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When I was my daughter's age (gosh do I sound old already) I had a programmable robot. It had two actuated wheels, a wobbly wheel, and 16 keys. 9 keys were numbers from 1 to 9, the other keys were "action keys" like forward, backwards, left turn, right turn, go.

You would typically play by first typing in a program, then letting it execute the program. For example, you pressed: forward, 7, right turn 3, sound, 3, back 3, left turn, 3, go. Then, the robot went forward 3 feet(-ish), turn right 90°, make a sound for 3 seconds ... You got the gist. Anyway, the main point is that you had a clear programming step and a clear execution step.

Unfortunately, when I search for "STEM robot" or "toy robot" or the like, I either get a remote controlled robot or a pre-programmed (e.g. follow the line) one.

Can anyone help me find a robot with a clear programming and a clear execution step? I'd rather have a "dump" programmable robot, i.e., no fancy "download this app" or "connect to WiFi". I want 100% education, 100% stalking.

user1202136
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    I'm not sure it's still a thing (hence the comment), but a few years ago Fisher-Price launched "Code-a-pillar", a caterpillar whose body was comprised of detachable parts, and each part represented an action (like move, turn, sound, etcétera); you could assemble the body however you wanted, and the caterpillar would perform those actions in order – Josh Part Apr 11 '22 at 20:05
  • Nowadays you can do whatever you want with a raspberry PI! You can make it look like a toy if you want with different cases. It is trully modifiable. – S. Dre Apr 12 '22 at 06:41
  • If you had a programmable robot when you were a child, you don't sound so old to me. OTOH, you're making me feel old. – Barmar Apr 12 '22 at 16:20
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    Should that be 100% education, 0% stalking? – bdsl Apr 12 '22 at 23:56
  • https://www.teaching.com.au/catalogue/mta/mta-ict-robotics-bee-bot – mgh42 Apr 13 '22 at 01:52
  • @Barmar It came out in 1979. – J... Apr 13 '22 at 10:56
  • The VEX IQ robotics systems are pretty good for children 2nd grade and up. It offers both text-based (C++ or python) or graphical (block) programming. The child can write fully autonomous programs, use a wireless X-Box-like controller to send commands to the robot, or some combination of those two. The child can build the robot from instructions or make their own using the parts in the kit. It's a very nice system with lots of learning opportunities in both programming and mechanical design. VEX robotics also holds competitions worldwide that the child can compete in if they so choose. – user4574 Apr 13 '22 at 14:24
  • I would recommend getting her started on the python programming language. It has a cool module called 'turtle' (actually very simillliar to the one you are describing). It basically pops up a little canvas on the screen, and you give it commands like left(90), forward(12), shape('turtle'), speed('10'), etc. Its cool because it replicates a basic robot, but she can use it to learn more complicated programming techniques. If you are interested, I can write some basic python turtle scripts you can play around with, to teach her the basics. – Kovy Jacob Apr 25 '22 at 23:49

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I don't know how old your daughter is, but we have recently bought this programmable robot toy for a 4 yo:

Andy from Xtrem Bots (YouTube ad)

It is pretty simple but for a toddler seemed interesting enough. And yes, you program a move sequence first, and then press a button for its execution. The toy seems available on Amazon and in some other online stores.

Anca
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Try Big Trak. This is a rereleased version of a toy that was very popular in the 1980's(!). Here is the original TV advert to give you an idea what to expect.

Summary: A toy vehicle that you can program with movement commands through a simple interface on the chassis.

J...
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DrMcCleod
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I want to mention the Lego Mindstorms NXT. The official age is 10+, but with all the flexibility it offers (it even has an own programming language), it can be a challenge even for fully grown-up engineers.

One of my favourite creations I have seen is this segway built using two motors and a gyro sensor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7ei2QwJzws

MaxD
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I have a Cubetto for my daughter - we got it when she was 3 or 4 but my eldest son played with it most until she was 5 or 6. All three of my kids love it and I can set challenges for each of them to complete based on their skill level. They like playing with recursion particularly :)

https://www.primotoys.com/

mjaggard
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Very surprisingly, I recommend a game - check out Lightbot (Hour of Code)!
https://lightbot.com/hour-of-code.html
This is just a website (or optionally a phone app), but an incredible introduction to programming with a limited set of (perfect) instructions in a friendly, entertaining, and convenient wrapper

I normally abhor handing out phone games to children, but this is such a good and simple example of what you're after, I believe it's worth the exception (I'm not related to the project, but the idea has stuck with me and I've even showed it to adults who learned about functions and took great enjoyment from it!)

You don't say how old your daughter is, but Sparkfun has terrific Arduino-based kits, which require a computer to program them, but may be much more interesting and flexible than a series of buttons
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/15631

ti7
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You could probably get into some kid friendly raspberry PI projects. Something like getting PI to automate a chicken incubator. Have a little coup where you house the eggs and then hooking up 4 heat sensors. You can then program the heat sensors to put heat lamp on whenever the temperature in the coup drops below the minimum temperature and have it turn the heat lamps of when the sensor sees the temperature has hit the max.

Neil Meyer
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When I was in middle school my parents got me the Lego NXT Mindstorm. It had a ton of robot builds and programming guides to follow, and even more optional things to get later (obviously, lego is trying to turn a profit after all). I loved it.

It is also possible to blow away the OS on the computer it comes with to then run javascript instead of having to use the lego nxt's "drag and drop" programming interface.

FTolk
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There's a variety of robots around that could work.

Here are some examples I found online:

https://www.amazon.com/KINGSDRAGON-Rechargeable-Intelligent-Programmable-Interactive/dp/B07RWLZSQP

https://www.amazon.com/fisca-Control-Handstand-Electronic-Programmable/dp/B07XYPNPVS

https://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Programmable-Remote-Gestures-Control/dp/B088D6ZCC6

https://www.amazon.com/Ruko-Programmable-Control-Response-Bluetooth/dp/B08S3VFSQM

https://www.amazon.com/YARMOSHI-Remote-Control-Smart-Robot-Toy/dp/B07GXTRV3Z

https://www.amazon.com/WowWee-Robosapien-Function-Humanoid-Control/dp/B0007SXAI4

https://www.amazon.com/Fistone-Dinosaur-Intelligent-Interactive-Electronic/dp/B0797SS7BC

https://www.amazon.com/RACPNEL-Control-Interactive-Intelligent-Programmable/dp/B083BVPHP6

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Your-Fun-Robo-Robot/dp/B07W9G6WCR

These all have simple remotes or an app to control them, with a programing mode. They do have pre-set controls, but that can be useful to show just what the robot is capable of.

I have the original Robosapien and even that was programmable with the remote.

*I'm not advocating any one brand or retailer, these are just the first results that came up and Amazon is simply easy to search.

**I haven't used any of these robots myself, but speaking as a professional software developer and amateur roboticist, these seem extremely simple to use and program without any knowledge of programming languages.

computercarguy
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  • As it is, this feels like a list of products first rather than an explanation of why each of these things are good choices. – Sean Duggan Apr 26 '22 at 13:57
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This code-a-pillar from Fisher Price sounds almost exactly like what you described in your post.

ribs2spare
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