 4 batteries for a charge.
I am satisfied with the build quality and way the product presented. I hope it will last few years and my kid will take the bast use. This is not a normal play toy so I wonder whether it can be gifted or not. For a kid around 5, it needs some guidance to start on. Parents should have a idea on what they are dealing with and what are the long term benefits to get some motivation.
My kid loves this toy, and so do I. It’s easy to use, fun to play with and educational. Not to mention Botley is cute, too. I’m happy we bought it, great value for money!
Your young coder can start slow and then develop more and more complicated maneuvers. Great gift!
Birthday gift for my son’s 5y birthday. He was very happy and spent a long time on making it move in different ways. Even his dad was really keen to play with it a bit!
Birthday gift for my son’s 5y birthday. He was very happy and spent a long time on making it move in different ways. Even his dad was really keen to play with it a bit!
Contrairement ce qu’il est dit dans la fiche produit, il fait des piles AAA. Et 5, ce qui n’est pas rien.
Un utilisateur averti en vaut deux.
My kids absolutely love playing with Botley. My only complaint about Botley is that I can’t buy more of the Botley course tiles to make bigger/more complex courses. I think that building the course for themselves is also half the fun.
Es un buen juguete para regalar a un nio a partir de 5 aos para que aprenda no solo a contar sino tambin a programar las direcciones que debe tomar el robot para hacer un recorrido mas o menos largo (dependiendo como lo quiera el nio). Es muy interactivo y fcil de manejar. En resumen me parece un buen juguete que dara muchas horas de entretenimiento y aprendizaje.
Es un buen juguete para regalar a un nio a partir de 5 aos para que aprenda no solo a contar sino tambin a programar las direcciones que debe tomar el robot para hacer un recorrido mas o menos largo (dependiendo como lo quiera el nio). Es muy interactivo y fcil de manejar. En resumen me parece un buen juguete que dara muchas horas de entretenimiento y aprendizaje.
My husband and 6 year old seem to have a good time with Botley. My husband said the instructions could use some help but that otherwise he is overall happy with it.
Es para un regalo por lo que no lo he abierto pero la caja viene como en la foto.
Tbh, I was quite sceptical that this robot will be too easy for my 6-year old son. But end up actually it is very much suitable for children of his age.
Their mind still require development, so in achieving to code very simple codings for Botley is actually a very good achievement and he enjoys it!
Even my 1-year old son is happy to see Botley moves around and play along.
Love the product and I am so glad that I made the decision to buy this.
This is such a good activity to do with your kid. We spent several days learning different skills and it was so much fun. Absolutely great toy for my son!
Was a birthday present for my 5 year old daughter. The told me it was here favorite present that she received for her birthday. My 2 1/2 year old son loves it too ( he need a lot of help to use it). The instruction manual is clear an provides lots of ideas for challenges. My 5 year old is starting to get the hang of it for small challenges. She likes to setup challenges that I can do. Botley works best on hard surfaces and the included puzzle mat. If Botley is not on a hard surface his travel distance and rotational accuracy will be off. For bigger challenges a large 8″ x 8″ grid with a hard surface is required.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to purchase additional puzzle mat pieces. This is the response I got: “Thank you for contacting Learning Resources. Unfortunately, we currently do not have any plans for any expansion kits at the moment. I have forwarded your suggestion to our product development department for further review. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.” -1 star for this.
This is a great concept, but it doesn’t work. We received a defective one that only makes sounds but no movement. Tried to contact Learning Resources directly but haven’t received a reply. What a waste of money. 100% DO NOT RECOMMEND.
This is a great concept, but it doesn’t work. We received a defective one that only makes sounds but no movement. Tried to contact Learning Resources directly but haven’t received a reply. What a waste of money. 100% DO NOT RECOMMEND.
Coolest toy for our kid. He’s four, looking forward to him playing with this independently in the next couple of years. Totally worth the cost! Fun for the adults too!
Be sure to read the learning resource first! This is a must have STEM learning aid and is well designed and thought through. Don’t think of this as a robot you have to remotely control; think of this as a robot you can program to do up to 150 steps in a sequence that you decide upfront. The beauty of the design is you can program this in tiny bits to build up to the whole programme sequence. Testing each or correcting each as you go. You also have 6 coding board (like a track) and 40 coding cards (like Augmented Reality!), 2 cones, 2 balls, 2 flags, 8 sticks, 1w cubes, 2 faces with arms and glow in the dark sticker sheet. The robot has secret codes to perform tricks and the learning guide details these along with a weblink for a lot more! As a learning resource this is a must have STEM Aid and I have thoroughly tested this over 3 months and highly recommend it, Andrew
Be sure to read the learning resource first! This is a must have STEM learning aid and is well designed and thought through. Don’t think of this as a robot you have to remotely control; think of this as a robot you can program to do up to 150 steps in a sequence that you decide upfront. The beauty of the design is you can program this in tiny bits to build up to the whole programme sequence. Testing each or correcting each as you go. You also have 6 coding board (like a track) and 40 coding cards (like Augmented Reality!), 2 cones, 2 balls, 2 flags, 8 sticks, 1w cubes, 2 faces with arms and glow in the dark sticker sheet. The robot has secret codes to perform tricks and the learning guide details these along with a weblink for a lot more! As a learning resource this is a must have STEM Aid and I have thoroughly tested this over 3 months and highly recommend it, Andrew
Es chulsimo nos encanta a toda la familia, lo volver a comprar para un regalo especial
Jeu avec petit robot qu’il faut coder pour lui permettre de retrouver le bon chemin demand.
Un jeu qui travail l’attention et la concentration.
Une super ide cadeau.
Il coding aiuta i pi piccoli a pensare meglio e in modo creativo, stimola la loro curiosit attraverso quello che apparentemente pu sembrare solo un gioco. Il coding consente di imparare le basi della programmazione informatica, insegna a “dialogare” con il computer, a impartire alla macchina comandi in modo semplice e intuitivo. Il segreto sta tutto nel metodo: poca teoria e tanta pratica.
L’obiettivo non formare una generazione di futuri programmatori, ma educare i pi piccoli al pensiero computazionale, che la capacit di risolvere problemi — anche complessi — applicando la logica, ragionando passo passo sulla strategia migliore per arrivare alla soluzione.
Questo “gioco” della Learning Resources composto da un piccolo robot, Botley, 40 carte di programmazione, sei schede double-face, 27 elementi da costruzione ostacolo e una guida introduttiva.
Pu essere usato nelle due modalit previste: LINE o Code.
Con la prima il piccolo robot dovr seguire il percorso indicato, con l’altra eseguire quanto programmato dal bambino.
Per farlo funzionare necessita di batterie: 5 AAA.
Nel caso fosse un regalo, ricordatevi quindi di inserirle per non lasciarlo il festeggiato deluso dal non poterlo usare subito.
I am a teacher and bought this for my students to use when working on stem concepts. The 6 year olds I work with were able to pick up and understand how to control the robot quickly. They are really engaged and it works really well for collaborative and independent play
Bellissimo gioco alternativo per sviluppare la creativit e la logica nei bambini.
Sostanzialmente si tratta di un robottino completamente programmabile, in grado di svolgere diversi comandi.
Nella confezione troviamo l’unit robotica Botley 2.0, il controller che serve per l’uso del robot, 2 ricambi staccabili di colore diverso, 40 diverse schede di codifica, 6 piastrelle a due facce, 27 elementi per la costruzione di ostacoli che il robottino deve abbattere o aggirare. Presente anche una guida introduttiva che serve per spiegare come far funzionare e programmare il robot. Quest’ultimo per funzionare ha bisogno di 5 batterie stilo tipo AAA non in dotazione (e visto il prezzo a cui viene venduto potevano anche metterle).
Sostanzialmente dovendo noi programmare completamente il robot per farlo funzionare necessaria una grande pazienza e creativit da parte del bambino per trarne delle soddisfazioni.
Tra le varie attivit che il robot pu svolgere troviamo:
– riconoscimento degli ostacoli e quindi evitarli;
– cambio del colore delle luci emesse;
– cambio dei suoni;
– funzione loop che serve per fargli ripetere solo una parte del codice che gli impartiamo.
Insomma, sicuramente un giocattolo molto particolare ma lo consiglierei solo a bambini che dimostrano interesse per la programmazione.
Il prezzo del gioco al momento della recensione di circa 100 euro, quindi l’acquisto da valutare in base al reale interesse dimostrato per un gioco del genere
This Botley toy is just lovely, and a massive hit with our 7 year old daughter. Our 9 year old son has been playing along with her too and it’s so nice to see them playing together on something that isn’t a games console!
The first thing I didn’t realise is that they use similar robots in school to help them to learn coding and how commands link together. The Botley itself is really cute and makes funny noises as it moves. You get a couple of different colour schemes that are fiddly at first to change up but everything is robustly made so just needs a bit of force and once clicked in are nice and solid.
3 AAA batteries in the unit and 2 in the remote is all you need to get cracking and with the kids having used similar robots at school they were up and away with it within seconds. It’s great that it remembers the code instructions then you can delete certain bits or the whole thing with a press and hold of the delete button.
Essentially this is like my beloved BigTrack which I had so much fun with as a kid, trying to programme it so it would drive into the living room and wake the dog up as he slept in front of the window!
There’s loads of fun accessories to make little obstacle courses and generally make things more interesting as you are manoeuvring Botley around the floor.
A universally fun toy that both my kids are getting so much educational enjoyment from.
This Botley toy is just lovely, and a massive hit with our 7 year old daughter. Our 9 year old son has been playing along with her too and it’s so nice to see them playing together on something that isn’t a games console!
The first thing I didn’t realise is that they use similar robots in school to help them to learn coding and how commands link together. The Botley itself is really cute and makes funny noises as it moves. You get a couple of different colour schemes that are fiddly at first to change up but everything is robustly made so just needs a bit of force and once clicked in are nice and solid.
3 AAA batteries in the unit and 2 in the remote is all you need to get cracking and with the kids having used similar robots at school they were up and away with it within seconds. It’s great that it remembers the code instructions then you can delete certain bits or the whole thing with a press and hold of the delete button.
Essentially this is like my beloved BigTrack which I had so much fun with as a kid, trying to programme it so it would drive into the living room and wake the dog up as he slept in front of the window!
There’s loads of fun accessories to make little obstacle courses and generally make things more interesting as you are manoeuvring Botley around the floor.
A universally fun toy that both my kids are getting so much educational enjoyment from.
Ce petit robot pour les enfants est trs mignon avec ses gros yeux d’autant qu’on peut le personnaliser avec les accessoires fournis
Un peu compliqu au dpart, il faut aider les enfants pour dmarrer en choisissant les programmes dfinis et il peut voluer avec l’enfant
Belle ide de jeu intelligent et volutif, seuls reproches les 5 piles lectriques alors qu’on est plus aux batteries rechargeables et le prix tout de mme lev
A rserver des enfants curieux d’apprendre
– 1 chouette petit robot Botley 2.0, tout mignon avec de grands yeux
– 1 programmateur distance, ergonomique, pour une bonne prise en main de l’enfant
– 2 kits de bras de robot amovibles, 1 de couleur orange, l’autre de couleur bleue
– 40 fiches de programmation
– 6 circuits de programmation
– 8 btons, 12 cubes, 2 cnes, 2 drapeaux, 2 balles, un but, 1 feuille d’autocollants luminescents
– Un fascicule guide d’activits en franais, trs bien expliqu, simplement. Les explications s’adressent directement aux enfants. Chaque touche du botier du programmateur distance est trs bien explique et les touches sont intuitives, par exemple une petite ampoule pour l’clairage, une flche qui tourne droite, pour tourner droite.
Le but, pouvoir programmer ce petit robot tout rigolo. Plusieurs programmations possibles, simple, longue, dtection d’objets, suivi d’une ligne noire…
Les yeux du robot s’allument dans le noir.
Attention, ncessite 5 piles AAA non incluses, 3 piles pour le robot Botley et 2 piles pour le programmateur.
Chouette jouet pdagogique, qui initie l’enfant aux concepts fondamentaux de la programmation. Favorise la rflexion et les repres dans l’espace.
La evolucin con los juegos para los peques. Ya todo se va basando en apps
Buena opcin para el aprendizaje
Dieser kleine programmierbare Roboter ist wirklich erstaunlich vielseitig. ber die Fernbedienung kann man die gewohnten Bewegungsbefehle an den Roboter schicken und diese stndig erweitern und so die zurck gelegte Strecke stndig erweitern. Was diesen hier aber besonders macht sind ein paar extra Mglichkeiten.
Zum einen besitzt der Roboter eine Hinderniserkennung. Sobald diese Eingeschaltet ist und der Roboter auf ein Hindernis stt wird sofort der nchste Befehl abgespielt (was die Wegfindung nochmal spannender macht).
Zum anderen kann man den Roboter auch so einstellen das dieser eine Linie erkennt und dieser folgt. So kann man eine fast unendlich lange Strecke (oder einen tollen Rundkurs) einfach auf mehrere Bltter Papier zeichnen und wer hier etwas Kreativitt investiert kann das Ganze auch als austauschbare Karten Designen.
Dann ist natrlich noch jede Menge Zubehr mit Dabei. Angefangen bei einer festen Startbasis, Pylonen, Bodenkarten, Roboterarme, Plastikbox, Karten, ein Wrfel und natrlich die blichen Bewegungskrtchen. Mit etwas Kreativitt und Einsatz kann man so auch ganz tolles Erlebnis fr die etwas greren Schaffen, die dann mit den sehr einfachen Befehlen einen sehr komplexen Kurs bestreiten mssen.
Ich finde diesen Roboter wirklich eine ganz tolle Sache. Auch wenn die Befehle und Ablufe sehr einfach sind kann man so den Schwierigkeitsgrad von sehr einfach (fr die kleinen ab 5 Jahren) bis hin zu hllisch schweren Aufgaben (mit vielen Hindernissen) auch fr grere Kinder gestalten. Natrlich haben die Kleinen wesentlich lnger Spa an den Roboter als grere Kinder (auer man denkt sich stndig neue Aufgaben aus).
Brilliant bit of kit, highly recommended. My nephew loves this, it really teaches a lot about the basics of coding and fun to use.
Brilliant bit of kit, highly recommended. My nephew loves this, it really teaches a lot about the basics of coding and fun to use.
Provo un p a spiegare in cosa consiste questo prodotto, a cosa pu servire, che possibilit offre, ecc. Perch devo ammettere all’inizio ho anche io avuto difficolt a capirlo.
Il prodotto composto essenzialmente da tre cose:
1) il robot Botley
2) il “telecomando”, o meglio l’unit di programmazione
3) una serie di accessori (che vediamo in dettaglio dopo)
Il concetto base impostare una sequenza di operazioni sull’unit di programmazione e trasmetterla al robot per fargliela eseguire.
Ogni volta che si preme il tastone con il disegno delle onde si manda al robot la sequenza di programmazione e il robot la esegue immediatamente.
E’ possibile incrementare la sequenza con successivi comandi, in modo da completare il programma, non necessario scriverlo da capo ogni volta, a meno che non si sia fatto qualche errore, in tal caso si cancella il programma (tasto “cestino”) e si riscrive da capo.
Per tenere nota di quanto si “scritto” nell’unit di programmazione ecco che viene utile il primo degli accessori in dotazione: le carte con i simboli (avanti, indietro, sx, dx, ecc) che si possono posizionare in una striscia orizzontale che rispetta l’ordine sequenziale dei comandi inserito,oppure possono essere poste a terra lungo il percorso che Botley dovr seguire.
****** Ma cosa pu fare in definitiva questo robot?
Sappiate che il robot ha due modalit di lavoro CODE (per codici) oppure LINE (seguire una linea); vediamo innanzitutto la modalit CODE
Il robot si pu muovere in 6 modi :
avanti (freccia verde)
indietro (rossa)
90 gradi sinistra (gialla)
90 gradi destra (blu)
45 gradi sinistra (arancio)
45 gradi destra (viola)
Poi pu eseguire queste funzioni:
riconoscimento degli ostacoli (vediamo dopo in dettaglio)
cambio del colore delle luci emesse
riprodurre un suono
eseguire la funzione “loop” ossia la ripetizione di una parte del codice (vediamo dopo in dettaglio)
Ed infine ha queste funzioni speciali:
eseguire uno show luminoso e musicale (in questa modalit inserendo una sequenza di tasti direzione, si avr come effetto una sequenza di luci corrispondenti alla sequenza dei colori immessi)
eseguire un gioco (il vecchio Simon per chi se lo ricorda): Botley suoner una nota e si illuminer di un colore (ad esempio il verde), noi dovremo ripetere quel colore sul telecomando, poi Botley ogni volta aggiunger una nota e un colore alla sequenza e noi dovremo essere in gradi di ricordarceli e ripeterli tutti (si vince quando si arriva a 15 note ripetute correttamente).
Eseguire delle speciali azioni (richiamate da una sequenza di codici apposita) tipo:
il treno ( riproduce rumore del treno con luci e movimenti)
lo squalo (effetto bolle sott’acqua,…)
auto della polizia
un dinosauro
un faro
una rana
un fantasma (si attiva solo se c’ buio con suoni e luci da “spettro”)
ecc. Ecc. (13 azioni speciali in tutto)
Tutte queste operativit elencate finora possono essere combinate in sequenza (fino a 150 step) generando pressoch infinite combinazioni, stimolando molto quindi la fantasia e la creativit di vostro figlio/a (e la vostra anche).
Sempre nella modalit CODE ho trovato molto interessanti queste due opzioni che ho citato prima ossia:
I LOOP (cosa sono?)
Come molti programmatori sanno a volte per accorciare la lunghezza di un programma, renderlo pi “pulito”, ecc se si hanno sequenza che devono ripetersi.
Ad esempio il robot che deve fare un giro di un tavolo dovr fare una sequenza tipo: andare avanti per 3 passi, girare a destra, avanti tre passi, girare a destra, andare avanti 3 passi, girare a destra, avanti tre passi e girare a destra per ritrovarsi al punto di partenza. Per risparmiare di scrivere cos tanti codici ripetitivi si pu identificare la sequenza base (avanti 3 passi, gira a destra) e premendo il tasto loop fargliela ripetere per tre volte.
Il programma sar cos pi corto perch composta da solo 8 step al posto di 16, e il bambino avr imparato una cosa molto importante e che stimoler la ricerca di sequenze ripetitive.
IL RICONOSCIMENTO DI OGGETTI o OSTACOLI -PROGRAMMAZIONE IF/THEN
Premendo il tasto in basso a sinistra del telecomando durante la programmazione si attiva una funzione che consente a Botley di capire, in quella posizione in cui si trova, se c’ un oggetto o meno davanti a lui.
Al posto di travolgerlo o di incastrarsi quindi pu eseguire un movimento alternativo.
Questo movimento viene impostato premendo la sequenza di tasti direzione desiderata appena dopo aver premuto il tasto “object detection”.
Questa funzione,ad esempio, montando su Botley l’accessorio “braccia”, pu essere utile per trasportare un oggetto da un posto all’altro.
In dotazione vengono dati oggetti utili come ostacoli da evitare, cose da portare, bordi da seguire, schede colorate da comporre per realizzare strade che Botley deve seguire.
Come accennavo in precedenza la modalit alternativa al “CODE” (programmazione, la modalit “LINE”):
***** MODALITA’ LINE (come funziona?)
Botley dotato di un sensore posto sotto il suo corpo che lo rende capace di seguire una linea nera su campo bianco.
questa possibilit apre ancora un mondo di possibilit dato che quindi possibile per i bambini disegnare con le loro mani un percorso che Botley potr seguire (serve un pennarello nero a punta grossa, tra i 4 e i 10mm, oppure del nastro isolante nero da elettricisti).
**** CONSIDERAZIONI FINALI
Amo tutti i giochi che non solo divertono, ma contemporaneamente insegnano e aprono la testa stimolando l’uso della fantasia e della creativit.
Nel caso di questo Botley tutte queste caratteristiche ci sono tutte: c’ il divertimento sia nel realizzare programmi sia nell’utilizzare i codici segreti; c’ l’apprendimento perch la programmazione in generale, i loop, le condizioni if/then , vengono affrontate come un gioco , ma ce le ritroviamo in molti campi della vita nel nostro futuro. Infine c’, e in grande dose, la possibilit di impiegare fantasia e creativit: nel libretto di istruzioni vengono suggerite delle Sfide (Challenge) da risolvere, ma le possibilit , mescolando le varie opzioni di Botley sono davvero tantissime.
Ecco alcune idee che potrebbero essere divertenti:
– costruire un labirinto con il lego e programmare Botley per uscirne
– con una astina tra quelle in dotazione, posta tra le mani di Botley possiamo far tirare un “rigore” in modo che Botley tiri una pallina dentro una porta di piccole dimensioni
– inserire un pennarello in una delle “mani” di Botley e fargli fare dei disegni
– 55 codici o percorsi da realizzare qui: (link rimosso da Amazon, vedi foto allegata)
– altre idee qui: (link rimosso da Amazon, vedi foto allegata)
Infine un ultimo aspetto positivo, a mio parere non banale: la scelta dei realizzatori di non utilizzare App, smartphone o tablet per utilizzare il robot, ma cose “fisiche” una unit di programmazione con i tasti, delle carte per ricordarci e modificare i codici inseriti, ecc. questo secondo me rinforza molto il meccanismo mentale di controllare e pensare a quello che si sta facendo, un’ottima cosa.
In definitiva non posso che lodare chi ha pensato a questo gioco e suggerirlo a tutti quelli che amano stuzzicare l’apprendimento in modo divertente e creativo di cose non solo riservate ai “grandi” (ma neanche SOLO ai bambini maschi!).
Botley und seine Fernbedienung bestehen aus dicker robuster Plastik, so dass auch ruhig mal was herunterfallen kann.
Die Gestaltung ist sehr s. Einige Elemente (z.B. die Augen auf den kleinen Boxen) mssen selbst aufgeklebt werden, was ich nicht so schn finde. Hier wren mir bedruckte Teile lieber gewesen.
Das Handbuch erklrt alle Grundschritte sehr gut und bietet auch eine bersicht zu “versteckten Funktionen”. Diese bersicht finde ich nicht ganz gelungen, da die Codes als “L (links), R (rechts), V (vor), Z (zurck)…” beschrieben werden. Die Pfeilsymbole der Fernbedienung htten da auch ausgereicht.
Das Grundprinzip ist jedenfalls: Man programmiert auf der Fernbedienung eine Sequenz an Bewegungen, z.B. Vor, Vor, Drehung, Zurck, Drehung, Vor. Dann bertrgt man diese Sequenz an den Roboter und er fhrt die Aktion aus. Man kann mit den Puzzlekarten beginnen, um erste Aufgaben (Fahre von A nach B) zu lsen. Unser 6 jhriger Sohn fand die Steuerung spannend und hat sich auch gleich hineinversetzt und angefangen, die Aufgaben zu lsen. Das gelang ihm nach einer Einweisung recht gut. Manchmal klappte etwas nicht wie gewnscht und sorgte fr Frust, aber kurze Zeit spter wurde der Fehler entdeckt und nochmal neu probiert.
Was mir fr die kleinsten Anfnger fehlt: Ein Live-Modus. Und zwar, dass man sofort Feedback erhlt, wenn man eine Taste an der Fernbedienung drckt. So dass Botley sofort die angetippte Funktion ausfhrt und ggf. auch zurckfhrt, wenn die Aktion zurckgenommen wird. So knnen die Kinder einen Parcour meistern, dann Botley an den Startpunkt setzen und die dann gespeicherte Programmierung erneut ausfhren und staunen, dass der Roboter den Weg immer und immer wieder auf die selbe Weise nimmt. Durch den “Programmieren, senden, testen” Modus kam leider manchmal etwas Frust auf, wenn ein Schritt im Mittelteil falsch war.
Zudem fehlt mir noch die Mglichkeit, Programme zu SPEICHERN. So knnte man z.B. RFID Karten nutzen, um erstellte Programme auf ihnen zu speichern. Einfach “Speichern” Button drcken, Fernbedienung auf die Karte legen, fertig. Und spter die Fernbedienung einfach auf die Karte legen und die Programmierung wird eingelesen. Andernfalls sind die Programme, z.B. das aufgemalte Labyrinth, nach der nchsten Programmierung weg und mssen neu eingegeben werden.
Zu den programmierten “Wegen” bietet Botley auch noch weitere Funktionen. Da wre z.B. die “Disco” bei der Botley eine Art Tanz auffhrt, je nachdem welche Schritte ihm einprogrammiert wurden. Das ist fr die Kinder besonders spaig. Zudem gibt es auch ein “Simon sagt” Spiel, bei dem die Programmiertasten in bester “Ich packe meinen Koffer” Manier in immer selber Reihenfolge wiedergegeben werden mssen. Auch das ist spaig! Zuguterletzt gibt es noch die Mglichkeit, Botley wie eine Eisenbahn eine aufgemalte schwarze Linie entlang fahren zu lassen. Das ist fr die Kinder faszinierend, aber leider auch schnell langweilig.
Sehr positiv ist: Man braucht kein WLAN, kein Tablet oder Smartphone – es reichen Botley und die Fernbedienung. Die Robustheit ist sehr hervorzuheben und auch die hbschen Zubehrteile und die “Starterkarten”.
Als Geschenk ist Botley eventuell etwas zu preisintensiv, aber als Lernspielzeug fr sequentielle Ablufe eine Bereicherung!
This activity pack is super fun. It would suit any child aged 4-8. The older grandchildren seemed to get bored by this as the level of difficulty was low. Botley has two main modes, which are coding and line following. There are cards that you can place together to make your desired track. I have found that if you lay some thick black tape on the floor or a large cardboard card, Botley will also follow this. Alternatively, you can also use the remote to direct Botley.
The booklet is easy to use and there are lots of examples to try out. The set requires 5 AAA batteries: 2 for the remote and 3 for Botley. I love that this set is screen-free and that my grandchildren can still access coding and learn. I would definingly recommend this set.
This activity pack is super fun. It would suit any child aged 4-8. The older grandchildren seemed to get bored by this as the level of difficulty was low. Botley has two main modes, which are coding and line following. There are cards that you can place together to make your desired track. I have found that if you lay some thick black tape on the floor or a large cardboard card, Botley will also follow this. Alternatively, you can also use the remote to direct Botley.
The booklet is easy to use and there are lots of examples to try out. The set requires 5 AAA batteries: 2 for the remote and 3 for Botley. I love that this set is screen-free and that my grandchildren can still access coding and learn. I would definingly recommend this set.
Al principio, y menos mal, hay que utilizar su gua en espaol, ya que para gente como yo, y para quien va destinado, que son mis sobrinos, no tenamos mucha idea de cmo hacer funcionar a este juguete, ni lo que haca exactamente, pero una vez que lo pruebas, est muy entretenido.
Trae accesorios, como pegatinas, para customizar el robot Botley, brazos extrables, 40 tarjetas de codificacin, objetos, obstculos, etc. Por lo que se pueden hacer muchas cosas
Es un juguete que no es precisamente barato, pero que nos va a brindar muchas horas de diversin. Muy recomendable. Me lo he pasado genial jugando con l y con mis sobrinos.
Robot avec un joli design, Il peut tre personnalis avec des accessoires comme des bras et des casques de diffrentes couleurs, en lui collant des tiquettes fluorescentes dessus.
Les yeux du robot s’illuminent en rouge ou bleu. Il faut 3 piles pour le robot et 2 pour la tlcommande qui ne sont pas fournies. Dommage que ce soit des piles et non pas une batterie rechargeable.
Je trouve que la prise en main est complique pour des enfants. Nous avons du relire plusieurs fois la notice pour comprendre la logique de fonctionnement mais les possibilits sont trs varies. Vous pouvez soit programmer le robot pour qu’il fasse votre propre parcours soit utiliser des programme prdfinis.
Il a aussi un talent d’imitateur ! Dinosaure, petit train, voiture de police, bruit de chantier, fantme, la grenouille… Dans la notice, c’est nomm “codes secrets”. Pas pratique, il aurait t prfrable de les intgrer sur la tlcommande ou un sur le robot afin de pas les perdre.
Concernant la notice elle est traduite en anglais, espagnol, franais, allemand. L’criture est en petits caractres ce qui l’a rend difficile lire car il y a de nombreuses explications. Heureusement il y a quelques images qui illustrent la notice.
Prix : 91
Trs bonne marque, le jouet est de qualit et trs bien fait !
De quoi apprendre en s’amusant et dvelopper son sens de l’observation.
Le prix est assez onreux.
We found this Coding Robot educational and entertaining. Botley is a brilliant toy to have, I’m enjoying using it playing with my kids and helping us all learn the basics of Coding together.
We have three kids, boys; seven, five and girl; three. They all seem to love it for different reasons. My eldest purely for the Coding and experimenting with the sequencing and inputting the information, trying to make it reach its instructions input capacity and completing long tasks. My five year old also loves it for that aspect but he is more into trying to make Botley do crazy things and enjoys the secret codes and interations. My daughter enjoys inputting shorter sequences and mainly watching her brothers try to impress her with what they do.
It is really rewarding to see them using a technical learning toy that doesn’t involve a screen and does indeed still challenge their cognitive ability, problem solving, IT skills and critical thinking.
Botley seems to be made to the highest standard. We have had no technical issues with it either. The remote works flawlessly. We have tested Botley on wooden and tiled flooring only.
I found the instruction manual brilliant. It talks through the basics and then guides you through the process by building up your knowledge as you do it. So you read it then do it, then onto the next task. A brilliant Walkthrough guide that has been presented and formatted perfectly.
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All’interno della scatolina in cartone troviamo tutto il necessario per poter trascorrere interminabili sessioni di gioco in modo costruttivo e didattico:
– Unit robotica Botley 2.0;
– Controller;
– 2 interfacce staccabili di colore diverso;
– 40 schede di codifica;
– 6 piastrelle a due facce;
– 27 Elementi per la costruzione di ostacoli da abbattere o raggirare;
– Guida introduttiva con sfide di codifica
Mi preme precisare che il dispositivo richiede 5 batterie del tipo AAA non incluse in confezione.
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Il mio nipotino di 5 anni da sempre appassionato di robot e giochini interattivi pertanto non appena si presentata la possibilit di provare questo prodotto abbiamo accettato senza esitazioni. Di seguito le principali caratteristiche:
– questo piccolo “giocattolo” insegna a programmare in modo semplice e amichevole senza l’uso dello schermo e con un approccio didattico e formativo! Le sfide di programmazione prevedono la navigazione su percorsi ad ostacoli, risoluzione di labirinti e molto altro ancora!
– Sebbene molte funzioni siano familiari al Botley originale, la prima cosa che risalta alla vista il controller dotato di pulsanti aggiuntivi che consentono a Botley di muoversi da diverse angolazioni (creando pi sequenze / opportunit di codifica). Ha anche un interruttore on / off sul controller, qualcosa che mancava al Botley originale!
– Il telecomando abbastanza grande e comodo da impugnare anche per i bambini pi piccoli;
– dotato di sensore di luminosit e occhi con luci multicolore;
– dotato di un sensore che rileva gli oggetti presenti sul suo percorso. Per poterlo attivare dobbiamo applicare i concetti di programmazione IF / Then, che sono fondamentali nel linguaggio di programmazione.
Il sensore rileva oggetti alti almeno 5 cm e larghi 4 cm collocati ad una distanza di almeno 25 cm. Quando rileva un oggetto, Botley 2.0 si ferma e si avvicina all’oggetto di fronte a lui finch l’oggetto non viene spostato;
– quando immettiamo le sequenze di codifica possiamo eliminare passaggi inseriti erroneamente e aggiungerne altri al codice semplicemente premendo il pulsante con la raffigurazione di un cestino. Se teniamo premuto a lungo questo pulsante cancelliamo l’intero codice e possiamo iniziare dall’inizio;
– Le 40 schede di codifica sono semplici da leggere e costituiscono un valido aiuto visivo per la programmazione. Il mio nipotino sempre felicissimo e motivato a cercare le carte che guidano il robot nella direzione che ci prefissiamo;
– questo kit include anche sei schede con linee nere stampate su un lato. Botley 2.0 ha un sensore collocato sul fondo in grado di rilevare queste linee per poi seguirle. Per poter esplicare questo compito il nostro caro Botley deve essere in “modalit linea”. Botley pu quindi seguire anche linee da noi tracciate su carta bianca con uno spesso pennarello nero….il divertimento assicurato!
– la guida include 10 sfide di codifica con diversi livelli di difficolt. Ogni sfida introduce una nuova abilit per esercitarsi come fare i turni, programmare compiti e usare comandi come If / Then / Else. Questo aiuta i bambini a familiarizzare con il robot e a capire cosa in grado di fare…queste sfide aiutano i pi piccoli a trovare l’ispirazione per affrontare le proprie sfide personali!
– partendo dalle sfide pi semplici i pi piccoli acquisiscono sicurezza e trovano il coraggio per continuare a migliorarsi!
– dotato di codici segreti per eseguire vari trucchi o per trasformare il nostro amato robot in un nuovo personaggio come: Treno – Squalo – Polizia – Dinosauro – Fantasma – Rana oppure possiamo fargli mandare baci quando rielva un oggetto sul suo percorso! Per poter accedere a queste funzioni nascoste sufficiente premere CLEAR sul programmatore remoto e aggiungere il codice incluso nella guida seguito dal pulsante Trasmetti. A noi piace molto la modalit fantasma!
– sul sito della casa costruttrice sono presenti attivit educative aggiuntive, altri trucchi e funzioni “segreti” che non sono inclusi nel manuale!
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– sono rimasto un po’ deluso dal fatto che il robot alimentato da batterie tradizionali…mi sarei aspettato una batteria ricaricabile!
Per me davvero riduttivo chiamare Botley giocattolo… molto di pi!
We found this Coding Robot educational and entertaining. Botley is a brilliant toy to have, I’m enjoying using it playing with my kids and helping us all learn the basics of Coding together.
We have three kids, boys; seven, five and girl; three. They all seem to love it for different reasons. My eldest purely for the Coding and experimenting with the sequencing and inputting the information, trying to make it reach its instructions input capacity and completing long tasks. My five year old also loves it for that aspect but he is more into trying to make Botley do crazy things and enjoys the secret codes and interations. My daughter enjoys inputting shorter sequences and mainly watching her brothers try to impress her with what they do.
It is really rewarding to see them using a technical learning toy that doesn’t involve a screen and does indeed still challenge their cognitive ability, problem solving, IT skills and critical thinking.
Botley seems to be made to the highest standard. We have had no technical issues with it either. The remote works flawlessly. We have tested Botley on wooden and tiled flooring only.
I found the instruction manual brilliant. It talks through the basics and then guides you through the process by building up your knowledge as you do it. So you read it then do it, then onto the next task. A brilliant Walkthrough guide that has been presented and formatted perfectly.
Er nahm die Codierung sehr schnell auf und programmierte ihn innerhalb von 15 Minuten, um ihm seinen Snack auf das Sofa zu bringen!
Die Fernbedienung ist sehr klobig, ohne zu gro zu sein, und ist daher ideal fr junge Hnde.
Botley 2.0 wurde mit einem groen Zubehrpaket geliefert, das doppelseitige Bretter, Flaggen, Blcke, Steine und mehr enthlt und Ihnen viele Ideen fr Hindernisparcours gibt, die Sie erstellen und programmieren knnen.
Botley 2.0 wird mit 2 verschiedenen Schutzbrillen und Armen geliefert, sodass Sie sein Aussehen sehr einfach ndern knnen. Das Handbuch ist sehr einfach zu befolgen und enthlt versteckte Codes, mit denen Sie Botley so programmieren knnen, dass es vom Frosch bis zum Polizeiauto reicht!
Botley dreht sich und bewegt sich sehr sanft und scheint sehr robust zu sein.
Botley hat auch eine sehr gute Akkulaufzeit und schaltet sich aus, wenn Sie es lnger als 5 Minuten stehen lassen. Meine Jungs hatten heute einen ganzen Tag Zeit, um mit ihm zu spielen, und er ist immer noch stark!
Sie knnen auch Ihre eigene farbige Lichtanzeige erstellen, die bei ausgeschaltetem Licht so effektiv aussieht. Im “Linien” -Modus folgt Botley den schwarzen Linien auf den Brettern, und mein 7-jhrige liebte es, seinen eigenen Track nur mit einer Rolle weiem Papier und einem schwarzen Marker zu erstellen. Es war wirklich aufregend zu sehen, ob Botley unsere selbstgemachte Strecke erkannt hat! Dann gibt es all die erstaunlichen Dinge, die Sie Botley anweisen knnen, indem Sie die Blle mit der Kopfbedeckung bewegen und sie dazu bringen, die Richtung zu ndern, um Ihren eigenen Hindernisparcours zu durchlaufen. Botley ist ein fantastisches Problemlsungs- und zum Nachdenken anregendes Spielzeug.
Insgesamt ist Botley 2.0 eine fantastische Mglichkeit, Codierung zu unterrichten. Das Zubehrpaket macht wirklich Spa und sie merken es nicht einmal dass sie lernen! Er passt zu allen Ebenen, da er fr alle interaktiv ist, aber um sein volles Potenzial auszuschpfen, brauchen Erwachsene Zeit alleine, um ihn zu trainieren! Fr 8+ kann das vielleicht gemacht werden, aber fr 5-6 gibt es viel fr ihn!
Ich hoffe, die Beschreibung fr Sie ( ntzlich) war.
Es un robot super divertido el cual debes programar para que realic un nmero determinado de movimientos, hasta un total de 150. Lo mejor es que tiene luces msica y movimiento haciendo que los ms pequeos disfruten de este fantstico juguete.
Es sper fcil y divertido decirle que hacer a travs del mando a control que trae, es bastante intuitivo gracias a sus iconos encima de los botones. Lo mejor es que se incluye una gua en espaol por lo que no tendremos ningn problema si hay algo que no entendamos.
Me parece un juguete estupendo y sobre todo diferente, creo que gustar a los ms pequeos, para mi es un 10.
En definitiva, juguete que no es barato (aunque vale la mitad que el Lego Boost), pero creo que el dinero est bien invertido.. Ensea a los nios conceptos de programacin, a cooperar con hermanos/amigos y llegar a un objetivo comn, desarrollar la creatividad y el pensamiento crtico y abstracto… y algo tan importante hoy en da como divertirse sin pantallas… Entonces merece la pena aunque ya tenga otros robots ? o es una buena opcin como primer acercamiento a este mundo de la robtica?..Pues desde nuestra humilde opinin s, totalmente recomendable.
Espero que haya sido til mi valoraci
I like the fact there is no screen so things become more logical for the children. Excellent to use in year 2 or 3 as this is when a lot of children start to learn coding. Lots of pieces so lots of variety which gives them more things to code and therefore more thinking time. I would recommend this from a fun and educational aspect, although it’s slightly more expensive than I would hope. Overall excellent produc
I like the fact there is no screen so things become more logical for the children. Excellent to use in year 2 or 3 as this is when a lot of children start to learn coding. Lots of pieces so lots of variety which gives them more things to code and therefore more thinking time. I would recommend this from a fun and educational aspect, although it’s slightly more expensive than I would hope. Overall excellent produc
Botley is super cute and my child love it! It makes cute sounds, is easy to get the hang of right out of the box (parents should read instructions, of course). There are some cute games to play, challenges and “easter eggs”. Online, the website for Botley has a lot of lessons that you can print out and do with your kids, but you can also easily make up “challenges” for your kids to try.
Depending on the age of your child, they can try it out on their own, or parents can guide them to get familiar with coding and the principles of coding.
Bought for my grandson. He loves it. It’s durable and he is 5.
My 4 year old grandson loves this toy. Good job Mimi!
Bought as a Christmas gift for one of our grandsons, he loves this. It’s challenges and fun have kept him very busy.
Perfect and different, my kid loves it. Provides hours of healthy entertainment.
First toy that actually keeps their attention even weeks after receiving!
The manual includes instructions but these need to be fully digested by an adult (or child who can read) and then translated back to the child who will be using Botley before you can really make the most of him. All absolutely doable with time and patience but the task did take the shine off for my 6yr old who really just wanted to play. Im still not entirely sure how to make the most of the items that come with Botley, I’m sure we’ll get there but definitely recommend digesting the manual before giving this as a gift!
We’ll also be looking at how we can safely store Botley, a case rather than a box would have been better packaging to keep him safe from harm!
The manual includes instructions but these need to be fully digested by an adult (or child who can read) and then translated back to the child who will be using Botley before you can really make the most of him. All absolutely doable with time and patience but the task did take the shine off for my 6yr old who really just wanted to play. Im still not entirely sure how to make the most of the items that come with Botley, I’m sure we’ll get there but definitely recommend digesting the manual before giving this as a gift!
We’ll also be looking at how we can safely store Botley, a case rather than a box would have been better packaging to keep him safe from harm!
A los nios les gusta mucho, es fcil de usar.
Bought this little bad boy for Christmas for my 4 year old. first one that came was a dud not sure but just asked them to resend another. 1 day later the new one came, Amazed. kids a well and truly loving the toy seems the be the winner of the year as normally they get board in 5 secs. so very happy with the people they really were helpful and gave no fuss. 10/5
Die kurze Anleitung ist nur auf Englisch.
Bought this little bad boy for Christmas for my 4 year old. first one that came was a dud not sure but just asked them to resend another. 1 day later the new one came, Amazed. kids a well and truly loving the toy seems the be the winner of the year as normally they get board in 5 secs. so very happy with the people they really were helpful and gave no fuss. 10/5
Excellent present for my inquisitive grandson, he will love i
One issue I noticed was the tracking of the wheels. One seems to spin quicker than the other which makes a huge difference when trying to do a straight run.
Perfect for my 3 year old and 7 year old girls. They spent hours with it despite it being a “learning activity”! Love the fact it’s screen free. The product itself seems well made and versatile. Time will tell if it stands the test of regular use!
One issue I noticed was the tracking of the wheels. One seems to spin quicker than the other which makes a huge difference when trying to do a straight run.
We have the ‘original’ Botley- and were excited to find that this new version was out!
This is a great toy that goes way beyond just being a simple toy- It is a very powerful learning device for kids 5 and up. It teaches the basics of coding and robotics through an easy to understand, and easy to use, interface. Younger kids are going to need a little assistance at first, but once they have it ‘figured out’, it’s easy for them to use on their own!
Unlike a lot of similar robots, you don’t need an app on a phone or tablet, the coding can be entered into the remote control that comes with the set. You can code basic commands, like directions, as well as more complex if/then commands. You can use the tiles that the robot comes with, or the plastic accessories to make up obstacle courses for the robot to navigate.
It’s also got a line following mode, which you can use with the included tiles OR by drawing a bold black line on large sheets of paper. This is super fun!
Comes with an activity guide that covers all the fun stuff the robot can do- from the basics up to more advanced.
This little coding robot has a lot to offer with his hidden noises and funny sounds. Let’s first talk about what is included in the box. You get Botley the coding robot, remote control, 2 face plates or ‘glasses’, 40 coding cards, 6 double sided puzzle piece circuit type tyles, 27 obstacle pieces ( blocks, rails, and flags), and instructions. Now, what can you do with Botley? After putting in 5 AAA batteries (3 in Botley and 2 in the coding remote) You can put him in 1 of his 2 functions, line following or coding. By placing the black and white side of the tiles down (in line following mode) he will follow the arranged tile lines without leaving it unless the line doesn’t create a full circuit. I’ve also discovered you can draw your own lines with thick black marker on paper to help as a fun way to help learn letters and numbers, just be sure to use bold thick lines and make the letters extra big so he can follow them without getting lost. While using the coding remote and tiles, you can plan out what path you’d like Botley to follow and arrange obstacles. By using the coding tiles rather then just imputing them into the remote helps your child learn directions and open up a line of dialogue and help with problem solving. When you’ve programmed the directions you just press the big transmit button and Botley will light up and off he goes. If you find that you’re a few moves short of completing your obstacle course you can always add directions by tapping them in and pressing the transmit button, but I find that this is where the coding tiles come in handy with planning out the moves. By flipping over the black and white puzzle tiles, it opens up a whole new basis of learning for coders who have already mastered the black and white tiles. There is so much Botley can do. In the back of the manual there are some secret functions that you and your child can enjoy together. This is one of the better learning robots in my opinion.
My six year old son really likes to play games that involve coding, so I figured this coding robot would be something that would interest him and also get him doing something away from a screen. The robot reminds us a bit of the Lego EV3 coding robot with the way the remote works. My 15 year old who went to a Lego robotics camp a few years ago said there are a lot of similarities with regards to the functioning and programming. Botley comes with different accessories that get worked into the coding of what the bot will do. So you can have it stop and turn at certain obstacles and things like that. Watching my son and teenaged daughter play with Botley reminds me a lot of the Lego Robotics presentation my daughter and the other girls at the camp did when showing how they learned to code. Botley is very kid friendly and my daughter thinks it’s a bit more user friendly that the EV3 bot she used at the Lego camp. I like that this set encourages problem solving, creativity and using logic. It’s a cool toy and I would certainly recommend it.
Botley can be programmed to follow commands, to pick up objects, to follow a path or shape, to go through an obstacle course, or even to turn into train, dinosaur, police car, etc. It’s pretty cool for kid to draw their own design and have Botley follow their path. This can be used with existing toys, and the original Botley accessory set would work with this too.
Botley moves and turns smoothly. The wheels are a soft rubber to protect your floors, but this also means it runs better on a hard surface, or at least a dense carpet with a low pile.
Botley is not too loud, although you can make it loud, louder, or turn the sound off completely. Botley itself will turn off after a few minutes of not using – which is great, because my kid won’t remember to do it for sure. There’s a light sensor, so as soon as the lights are turned off, the eyes light up – and you can change the color with the remote.
The remote fits well in little hands, and it seems more ergonomic than the remote from the original Botley. Buttons are clearly labeled, and easy to figure out how to use.
It comes with decorative stickers. They are glow in the dark, which is very cool, but mine were bent a little.
The coding cards are helpful to keep track of the code you made. With a longer code, it can be hard to remember exactly what was programmed.
My one complaint is: Does Botley have to be a boy?? Come on. They could have easily made Botley a girl. I don’t even want a pink version – I just want *this* one to be a girl. So I told my kid Botley is a girl, and since kid didn’t read the instructions, they don’t know better.
Dimensions:
Botley: 5.5″ wide x 3.25″ deep x 2.75″ tall
Remote: 4″ long x 3″ wide x 1.25″ thick
I wouldn’t really call this coding, but it is very engaging. My child’s first thought was, I wish you had just gotten me a remote control car… but this thing has engaged him much more than his remote control toys.
It says ages 5+, and the pictures are all 5 and 6 year olds, but this can engage much older children as well. In fact, I’m not sure a 5 year old could really use the more advanced features. Definitely even 9, 10, and 11 year olds. They may roll their eyes at first, but it will suck them in.
Out of the box it’s fun, you can have it moving and following your commands right away. Then you can introduce more complex things – using the cards, navigating objects, etc.
One tip – the back side of the cards are just thick lines you can have Botley follow. But you can make your own – get yourself a roll of white butcher paper, and the thickest sharpie you can find. You can create endless fun (in the hallway, driveway, porch, etc) and draw your own extremely long and complicated maze. Think of it as digital dominoes that you can do over & over.
Our child thinks it should have a “normal” mode, where you can operate like a normal remote control car. My other suggestion is to provide rechargeable components – it requires a total of 5 AAA’s. On the plus side, it doesn’t seem to burn through them too quickly.
Overall, though, a big hit.
Our kids are 6 & 9. At the time of this review, our schools just announced they’ll remain closed this fall due to Covid. I’m not a great teacher and am desperately looking for STEM activities that are actually fun. And now that he is here, Botley 2.0 really fits the bill!!!
Right out of the package, my 9yo found this almost too easy. Which was great because he was able to supervise his 6yo sister. She didn’t need assistance, but more a little encouragement here and there.
They both love video games, so they had Botley’s remote down in just a few minutes.
Botley himself is really well built. The plastic feels thick and good quality…. I don’t think I’ll have to worry about my kids busting him repeatedly running him into the wall. And did I mention that she’s adorable!
But leave it to my kids to not use a toy as intended…. They’re having a blast setting up Lego towers to knock down or chasing each other’s toys down playing “cops and robbers” with the police siren function whaling, among other things.
The only thing both my kids found boring were the extra pieces that came with it. For example, they didn’t find the black line puzzle all that impressive and just wanted to go back to playing him with toys they have around the house. Which is great, I love that Botley even revived their interest in old toys (which after 5 months of lockdown, that’s incredibly impressive).
There is so much opportunity for creative thinking and learning with him…. We just love Botley 2.0. He’s been so much fun!!!!
There is a timer on Botley so he goes to sleep if no one is playing with him after 5 minutes. That is nice, and saves the batteries! It takes 5 AAA batteries. And doesn’t seem to eat them too terribly fast. We get a lot of play out of him.
I also like that once Botley runs a program, it’s not deleted from the remote. You can even turn Botley off and the remote will remember the program last entered. This can be frustrating at first – just hold the cancel button down and it’ll reset. But as your child gets into more lengthy lines of code, it’s nice that Botley remembers the last program. So you don’t have to re-enter it all again. You can test it out and then add to it and Botley will still do the entire program – not just the last few steps you entered. If you make a mistake, you hit cancel once and only the last step of the program is erased.
We have noticed that he doesn’t really like to be outside. He doesn’t seem to work well under direct sunlight, but the kitchen is a great place to play with him! Hard surfaces are easier than carpet!
One last suggestion – it comes with stickers to put on the blocks and flags. They’re some of the most stout stickers I’ve ever seen a toy come with. And once on, they do NOT move. One of our little block eye balls stickers got stuck to the back of the manual when we tried to pull it all out. There’s no moving that sticker. We’ll have to cut it out and glue it on the block if we want it that bad. The stickers use some kind of super adhesive. So I’d suggest a parent putting all the stickers on the parts BEFORE you give it to your child if this is a gift.
Over all, this is an awesome toy! Kids can learn a lot of memory skills, programming stills..learn to pay attention to detail, to persevere, to follow directions and trouble shoot. It’s just a great toy all the way around!
Both my 7 and 9 year old have a blast with Botely 2.0 — and they have no clue they are actually learning something really useful and important. I have even learned some a thing or two from Botley 2.0! If you are looking for a screen-free educational activity for your kids, Botley 2.0 is it!