Want to really engage the inner engineer in your students? Then you should take on the Meccano Meccanoid G15KS, a personal robot kids can build from the ground up. With three innovative ways to program, voice recognition, and smart device communication, the Meccanoid might just become their best robot friend ever! Once built, Meccanoid towers at almost four feet tall (122cm) and, in the box, there are 1,014 parts, two hand tools, a rechargeable battery, and building instructions.
There are also 10 motors that help kids create very realistic movements, eight smart servos localized in the arms and head that remember movements, plus two motors to drive the feet. On top of all that, its LED eyes have over 500 colors and it’s powered by a Meccabrain, a 4-channel micro controller with 128Mb of memory.
Designed for students aged 10 and up, the Meccanoid G15KS Personal Robot features three easy and innovative programming options: Learned Intelligent Movement (LIM), Ragdoll Avatar, and Drag-and-Drop Programming. Ragdoll Avatar and Drag and Drop both require a smart device and a free app is available for download on iOS or Android devices. With LIM, students can program Meccanoid’s movements and sounds by using their own movements and voice and have Meccanoid repeat it back to them exactly! With Ragdoll Avatar, on the other hand, students use the 3D virtual model of the robot to program its movements and sounds as well as change its eye color.
Lastly, with the drag-and-drop programming option, students can create complex, logic-based programs using simple controls to create basic commands for Meccanoid. It will respond to their voice commands with more than 10,000 pre-programmed phrases, including jokes, questions, and fun facts. Meccanoid will even walk around with them, shake hands, dance, give kids a high-five, and do Kung Fu! With 12 different modes of interactivity and an autonomous personality that is affected by its environment, there is definitely no shortage of exploration and discovery with the Meccanoid G15KS.
I spoke to my co-worker, who had assembled the Meccanoid previously, and she gave me a few helpful tips. Although the instructional manual is very clear, colorful, and picture-based, assembly takes patience and time because nothing is pre-built, and she recommends this robot for older students or students with experience with technology and robotics. The plus side is that, since nothing comes pre-built, students get plenty of engineering practice.
Since it was already assembled, I got to jump right in to programming it. First, I tried out the LIM mode, which didn’t require the app. All I had to do was power the Meccanoid on and enter LIM mode to start recording. It would play back my movements and any sounds I made! Then I downloaded the free app on my iPhone, turned my Bluetooth on, and was able to connect to the Meccanoid instantly.
Within the app I was able to experiment with the Ragdoll Avatar mode and drag-and-drop programming. Its motors provided for seriously realistic movements, and its exceptional voice recognition capabilities allowed for some funny conversations, but, most importantly, I realized that it’s definitely a tool that’s useful for exposing students to the big three: engineering, robotics, and programming.
The Meccanoid G15KS is a highly effective way to teach students how robots work since they’re not only programming it, but building it from scratch. To purchase one for your makerspace, classroom, or home, visit the Eduporium store. Also, look out next Wednesday for the newest edition of the Eduporium Experiment featuring the Ollie robot! In the meantime, don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more, check out other cool robotics tools in our store, and you might as well like us on Facebook, too!