project: parallax boe bot kit

Another update from a long time ago. This one from 2003 or so.

So I was at Radio Shack [...surprise...] and saw that they were selling this kit and thought it would be fun so I got one. A bit of history on the Boe bot, it has an uncontested reputation for being the de-facto robotics starter kit and has sold incredibly well. BOE stands for Board of Education, which is what they are calling the main board the microcontroller sits on. It has several inputs and a nice little breadboard so you can make test circuits without soldering. There are countless Boe bot modifications, hundreds of websites, books, even day camps for kids. Anyway, this is an inexpensive, fun, and super easy kit to build and play around with. If you want to kill a few hours or teach someone about robotics then I highly recommend this kit. There's no soldering involved, and it comes with all kinds of sensors, several programs on CD, and tons more available online. Like the Mini Sumo's, this kit is powered by a BASIC Stamp2 microcontroller that you program via a serial port to your PC. The kit is available at your local Radio Shack for under $150 here, or directly from Parallax.What does it do? Well, in less than one hour I've gotten mine to follow a beam of light, and chase a flashlight around the room. I've taught it to follow one of my Sumo bots around and not hit it, or anything else. I've also tested my Sumo code on it, which is fun as long as I don't let it slam into my foot or anything else.



As mentioned in earlier posts, you might need a serial (DB9) to USB adapter if you don't have a serial port. The adapter I've found best is the FTDI US232B USB-Serial Adapter.