WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:06.879 Ever since I and the rest of Linus Media Group signed up for CES 2014, I've 00:00:04.880 --> 00:00:11.599 received hundreds, perhaps thousands of spammy promotional emails. It's mostly 00:00:09.360 --> 00:00:15.759 nonsense and garbage products, and I've been clearing it out as usual when one 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:20.640 of them finally caught my eye. Meet the Embot, a $49 STEM educational robot for 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:24.800 children. I've been interested in robotics ever since I was a kid. So, 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:49.200 let's find out if the Embot can live up to its promise of one robot per child. 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:56.480 First things first, $49 is just the Kickstarter price. If you want an Embot 00:00:53.680 --> 00:01:01.840 today, it'll cost you $79. That doesn't include shipping. And on top of that, I 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:04.239 had to pay DHL $20 in import fees from 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:07.920 Taiwan. And I'm not the only one. Anyway, let's take a look at what we get 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:11.200 in the box. There's the MCore microchip, which is the brain of the robot, 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:16.320 ultrasonic and light sensors, a Bluetooth module if you got the Bluetooth version, two gears that will 00:01:14.240 --> 00:01:19.759 be used as wheels, two motors to power the wheels, a little ball wheel, a 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:24.159 battery pack, a single piece aluminum chassis, an IR remote with no included 00:01:22.240 --> 00:01:28.479 battery, a testing mat, a motor shaft repair kit, an instructional booklet, a 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:32.960 screwdriver, and some screws, bolts, and cables. Assembly is supposed to take 10 00:01:30.880 --> 00:01:36.680 easy minutes, but it took me longer for a couple of reasons. Like, why are the 00:01:35.119 --> 00:01:40.720 instructions supposed to be read clockwise? Also, the included 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:44.400 screwdriver is only compatible with one type of screw. There's no easy way to 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:46.960 tighten the bolts, and the instructions fail to mention that there's a hex 00:01:45.759 --> 00:01:51.040 wrench on the other side of the screwdriver bit. Once the MCore 00:01:49.119 --> 00:01:55.200 microchip has been screwed on, detaching the velcroed on battery pack and 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:59.360 managing cables is quite difficult since there's not much room. Also, one of the 00:01:57.119 --> 00:02:03.520 wires on one of my motors was completely detached. This was an easy fix for me, 00:02:01.759 --> 00:02:07.520 but I did some research and it turns out the quality assurance on the motors in 00:02:05.360 --> 00:02:11.200 particular has been a problem for Make Block before. Anyway, with the robot 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:14.720 assembled, it's finally time to download and install the MBLOC software. But 00:02:13.440 --> 00:02:19.120 first, you have to manually install Adobe Air if you don't have it already. 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:22.640 Then you can install the MBLOC software. But according to the video instructions, 00:02:20.959 --> 00:02:26.800 before I can get to programming, there's still more I need to do. First, I need 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:31.599 to select the MBOT board. Then select the MBOT extension. Then you have to 00:02:28.480 --> 00:02:33.360 select COM 28 as the serial port. I 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:38.400 looked everywhere for COM28 until realizing that it's referring to a USB 00:02:35.440 --> 00:02:42.640 port and COM 4 works just as well. And then you have to update the firmware. 00:02:41.040 --> 00:02:47.200 And after that, you still have to download, install, and link Arduino 00:02:45.040 --> 00:02:51.440 drivers until finally you can start uploading code to the MBOT. That's a lot 00:02:49.760 --> 00:02:55.760 of steps to go through before you've even started programming. Sure, it all 00:02:53.599 --> 00:03:00.080 seems obvious once you know what to do, but the Embot is supposed to be a 00:02:57.440 --> 00:03:04.480 starter robot for children. Kids and Linus Media Group employees need very 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:09.280 clear, comprehensive instructions with as few steps and as little frustration 00:03:06.720 --> 00:03:12.720 as possible. Anyway, I finally got to programming with the MBLOCK software. 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:17.519 Now, this is actually a modified version of Scratch, which was developed by MIT 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:20.640 to teach kids about programming. Scratch is pretty cool, and it reminds me of 00:03:19.040 --> 00:03:24.400 when I was a kid learning programming with Game Maker 5. The Scratch 00:03:22.720 --> 00:03:28.879 programming automatically converts itself into Arduino code which is ready 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:32.720 to be uploaded onto the embot. I think that's pretty cool since it makes it 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:38.080 easy to see exactly what the graphical scratch programming looks like in real 00:03:35.440 --> 00:03:42.000 textbased code. Anyway, I went through all the videos and programmed the embot 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:46.400 as instructed and I tried a bunch of my own programming. Programming the embot 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:50.560 is mostly straightforward, but only when it works. More on that later. The video 00:03:48.640 --> 00:03:54.319 tutorials give you a few ideas of what the embot can do, but I ran out of 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:58.319 tutorials quickly, and I found myself thinking, "Is that all?" The most 00:03:56.720 --> 00:04:02.640 interesting things you can do, in no particular order, are follow a line, 00:04:00.239 --> 00:04:06.799 crudely, avoid obstacles, and remote control the ambot with the remote or 00:04:04.720 --> 00:04:10.080 Bluetooth. You can also make colored LEDs flash and make noise with the 00:04:08.720 --> 00:04:14.400 buzzer, but you don't really need a robot for that. And you can detect the 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:18.880 ambient brightness of the room with the included light sensor on the M core, but 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:22.400 I don't really see the point. And even the associated tutorial doesn't do 00:04:20.799 --> 00:04:26.960 anything with it except display the value on screen. I feel like it would 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:31.120 have been better to use this in place of the current two bottom-mounted line 00:04:28.960 --> 00:04:38.240 following light sensors, which can only detect black or white, meaning that it 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:41.040 only has four states, zero, 1, 2, and 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:45.280 three. This makes smooth PID line following impossible. Also, I don't see 00:04:43.440 --> 00:04:50.479 that there's any way to do more than one thing at a time, like flashing LEDs 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:54.160 while simultaneously line following. Two different things which shouldn't 00:04:51.919 --> 00:04:58.320 interfere, but they do. It all gets lumped together. This is because of the 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:02.560 decision to base the embot on Arduino, which doesn't support multi-threading. 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:06.479 Bummer. I mean, maybe this is all just an issue of expectation management. The 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:09.919 Kickstarter campaign really had me excited for the Embot, but you need 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:14.240 additional hardware to do some of the cool things they show off. The stock 00:05:11.840 --> 00:05:18.400 Embot only assembles in one way, and it comes with just two motors for the two 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:22.639 wheels, though the RJ25 ports can support more motors. If you want extra 00:05:20.320 --> 00:05:25.440 sensors or a robotic ARM for your Embot, you'll have to buy those. This is par 00:05:24.320 --> 00:05:29.520 for the course when it comes to robotics, but because of the Embot's 00:05:27.440 --> 00:05:33.680 single piece aluminum chassis, it's not nearly as modular as other robotics 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:38.080 kits. This may be a good or a bad thing depending upon what you want the MBOT 00:05:35.520 --> 00:05:42.320 for. The hardware is fine. It's the MB block software that has issues. It was 00:05:40.400 --> 00:05:46.400 frustrating to install and even more frustrating to use. Sometimes the MBOT 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:50.560 wouldn't be detected and sometimes it wouldn't accept code. And here's a 00:05:48.479 --> 00:05:55.039 strange problem. It seems like after you upload your first Arduino code to the 00:05:52.320 --> 00:05:58.960 MBOT, certain Scratch script modules no longer work, even though they previously 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:03.440 did work, as shown in the video tutorials. Also, at some point I lost 00:06:01.520 --> 00:06:07.759 the ability to upload code from my work computer completely. I kept getting this 00:06:05.840 --> 00:06:11.759 error. Also, I could never get the ultrasonic sensor to work. No matter 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:16.400 what computer I used, I kept getting the error undefined reference to count pulse 00:06:13.840 --> 00:06:20.319 ASM. I told make block about my software problems and they quickly updated the 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:24.880 software. Now the ultrasonic sensor works and I can upload code from my work 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:28.800 computer again. That's great. But then all my LED programming became 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:32.720 non-functional and I had to redo it. There are still other issues with the 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:37.199 software. I sincerely hope that these remaining problems can also be resolved. 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:41.680 If they are, the MBOT could be a worthwhile purchase. Overall, I spent 00:06:39.440 --> 00:06:45.680 more time trying to get the MBOT to work than I did actually programming and 00:06:43.440 --> 00:06:49.680 using it. Now, there's a graphic on the Kickstarter page favorably comparing the 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:53.600 MBOT to three other competing robotic systems. At first glance, it looks like 00:06:51.440 --> 00:06:57.919 the MBOT is clearly superior. Then, you look a little closer and realize, wait a 00:06:55.600 --> 00:07:01.440 minute, an RGB LED isn't a sensor. Neither is a buzzer. And these other 00:06:59.599 --> 00:07:05.039 robots are poorly represented. For example, the Lego Mindstorm's 00:07:02.960 --> 00:07:08.800 educational base set has a ton of stuff not listed in this graphic. There's a 00:07:06.880 --> 00:07:13.280 touch sensor, lots of gears, wheels, and beams, an integrated display with 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:17.840 buttons, a speaker, and enclosed PCP, and three servo motors with built-in 00:07:15.599 --> 00:07:21.599 tachometers for a total of nearly 500 parts with nearly unlimited ways to 00:07:19.840 --> 00:07:27.280 assemble it all. Of course, it's a more expensive $250, and this came out 8 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:31.440 years ago. The Parallax Arduino Shield seems like a much more fair comparison, 00:07:29.520 --> 00:07:35.360 and it certainly looks like the Embot has much better hardware for less money, 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:39.199 but I can't say for sure since I've never used the Parallax Arduino Shield 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:44.160 robot kit. I've also never used the VEX IQ robot. But hey, VEX, Parallax, Lego 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:49.039 Tetricx. If you guys want to send any of your robots to us for a review, go right 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:54.639 ahead. I'll review it. Get in here. So, anyway, here's the question. If the MBOT 00:07:51.440 --> 00:07:56.160 really was $50 total, and if all the 00:07:54.639 --> 00:08:01.759 problems with the software were resolved, would the MBOT be a worthwhile 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:05.680 purchase? Sure. At that point, the only issue I can see is that any kid who's 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:09.599 really interested in robotics is going to quickly outgrow the Embot because of 00:08:07.520 --> 00:08:14.240 its limited hardware and singular method of construction. That makes a product 00:08:11.840 --> 00:08:17.599 like the Embot more appropriate for educational settings where kids can 00:08:15.919 --> 00:08:21.360 learn everything they can from it and then move on to bigger and better 00:08:19.280 --> 00:08:26.560 things, allowing the next group of kids to have their turn. It's not necessary 00:08:23.840 --> 00:08:31.360 for every single child to own an Embot since every kid is not going to care 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:36.240 about robotics. So, if you or your child or your class is interested in robotics, 00:08:33.760 --> 00:08:39.760 I cannot recommend the Embot. There are plenty of more wellestablished brands 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:44.000 for you to choose from like VEX Robotics, Tetris, Mindstorms, and so on. 00:08:42.479 --> 00:08:48.240 I recommend that you spend the extra money and get a robotics kit that will 00:08:45.839 --> 00:08:51.360 allow a much greater range of learning and 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:54.399 experimentation. And on the subject of fixing things and putting stuff 00:08:52.640 --> 00:08:58.640 together, today's episode sponsor is iFixit. You've probably used or at least 00:08:56.800 --> 00:09:02.480 read one of the thousands of in-depth tearowns or guides available on their 00:09:00.800 --> 00:09:05.839 site. But what you might not know is that they also have a great line of 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:09.600 professional electronics tools. The crown jewel of their lineup is the 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:13.680 ProTek toolkit, which I use quite a bit, and Linus gets pretty annoyed when I 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:19.120 misplace it. 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And if so, what do you 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:58.560 think about it? Are you guys interested in seeing more videos about robotics in 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:02.399 the future? And how do you feel about me, Taran, as a host? Hello, by the way, 00:10:00.560 --> 00:10:06.560 if you haven't seen me before. Let us know in the comments. Anyway, time for 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:09.440 Linus' new outro. If this video sucked, you know what to do. But if it was 00:10:07.760 --> 00:10:12.880 awesome, get subscribed, hit the like button, or even consider supporting us 00:10:11.040 --> 00:10:17.040 directly by using our affiliate code to shop at Amazon, buying a cool t-shirt 00:10:14.880 --> 00:10:19.839 like this one, or with a direct monthly contribution. Now that you're done doing 00:10:18.560 --> 00:10:23.920 all that, you're probably wondering what to watch next. So, click that little eye 00:10:22.079 --> 00:10:28.160 button up in the top right hand corner to check out Thug Life Daydream, which 00:10:27.040 --> 00:10:33.760 well, you're just going to have to see it on our other channel. Channel Super 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:44.230 Fun. I'll see you around.