Robotis Build Your Own Robot Teaches Kids Engineering and Programming

We love robots here at LAPTOP and we’re also fans of DIY robot kits. Not only do they teach kids valuable skills and plant the seed for future engineers, the end result is a cool robot! It’s a win-win. This year at New York’s Toy Fair we had a blast watching Robotis robots perform a dance routine on the show floor.

These bad boys come from the Bioloid Premium Kit, which allows owners to build a variety of different robot toys that will move on their own and are fully programmable. That’s right, you can also encourage your child to new heights of software development as well.

This kind of fanciness comes at a price, of course: the Premium Kit costs $1,199. There are other, slightly less expensive kits available: $899 Comprehensive Kit and the $349 Beginner Kit. It’s definitely not an impulse buy, nor something you’d give a kid that’s shown no interest in robotics, engineering or programming.

However, if you’re hoping to spark that kind of interest, Robotis has a less expensive line of DIY kits branded Ollo. The three Ollo kits — Starter, Explorer, and Inventor — also allow for multiple configurations and toys capable of independent movement. The upper tier kits even bring in some very simple programming. The Starter Kit costs $79.90 and Explorer Kit is $149. The Inventor Kit hasn’t been released yet.

If you’re hoping to get your child interested in science or want to build on their love of building things, check out the offerings from Robotis. Watch our video below for a demonstration of the various robots and programming available.