PingPong Robot Cubes for STEAM Exploration

PingPong robot cubes help older kids understand how robots work and move to accomplish different goals.

With distance learning occurring on across the country, it’s harder for kids to get access to important STEAM learning tools, like robots, basic circuits, and technology.

Parents are becoming more involved in their children’s schooling as kids learn from home. 

As kids miss the interaction from their teachers and peers, they need attention from their parents more now than ever.

Parents know that kids learn a lot through play. 

As schools are focusing on the basics – math, language arts, social science, and science, this leaves the opportunity for parents to find STEAM toys to engage with their kids and help them learn.

PingPong Robot Cubes

Earlier this year while at CES, I found an innovative robot company that makes simple robot cubes that can be connected with other robot cubes and accessories to make the “robot” move.

The company is called Robo Risen and its product is PingPong Robots. 

PingPong cube robots are based on cubes and yellow plastic accessories to help them move.  But these cubes have a good amount of intelligence packed into them.

They can sense the orientation of the robot and any twists and turns. 

They have a built-in battery, Bluetooth, and a step motor to act as an axel to mechanically move things snapped into it.

And all PingPong cubes also have a magnetic charging port to connect magnetically with other cubes for pass-through charging from the cable.

Kids can build simple robots using the robot cubes and following instructions included in the box.

They can build further physical robot cubes by following the simple directions on the app.  We tried out the PingPong G2 Full Set which includes two robot cubes.  

Lots of Designs to Build

As each cube as a servo motor and rotating axel input, kids can easily attach wheels to create a car robot.

From the app, they can control it using the joystick or placing certain movements in a filmstrip to “code” and control their robot cube creation.

The film strip is even simpler than Scratch to direct the PingPong robot cubes and it’s a very engaging way for kids to play with their designs.

The G2 kit comes with 2 wheels and joints to connect its 2 robot cubes together, offering a huge number of robotic combinations for kids to invent.

I love this design.  If I were to ask a kid if this robot could move, most younger ones would say no because there are no wheels. 

But this robot design can move quite well and kids can see it work right in front of them, opening their eyes to new possibilities of movement.

In fact, there are many possibilities.  If your child likes playing with the two PingPong cubes, try getting two more for expanded possibilities.

But kids don’t need to stop here.  With a 3D printer, they can print additional accessories and invent new ones to make their creations come alive.  Designs are available on the PingPong website.

PingPong Robot Cubes

FEATURES:

• 300 mAh battery built into each cube
• The battery life can last up to 20 minutes for crawling robots, up to 60 minutes for wheeled robots
• Sensors include a gyro, acceleration, infrared proximity, origin sensor, and an IR remote in each cube
• Uses the latest Bluetooth 5.0
• Incorporates sound for a buzzer or creating a melody through coding
• magnetic charging terminal for pass-through charging through cubes
• Utilizes various LED colored lights
• Step motor for connecting for wheels and other things
• Automatically turns off after 5 minutes of inactivity to save battery power

PROS:

• Designed to move in different ways to support various designs
• Can charges several robot cubes at once by connecting them together (magnetically) with the charger
• Can be programmed using Scratch on the PC and even more advanced languages like Python
• 3D printed accessories can be created at home to enhance kids’ robot ideas
• The app comes with several ways to construct robots to get started
• Fun engaging play for kids – can program moves or use a “joystick” in the app
• The batteries in the robot cubes are rechargeable
• Kids use their creativity to build new PingPong robots with different motions

CONS:

• PingPong robots are made in Korea so there are some YouTube videos that are in Korean, but most of their website can be translated into English using Google.
• PingPong robots are not available on Amazon yet, but they are working on it

You can purchase the PingPong G2 Set from RobotShop for $136 plus shipping.

A Mom’s Perspective

What first intrigued me about the PingPong cube robots was their adaptability. 

Their modular designs allow kids to build a section at a time and explore movement by adding additional cubes and accessories.

I like that they are not cutesy robots with faces and personalities.  These are workhorse robots. 

In other words, the principles kids learn using PingPong cube robots can be used in understanding how factories build products. 

Learning more about the robot cubes’ movement and function will help kids see “robots” with a whole new view and appreciation of what they can do.

PingPong cube robots are a good STEAM toy for kids 8-16. 

If your child shows that s/he is very mechanically minded, (s/he likes to understand how things are built or work together), PingPong robots will be a big hit.

*I was given a PingPong G2 robot set in exchange for my honest opinion.  All expressed thoughts are my own.