Arduino Robot Kit

fergiesfolly

1) If this is in the wrong place( robotics forum is dead), mods feel free to move or remove
2) This is a crowdfunded item and won't be delivered until June.

I was looking for a project to help my daughter get started with Arduino coding and building.
Had looked elsewhere for a project that would keep her interest, be educational and low cost but most are quiet expensive and difficult to follow.
I found this
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1158090852/pi-bot-the-next-great-tool-in-robotics-learning-pl
Like I said at the top, its a crowdfunded project, so you'll be waiting for...
A) A successful fundraising ( your money is safe. You only pay if all funds required are raised) and
the Pi-bot to be built and shipped(mid June)

So at €65(including P&p) it seems like a good deal for a bargain chasing gadgeteer.

Pizzle

That looks really nice. Seems pretty good value for 65 euro.

toe_knee

Looks good. Just be aware of the duty costs. I have funded other projects and got hit with duty :-(

fergiesfolly wrote: »

1) If this is in the wrong place( robotics forum is dead), mods feel free to move or remove
2) This is a crowdfunded item and won't be delivered until June.

I was looking for a project to help my daughter get started with Arduino coding and building.
Had looked elsewhere for a project that would keep her interest, be educational and low cost but most are quiet expensive and difficult to follow.
I found this
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1158090852/pi-bot-the-next-great-tool-in-robotics-learning-pl
Like I said at the top, its a crowdfunded project, so you'll be waiting for...
A) A successful fundraising ( your money is safe. You only pay if all funds required are raised) and
the Pi-bot to be built and shipped(mid June)

So at €65(including P&p) it seems like a good deal for a bargain chasing gadgeteer.

GUIGuy

Really? You shouldn't have to pay import duty. You need to pay VAT alright but there's no import duty on electronic parts or most consumer electronics.


http://www.dutycalculator.com/country-guides/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-ireland/

For detailed information see:
http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/taric_consultation.jsp?Lang=en

toe_knee

Sorry, I meant to say VAT. I had to pay when I bought the pebble

GUIGuy wrote: »

Really? You shouldn't have to pay import duty. You need to pay VAT alright but there's no import duty on electronic parts or most consumer electronics.


http://www.dutycalculator.com/country-guides/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-ireland/

For detailed information see:
http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/taric_consultation.jsp?Lang=en

Qwerty?

So €80 delivered sound about right for this? Seriously considering it, just want to be sure about VAT on imports. Its 23% i assume from the linked article, but then do they charge you for the pleasure of opening your package and calulating how much you owe?

nava

Qwerty? wrote: »

So €80 delivered sound about right for this? Seriously considering it, just want to be sure about VAT on imports. Its 23% i assume from the linked article, but then do they charge you for the pleasure of opening your package and calulating how much you owe?

Depending who delivers it to you they will also charge admin fee, anpost is €6 others like Fedex, UPS, etc are more some could be €15

ozmo

nava wrote: »

Depending who delivers it to you they will also charge admin fee, anpost is €6 others like Fedex, UPS, etc are more some could be €15

I dont mind paying vat but the extra 15 UPS tax on top of the already expensive postage is like a punishment UPS charge for using their services.

Anyway - this is a lowest cost project and I doubt it will come via courier.

Looks a decent enough kit - fair play to them.

But this one looks pretty good too for $90 inc pp.
And has some extras like (bluetooth maybe?), an extra motor, remote control....

http://www.dx.com/p/diy-intelligent-tortoise-smart-wheel-robot-module-173668#.UzyiLahdU40

fergiesfolly

The DX models don't seem to come with any instructions and some of the reviews aren't too encouraging.
Apologies.I never thought about VAT or duties when I originally posted, but I think it's still good value

ozmo

fergiesfolly wrote: »

The DX models don't seem to come with any instructions and some of the reviews aren't too encouraging.

Fun fact - every early Mechanno kit manual purposely had a mistake in them - some part or other that could not possibly fit that way - to encourage problem solving.

The idea of these is that they are an engineering kit - to get you thinking. I think its ok not to expect the instructions to hand-hold completely (it does say there is a cd with a guide though).



If anyone wants a cheap kit - that you just assemble a robot with full instructions- here is one for £9 pounds - we had one, came with lots of bits - its not perfect, but ok for the price - for the younger kid (10 ish)- they assemble the gears and circuit boards and can wire it up to do different things like chase TV remotes and stuff - just cannot program it..... wonder if we could hook the Arduino up to it though - that could be interesting.....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dr-Who-DW01-Doctor-Cybernetics/dp/B005HP2UJW

fergiesfolly

The CD instruction guide with the DX models are in Chinese.
That's a lot of "problem solving" right there.

These Pi-Bot kits are developed as an introduction to Arduino, robotics and C programming. A little handholding is a positive for the beginner, like me.

P.S I see the Pi-Bot is now fully funded, so for those of you still mulling it over, at least there's a guarantee that it's going into production. Seven days left to fund.