Best Robot Rover : Makeblock mBot Mega Arduino Robot Kit
I get sent kits for review all of the time, but few scream quality like this robot kit. It is loaded with high quality, mostly anodized aluminum parts. It comes with amazing Mecanum Wheels that allow it to strafe, spin and perform amazing movements unlike anything. It is loaded with sensors, motors and the MegaPi microcontroller to power all of them simultaneously. It is easily the best robot rover I have ever seen!
So, the hardware is great. How about the software? The factory software demonstrates gesture recognition, line following capabilities and collision detection. It has additional firmware with a free app that provides remote control capabilities along with line following, obstacle avoidance mode and coding directly in the app via Bluetooth! The MegaPi microcontroller can also connect to Arduino and Raspberry Pi.
Basically, this is an advanced Arduino mechanical robot kit, equipped with 4WD mecanum wheels, powerful motor-driving ability and is perfectly matched with Raspberry Pi, which is ideal for Arduino beginners and professionals to learn robotics, electronics and programming.
SAVE 10% OR MORE OFF FOR A LIMITED TIME
The Official Store has Coupons for $5 to $20 off plus a chance to win a mBot Neo right now!
Official Makeblock Store : bit.ly/3xajGVR : 10% coupon code: mBotMegaDerek10
Buy on Amazon : amzn.to/353J2Zp : 10% coupon code: mBotMega10
If you’d like to apply to be a product tester like me, check out the Makeblock Product Tester Club: / 3948694898555804
FULL DISCLOSURE
I was given this kit for free for review. I was however not paid money for this review. If you are to buy this product using links in this description, I will not receive any money. I give up receiving money of any kind so that you know that this is my honest opinion.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MAKEBLOCK
Facebook: / makeblockstemtoys
Instagram: / makeblock.stem.toys
#arduino #robot kit #robotics #coding robot
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:21 Unboxing
1:04 IR Proximity Sensor
1:28 RGB LEDs
1:41 Impact Switches
1:54 DC Motor Driver
2:13 Line Tracking Sensors
3:08 DC Motors
4:34 Anodized Aluminum Frame
5:01 MegaPi Microcontroller
5:13 Bluetooth Module
5:46 Mecanum Wheels
6:30 Other Accessories
7:29 Assembled
7:46 Assembly Instructions
11:00 Software Installation
12:15 Update Firmware
15:12 Mobile Apps
17:45 Factory Demos
18:21 Remote Mobile App
18:55 Programming the Mega
Пікірлер: 46
SAVE 10% OR MORE OFF FOR A LIMITED TIME The Official Store has Coupons for $5 to $20 off plus a chance to win a mBot Neo right now! Official Makeblock Store : bit.ly/3xajGVR : 10% coupon code: mBotMegaDerek10 Buy on Amazon : amzn.to/353J2Zp : 10% coupon code: mBotMega10 If you’d like to apply to be a product tester like me, check out the Makeblock Product Tester Club: facebook.com/groups/3948694898555804
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
Hi, Yes I remember your name. Thank you for coming back :)
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
Sorry I don't know what fan mass means
God bless you bro.. Because of your teachings i got Job thank you...
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
That’s so wonderful! Congratulations!!! Thank you for taking the time to tell me I helped
Ordered this for my kids, won't come till August. But I trust your other videos and hopefully my kids will enjoy this. Used your links
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
That’s great thanks! I get tons of kits sent to me and I have to say Makeblocks kits are very well built. There software is great as well. My daughter just put together one of the regular mBots this morning by herself in about 15 minutes and has been programming it ever since. She is 7 and nothing makes me happier than seeing her build stuff instead of watching nonsense or playing silly games. I hope your kids have fun!
Hello derek, it's nice to know your daughter is programming and playing with all this stuff at 7 :) Nice family indeed
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
Hi Megha, I love my family!!! We have constant fun together
Derek I wanted to update you with answers to the questions I asked below and my experience with this mBot Mega so far. I'ts been quite an adventure.. My grandson and I had a lot of fun building it and the h/w is rugged and reliable but programming it to do anything beyond what the Scratch 3 subset of mlock5 block code supports has been a very big challenge. Sadly they do not plan to make that Block code expandable to support ANY new I/O device add-ons. I've not been able to do anything in Python but have not invested the effort to try.. I have on the other hand spent a lot more time and have been a little more successful using Arduino C firmware source code and their examples within the MakeBotDrive library for the Atmel 2650 MegaPi board that is supported by the Arduino IDE.. I'm able to compile and run the subset of MBot Mega samples and their table of 10 or so example codes, and they do compile and run Ok on the robot itself but.. if you want to add new sensors and servos etc..or try to control anything via say the BlueTooth App, forget it.. I find it's very difficult to integrate anything new within their firmware. a Major problem is it calls lots of .h and .ccp libraries and relies on code with no documentation on how to use and pass parameters to or from the makeblock library's. At least I haven't found it yet. I don't understand the Structure and Union setups and many of the MeModules called are completely cryptic.. there are few comments. It's obvious that they put a LOT more into supporting their other types of MBot Robots to make them learning and educational toys. Learning how to integrate what I'd like to do within this programming environment will be a very time consuming challenge.. but I haven't given up yet. I have mapped the 10 ports A6 to A15 and the motors to their actual port designators in C Code. You have to add decimal 54 to each so header port A6 is port 60 and the open A15 is port 69. By the way I found another robot maker with far better and clearer tutorials and videos.. his name is Matt Eaton and company's name is ACBR ( anyonecanbuildrobots.com) and ordered one of his since as a leaning aid.. his is FAR superior. Its fine as a toy to drive around but the mBot Mega is way too difficult to program in Arduino with the very limited documentation available.. Their Makeblock Help support group tries to be helpful and they sent me detailed .pdf schematics ( that are much clearer to read than what's posted on line) and that has helped a lot. I've learned they never intended this robot as a learning aid like some of their other robots and products are. I hope you do another video on programming it .. but suspect you have learned it's not as easy as you might hope since much of the firmware covers multiple robot types and many different modules and sensors and things only found in them so it's hard to see the forest for the trees..
@billbrown994
Жыл бұрын
I would stay far away from Makeblock. One needs to take a class in makeblock coding before doing anything if a newbie. I bought the mbot 1 for my son and it was a nightmare. The software is garbage. It is not possible for a newbie to make and install programs. The mblock 5 platform says the sample program is installed but it is not. Pure garbage. Only good for a 5 year old to use with the app on ipad to draw patterns or choose preprogrammed patterns. I will never buy a single product from them again. never. It is good to see an experienced programmer like yourself has also looked for a better product. I am looking for a company that offers a better user experience with high quality simple and perfected software.
@billbrown994
Жыл бұрын
Also the newest software is not compatible with windows...but older version is also trash for mbot 1. A horrible experience. Never again mbot.
I’ve researched this product along with several others. This particular product seems to offer far fewer sensors than its competitors, yet it costs almost $30 more. Freenove has a 4WD model with several more sensors and components for only $51. It has all of the same functionality and far more once you purchase your own mecanum wheels, which are easily found on Amazon for under $20. The only other difference being acrylic plates rather than metal, but who cares. The higher price tag for this model just isn’t justifiable when both Elegoo and Freenove offer well made, well tested options with far more components at a far better price.
@derekbanas
Жыл бұрын
I just checked on Amazon and the mBot Mega is $79 Freenove is $70. The Freenove doesn’t come with a Rpi and numerous other components. Maybe you’re referring to another rover? Either way to each their own. I don’t represent Makeblock so sales don’t matter to me
You are all in one #perfect teacher ❤️#love from india
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
You’re very kind. Thank you for the wonderful compliment. I love India!
Nice to hear your voice again (my bad) Derek!
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you :) I had a weird health problem, but I'm feeling great now
@seyit763
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah it s fun
Thanks for dropping new Content Derek! How're you doing nowadays? Hopefully you & family're doing good. Say, what's your plan on your next videos/tutorials? Would love to know whether you're going to drop some new coding/hardware tutorials for the new few videos.
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for following my videos :) It is nice to see familiar names. I don't know why, but a few months ago a bunch of companies started sending me electronics kits? I'm very happy about that! I'm working through all of them with my daughter and probably for the next 2 months I'll present all of my favorites. After that I have a Dart, Flutter, some JS frameworks and machine learning planned.
@gokusaiyan1128
3 жыл бұрын
@@derekbanas so we are up for a ride \0/ . Awesome finally I will try electronics.
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
I'm happy you're excited! In my next video my daughter will put together a kit. Then I'll make a huge tutorial that shows how to make robotic arms, tanks, self balancing 2 wheeled robots and more!
Very cool project. I'll be waiting for you to launch your own rover to Mars.
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
It was a blast to build! I’m working on a rocket with my daughter. She wants to be an astronaut and fly to Mars. She’s 7 :)
I am trying to build a robot similar to this and plan on buying one soon to learn with. The robot I’m building needs edge detection to avoid falling, but I’m quite a beginner and have no idea what approach I should take. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you for this video either way 🍻
Hello Derek Banas, Do you know a good physics library for movement projection? Example, throwing a baseball.
this is awesome 👏👏 Thanks Derek
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for taking the time to tell me :) I love comments and for some reason this video didn't get many.
HELLOOOOOO DEREK BANAS!!!!! Hope you are feeling better, and that everyone is doing well. I missed you, was hoping you were okay.
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for thinking of me :) I had the strangest reaction to covid. It shutdown my bodies ability to process iron and then I developed anemia!!! I'm felling much better now though. I wish everyone a wonderful new healthy year! One great thing is that I'm noticing people are much happier now. Maybe losing all of the little things that matter for a year has made us better people. I hope.
@terraflops
3 жыл бұрын
@@derekbanas Very happy you are healthy again, doing what you love and are so skilled at. I am focusing on R, so, if you ever want to go over that, you can make Shiny apps with it. All is well again. : )
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
I have been keeping my eyes on R and built a web app using it recently
Hello Derek, I just ordered this Mega and am wondering a few things 1.) do you get a schematic with it? // Ans: No but if you send a request e-mail to their support, they will send you the two detailed schematics.// 2.) when you bolt on a Raspberry Pi or Adruino as I plan to do later.. will you need to program each thru separate editors and bootloaders? //yes, but it will be WAY too difficult to integrate them from a software perspective..so I'll do each stand alone.// 3.) do the two control boards communicate with each other? // not sure of the details on how but yes that might ne possible if you were the s/w developer that understood their extensive C code.. // 4.) if you wanted to add say a set of servos for a controlled arm, are there enough free ports available on the 2650 main processor to support doing that?/ Yes I believe there are 6 to 10 open ports in addition to the open A15 header 3 pin port but for two of the NEW motors you will need motor driver shield modules. The far bigger challenge for me at least is in integrating your new code with their firmware to make it do anything really useful.. It takes a lot of research and I haven't found the documentation needed to do it yet..it will likely ne easier to strip it out and start over from scratch.// 5.) about how long will it run continuously on the 6ea AA batteries?// I added a cheap little LCD VDC display to monitor it, you can plug it into the 2 pin POWER header on the MegaPi board easily. I'm still using rechargeable AA NiMh batteries but did find the battery tray hard to insert and remove until I used a Dremel tool to shave off the protruding threads of the 2 bolts that catch the wires under the carriage. Fully charged you could perhaps get an hour of driving, but I never ran it that long continuously... JimS// Thanks for the great demo.. Regards, JimS😃
hey can I program it to do speach synthesizing, sounds, AI and voice recognition? Are there any expantion boards for this platform? I am legally blind and wish to develop a series of products that make use of text to speach technology
Would you recommend this for a 13 year old who hasn't programmed before? Is the level of difficulty too hard for beginners?
@derekbanas
Жыл бұрын
I think the mBot Neo is better for younger children just getting into robotics and programming. I made a video about it kzread.info/dash/bejne/aaGNr7qQkd24l6Q.html
@Shreya-vz9ei
Жыл бұрын
@@derekbanas yeah, I saw that video right after writing this comment 🤣 Thanks for the quick reply! Your video was super informational and helped me understand what to expect from the kit. I took your advice and got my teen brother the mBot Neo for his birthday!
For some reason whenever I connect it to Bluetooth it switches devices to Ultimate 2.0?
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
Try reinstalling firmware. Every time I have any issues that normally fixes it.
Regular batteries don't work
first
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for following my videos :)
How do I make a security system with a motion and thermal Polaroid picture backup? I am being harassed and stalked and I need evidence of my persecution so I can apply for political asylum. Thank you.
@derekbanas
3 жыл бұрын
I don't know what to say. It would probably be least expensive to get a Blink camera which uploads video to the cloud. I have one and it works great and has infrared night vision which also works great. To build something like this would cost a lot more. I hope that helps and I wish you all the best. I wish there was more that I could do.
@YK-vl6kt
3 жыл бұрын
Would that send me alerts when the motion and/or thermal sensor is triggered?