A Self-Balancing Robot Kit with Intel Edison and RoboCORE Controller
A week ago, I bought a new robot toy. It was simple: I press the well-known “buy” button.
I think I did a good deal.
Today I saw the Ralph kit, a self-balancing robot designed for Intel Edison.
Self-Balancing Telepresence Robot Kit for Intel Edison
The kit costs $340. The list of components is quite long and include the 2WD platform, a RoboCORE controller, an Edison Intel board and a camera. The 2WD platform has attached on one side the camera while two bumpers attached to the upper part of the platform offer protection from falls.
The kit include:
- 1x RoboCORE
- 1x USB camera
- 1x Edison Intel
- 10x Full Ralph open-sourced PMMA set
- 4x Full Ralph open-sourced 3D printed set
- 2x Wheels
- 2x Couplings for wheels
- 2x Motors
- 1x Servomotor MG90S
- 4x Steel brackets
- 1x MPU-9250 sensor
- 2x Battery packs
- 2x Bumpers
- 2x Micro rubber phone bumpers
- 114x Full Ralph bolts and nuts set
- 1x RoboCORE cables
- 1x Glue
Back View for the Self-Balancing Telepresence Robot Kit for Intel Edison
I don’t know whether or not it is worth considering that I already have an Intel Edison board at home, and I can buy a self-balancing platform for $86.69. So, if I would like to build a telepresence robot like Ralph, I have to buy the RoboCORE controller ($114) plus a web camera ($25?) and the self-balancing platform ($86.69). In total, I have to spend around $226 without the Intel Edison board, which is around $42. Finally, the final cost is around $268.
The RoboCORE controller is the funny part of this kit. It’s a development platform compatible with prototyping platforms such as Intel Edison and Raspberry Pi. It’s also compatible with the LEGO Mindstorms kits.
As a conclusion, if you have at home an Intel Edison, think twice before pressing the “buy” button. If not, the platform may be a good solution to stop wasting your time to search parts in different stores.
