Robot Kits and Robotics — What Are They?

Robot kits are a great introduction if you want to enter the field of robotics, or are just interested to take them as a new hobby. They also serve as a great educational tool as well.

Robot kits are special kits in constructing robots, specifically autonomous mobile robots, which are robots that can move on their own and perform tasks and tricks.

The components of a robot kit can include activators such as actuators, controller boards, mechanical and fundamental parts, etc. Some of the best robot kits are available without electronics so as to give the chance for the user to utilize their own. And what exactly are those components? Here are some definitions of robotic parts.

Sensor – the sensor measures the robot’s state and environment. The signals are then relayed to the controller, which in turn controls the robot’s movements and behavior appropriately. The sensor uses a transducer, which converts the energy of whatever the sensor measures, into another form of energy. In the field of robotics, the sensors measure things like position, speed, velocity, proximity, etc. Sensors are divided into two types: physical and logical

Controller board – it is a device that regulates the functions of a robot’s operations through manipulating a set of commands.

Actuator – the actuators are the ones that activate and control a robot’s motions. The motor is one example of an actuator.

Mechanisms and kinematics – a mechanism refers to the order and composition of a robot’s connected components. Kinematics, on the other hand, identifies the relationship between the motion of a robot’s endpoint to the motion of a robot’s joints.

For many decades, robotics has dominated a wide range of industries from science, automobile, manufacturing and law enforcement to food, home and entertainment. And what we are tackling here in particular are robot kits designed for fun as well as personal use and educational purposes. There are robot kits that are designed for the advanced users as well as robot kits for beginners and even for children who interested in robotics

Among the most popular robot kits are Lego Mindstorms (in particular the EV3), Arduino, Lynxmotion, Qfix Robot Kit, Vex, MyRobotTime, Robotis Bioloid, Stiquito, Tetrix Robot Kit, and a lot more.

Many robot kits are programmable, and use their own programming language (such as Scratch) for computer coding to control the robot’s movements, detection, etc. Other top rated robot kits are controlled manually through a joystick or remote control. Every robot kit comes with a level of complexity which depends on the user — there are kits for beginners and others for advanced users.

If you are a beginner you might as well start with the most basic robot kits, and look for the best robot kit deals. Once you’ve learned the fundamentals of robotics and programming, you can now move on to the more advanced robot kits.