DIY Dragon Robot Flies in to Teach Kids Code

STEM robot toys come in all sorts of shapes these days. For example, something like the Sphero Bolt, basically a see-through, light-up ball may kids’ imaginations left wanting but keeps things simple, while the tank vibes of the DJI RoboMaster S1 certainly make a statement. Today, UBTech Robotics released a pair of robots with some interesting form factors, including one that would make Game of Thrones’ Daenerys envious.

FireBot

Unfortunately, UBTech still isn’t ready to launch its incredible humanoid robot butler, but this dragon robot is ready to soar in and help teach kids about coding. From its large, red wings, to the fiery look in its eyes and gracious horns, the FireBot Kit looks ferocious. The robotic dragon is part of UBTech’s Jimu Robot Mythical Series, which already includes UnicornBot Kit, whose shape we’re sure you can guess.

But before kids can start hanging out with and programming this dragon, they get the fun and learning experience of building the robot themselves, with instructions displayed on Jimu’s free Android or iOS app.

After the FireBot is built, kids can code it using Blockly, a block coding program that looks similar to Scratch. Depending on your mood, you can make FireBot a fire-breathing or ice-breathing dragon by having its snout’s LED light turn red or blue when it opens its mouth. You can also give the dragon some life, by coding it to flap its wings as it moves forward. That’s just the start. According to Jimu, with its app kids can create custom sequences, no matter how experienced they are at programming, which isn’t farfetched considering the simple block coding.

Each FireBot features:

• 3 servo motors for smooth motion
• 1 DC motors for fast movements
• 4 gears
• 1 touch sensor
• 1 RGB LED light
• 2 sets of wings
• 606 parts and connectors

ChampBot

For the more competitive STEM learners, there’s the ChampBot Kit, part of the Jimu Robot Competitive Series. It’s not a true battle bot, like DJI’s RoboMaster S1 or GJS’ Geio. But it does let kids play games, such as catapulting a ball through a hoop, which is included for kids to build. You can also program ChampBot to race toward a goal, perhaps one with obstacles for the bot to avoid.

The fun of ChampBot, which kids also build, is that it can take three different forms. However, you’ll need to look pretty closely to notice the differences, as they all look pretty similar. The different forms seem more about enabling different activities. With its competitive nature, the ChampBot one-ups the FireBot with one more DC motor, while its IR sensor also has implications for different types of coding, like circumnavigating objects.

Each ChampBot includes:

• 3 servo motors for smooth motion
• 2 DC motor for fast movements
• 1 IR sensor 
• 3 multi-colored balls 
• 1 buildable basketball hoop 
• Decorate stickers and cards 
• 522 parts and connectors

Both bots are available for $129.99 each at Amazon, Target and Ubtech’s website, Ubtrobot.com.