The best robots for schools help make coding, math, and engineering education fun and engaging for students of all ages.
Robots for education are generally toy-like systems that require children to build them before using coding to control movements and perform other tasks. If you’re specifically looking for coding, with less importance on the robot building side, then the The best coding kits for schools. it might be worth a look.
Not all robots are created equal, especially when it comes to education. You need to consider a wide range of prices, complexity, encoding types, capacities, sizes, and more. Therefore, you may want the simplest bot that is ideal for teaching younger students. Or maybe you’re looking for a complex robot that works with multiple types of code to help familiarize students with real-world code that they can use in a job one day.
Whatever the need, this guide aims to present the best robots for schools, with each one’s special abilities listed front and center, so you can easily find the best robot for you.
1. Petoi Bittle Robot Dog: general selection of the best robots for schools
He Petoi little robot dog It is one of the best built quality robots you can buy for education right now. This DIY robot dog can be ordered pre-made or as a kit that you build as part of the process. It comes in three forms: Bittle Stem, Bittle Robotics, and Bittle X. The main difference is that the X uses the open source OpenCat ESP32 quadruped robotics framework, while the other two use OpenCat. So for most schools, the first two will be more than enough.
Build the dog following helpful instructions, then students can adjust tensions and perform tests to make sure the robot is set up correctly. It can then be coded to perform movements and even respond to voice commands. Use pre-programmed moves through the app, or create and even edit your own.
The servo-powered robot is perfect for STEM, robotics, coding, and even ai education. An optional camera module allows for more complex feedback where the robot can interact with its environment. The robots offer truly impressive agility and movements that, until recently, were reserved for high-end premium robotics kits, bringing them closer to more children.
2. Makebot mBot – Best for Beginners
Makebot mBot is a great robotics kit system for teaching kids ages around eight and up about robotics, coding, engineering, and STEM. Fortunately, this is built using common components that can be found in the world of industrial robotics, making it a great way for students to learn about real-world robotics.
Building the bot is relatively simple, with 3D instructions to help students work with it and learn to work alone or in groups, without much teacher guidance. Once built, it is possible to enjoy gamified lessons that teach more code-based content.
While the original setup is fun and offers a few pre-programmed options to get you started right away, there is the option to expand. You may want to spend more in your budget for additional components if you want to get the most out of this in terms of the broader learning setup for mechatronics.
3. Sphero Bolt: the best robot for coding
The Sphero Bolt is one of the best rolling robots from this company that has made a name for itself over the years by offering just that. This generation of the Sphero robot is all about coding. That means it’s not only fun to play with while learning, but it also offers real-world coding to teach students for the future. Use Scratch or JavaScript-based coding to command the robot to perform real-world actions – empowering, fun, and educational all in one.
While this robot isn’t so much about the building process, it does offer a translucent body so students can see the internal mechanics and understand how everything works. The robot features programmable sensors and an LED array, offering many ways to interact and program the machine. Control flipping, flipping, colors, and more using encoding options, which also include C-based OVAL.
4. JIMU AstroBot Series: Cosmos Kit – Best for Younger Students
The JIMU AstroBot: Cosmos Kit series is a really fun way to not only teach robotics and coding, but also think about space at the same time. This robot can be built in three versions to become AstroBot, Rover or Astron. Each has their own skills and abilities, allowing children to get the most out of this setup.
Helpfully, this works with iOS and Android apps, which cover most devices, but not all, so check before you buy. This app provides 3D animated guidance on the building process so that children can build the kit relatively independently.
Students can program the robots to physically move, walking or rolling, but they can also control the lights and sound effects that the robot is capable of offering. It’s worth noting that while this works with the Blocky app, you can also use other languages like Scratch to code this bot’s commands, making it useful for both older kids and for specific coding instruction.
5. Lego Boost: the best for building
LEGO Impulse It’s a lot of fun to build and work with, and it’s also designed to be very educational when it comes to STEM. This setup will test students to build robots, with many variations possible for different end results. This is done using a clear app-based guide that makes it accessible to even the youngest students.
Once built, it is possible to code with the robot to perform real-world actions. It uses block-based coding, which is color-based and specific to Lego. So while this helps teach the basics of block-based coding, in a way that’s useful to even the youngest students, it won’t go much deeper. So for those looking for really complex coding lessons from their robot, this may seem a little simplistic. This can also work with other connected LEGO pieces, making expansion and greater complexity possible.
6. Elegoo Smart Robot Car V4 – Best for Challenge Ranges
He Elegoo V4 Smart Robot Car is a super fun robot car build that is difficult to build but offers learning from beginners to more advanced coders. Built on the Arduino system, it is very affordable and has tons of features thanks to the 24 different module types included in this kit.
The robot can use many modules for various levels of control, including obstacle avoidance, a line following module, infrared remote control, app controls, and more. A helpful tutorial is available to get you started building without needing much more help, but it’s probably best for students around 8 years old or older. The coding language is block-based, making learning simpler for even the youngest users.
