ArcBotics Sparki Robot - Programmable Arduino STEM Robot Kit for Kids - Complete Platform to Learn Robotics, Coding and Electronics

ArcBotics Sparki is so awesome. My 11 year old daughter indicated an interest in learning how to program and I thought to myself what better way to learn than to have something that a child can see and touch. I first thought about having her program an iPhone app but then thought a robot would be more tangible. I did some research and decided on ArcBotics and I am confident I made the right choice. Sparki has a ton of things to control - sensors, wheels, grippers, lights, etc. The programming can be as simple as you want to make it and it was actually a thrill for my daughter to just programming Sparki to move forward and backward the first time. Of course we are on to bigger and better things now.I really think this is going to both give her confidence that she can learn and build anything and it will set her up very well if she wants to pursue anything related to programming and computers. Our children are users of technology but being a user is not in any way like being a programmer where you actually have to think about a design and then build it.As far as the product I love it. On the one hand it comes all ready to go out of the box. Absolutely no assembling of computer boards, etc. On the other hand it doesn't hide the components and allows you to literally visually explore all of it's exposed capabilities. It can look a little daunting at first if you are a newbie to electronics but it is very easy to use. It seems very solidly built given all of the delicate electronics.Finally, the web site is very helpful. ArcBotics has clearly invested a lot of time providing lot's of lessons and information. There is ample information about Sparki himself (about the use of Stepper motors for the wheels which are different than the electric motors in most toys I learned, about rack and pinion drive for the grippers, etc.) and lots of programming lessons that make it very understandable. And their customer service is great and responsive to emails and ready to support.I am glad they made this product and wish them well.

I love this robot! I purchased this for my 7 and 9 year old sons. I've been teaching them programming off and on for a little while, and really wanted to find something that could help bring the lessons to life. What better way to do that then with a programmable robot! I've had this plan in mind for a very long time, and searched everywhere for a robot to incorporate into my lessons much earlier than when I started to conduct them. I have to say, most of what I found was lacking, and only offered a "drag and drop" kind of programming. I found only one comparable robot with a "real" programming option, but it was a nightmare to try to get it working. Sparki, on the other hand, worked right out of the box. It was as simple as downloading the program from their website and connecting the robot. It even came with a full series of C based programming tutorials to get started. This was really great start, but what really made Sparki a perfect educational tool was that there's now a Python library, allowing one to program Sparki in a very easy to learn and intuitive language. In a nutshell, Sparki is great for those wanting to give their kids an exciting introduction to programming.

Great product! I am using this to teach my 10 year old granddaughter basic programming and a little engineering. She loves it! We had one minor problem with the unit as received (the LCD screen would not work), and Arcbotics' response was top-notch - they furnished an entire new board with instructions via YouTube on replacement, which provided my granddaughter a great hands-on learning experience in robot "brain" transplanting!This is a real bargain considering the various types of sensor, the 3 servo motors, the included blue-tooth module and the web based lessons, examples, and iconbased miniBlok and Sparkiduino (C++) programming IDEs.

I think that Sparki lives up to its reputation. It is well made and easy to use. The two modes of programming is a nice touch. C++ is a difficult to learn. But if a child has used code.org, the block-based programming(SparkiDuino) they offer is quite similar and easy to learn.Lots of fun for "kids" interested in robotics.

Very neat. But very frustrating, borderline painful to use. Be prepared to set aside a lot of time to get it going. Instructions are good for starting a small fire, not much else. Eventually gave up and bought something else.

I was really disappointed with Sparki. We bought Sparki for our 9 year old who started taking a robotics class. From reading the description of Sparki & the reviews, it seems like he can really do a lot, and I'm sure it can. However, unless you have robotics/programming experience, he's useless. We've figured out how to use the remote and make him move using the arrows (imagine a really slow remote control car that can move his arms to drag things). But when trying to program him using their 'Bloq' programming, it didn't work. They have a website with "instructions" and "steps" that give an example of how to Bloq program, however, we couldn't find the bloqs they used. I need instructions that tell you step by step what to do and what each of the bloqs mean. We tried to mimic their simple program of dragging a bloq to make him move forward (which was the arrow) then we tried to find the "10" that they used in the example to make him move 10 centimeters and couldn't find it. So we tried a button other than the 10 - we thought it would make him move for a few seconds. We Run the program and get an error. We try other bloqs - no luck. We can't get a program to run without getting an error. We're not stupid people - we both have accounting degrees and MBAs, but i think without a background in robotics (or knowing what these darn bloqs mean), he's useless. **Please make better instructions**