JR0602 Jimu Robot BuzzBot & MuttBot - App Enabled STEM Learning Robotic Building Block Kit

The media could not be loaded.  Be certain to begin with the Muttbot because it is much more stable (four legs) and fun to watch immediately after building it. We actually started with the robot, but it wasn’t very stable and fell over frequently – breaking off a leg in the process of falling. So we disassembled it and built the Muttbot. We were almost ready to give up on the standing robot. Ideally you need a large screen tablet or phablet to assemble and control the robots. There are no written instructions anywhere. You follow 3D visual images of the various parts that are needed to build the end product sequentially. Then you need the same cell phone or tablet to control the robotic creatures. There appear to be several other creatures that can be built from this same set of parts, but we haven’t tried to disassemble the Muttbot yet. It seems almost inhumane to disassemble such a cute Muttbot. They only advertise the Muttbot and the Robot, but they show an ostrich, bull, wolf, elephant, giraffe, rhino and perhaps others you can build. But it isn’t absolutely clear you can build them with the parts they include in this kit. But the parts do look like the same exact parts that you use to build the robot and Muttbot – just fewer parts.Speaking of parts – there are a lot of tiny parts in this kit and they are very easy to lose. So make absolutely certain that you clear off a table and sort the parts into perhaps some plastic storage bins such as clear plastic bin boxes that you can see through to know which parts are where. There are some larger subassemblies that are not as small, but still small enough to misplace. Voice of experience. There are several short small electrical cables with small connectors on the ends. But very sure where you are plugging them because they will fit in any of the connector receptacles. Once these connects are in place, they are not easy to remove. Do not pull with the tiny wires or you may pull out only the wire and ruin the electrical cable permanently. They do not appear to give you any spare electrical cables or subassemblies either. I had to use a sharp knife point to gently tug the sides of the connector plugs out of the receptacles. The tops of the plugs are almost flush with the surface leaving you almost no way to grab the plugs to pull them out.Ideally you should use a dedicated old cell phone or tablet with this robotic kit. I had a virtually new cell phone suddenly stop receiving text messages that I used to build and control the robots. The larger the screen on the phone or tablet the better. There is a basic software sample for each item, but you can edit the moves to make it do anything it is capable of doing. That’s the slow and tedious part of this kit and it may seem boring to work so hard to make even simple changes – especially if your child has a short attention span. The easy part is assembly. The more difficult challenge is editing and creating more robotic movements. That for sure is probably for kids older than eight – probably considerably more than eight. I would have done anything for something like this in my childhood.For now I am about to see how my 6 year old granddaughter will respond to this after Christmas. Her birthday is a couple of weeks afterwards. Her parents are both PhD level in physics and chemistry and have been tutoring her since birth, but that’s absolutely no guarantee she can handle this at her age. Worst case, she will have to wait a year or so. It is a matter of attention span at too early an age. This is not a toy that will be easily outgrown in a short period of time. This will be great even into the teen years. There are much more advanced models than this one. This is only the base beginner’s model. However, this will still demand considerable attention to detail and methodical implementation to be successful. Don’t expect too much too fast. You don’t want to frustrate them too much or they may lose interest. There’s a delicate balance to be achieved and that may take time and patience. Some interaction and guidance between parents and children is probably essential, depending upon age and dexterity and mostly degree of interest.With that in mind, I give this learning kit my highest recommendation. My wife is much younger and she thoroughly enjoyed being the tester. I would have waited until Christmas to review this, but the Vine program requires that I have to write a review now in time for other people to decide whether to buy this for their children or grandchildren at Christmas. This will make a very fun project for any age appropriate child to enjoy. It is a learning experience that may prove valuable for their future career. Just make sure you don’t lose any of the parts. I cannot stress this enough. And charge up the rechargeable battery as soon as possible. It’s a bit anticlimatic to build something and have to wait for the battery to charge.

This is a wonderfully thought out robot kit. Superbly presented and simple to build. My 10 year old daughter built it under supervision. The tool for the connectors allows you to insert AND remove the connectors with no fuss (or pliers).The build instructions are great. Very reminiscent of Lego instructions only in rotatable electronic form on the iPad. Once you complete the lady step the app goes right to pairing the robot with the iPad which it did immediately. My daughter was able to play with the preprogrammed movements and creat some of her own right away. Motion is smooth and connection was a breeze.I would say if you are unfortunate enough to have an issue, persist and get it sorted out because this really is a very nice product.I paid $110 and it was worth every penny.I have spent more and got way less before now. If you child is disinterested it won’t be the fault of the product, may be it’s just not their thing.For presentation, ease of use, the pence of accomplishment my daughter got completing it and see it come to life. I would score this with a 6 if I could.

My daughter freaked out about the technical aspects of this and hasn't finished it, to my disappointment. She had been pushing to get more involved in science and technology. It doesn't seem complicated to me or my son, but she won't let us touch it!

Purchased for our son who is into robots and coding. He was able to build the robot on his own and enjoys making it dance. Great for 8+ kids who are into robots and coding. Everything worked well as far as the signal from the Ipad to the robot, the joints move surprisingly well and he is quite charming. A great addition to our robot family. This is our second robot from this brand and I have to say they don't disappoint.

My 10 yo put this together in a matter of hours - fun to see him controlling its movements through the iPad!

We have had this set since August. It was fun for the kids to put it together. The robot was cute. However, it took me a very long time to disassemble the robot. My husband has to use a plier to drag some fasteners out. Needless to say, some fasteners did not survive. Also, the plastic wrapped the wires is extremely thin. When the robot got tangled, the mechanism scraped the plastic open leaving naked wire. The wire still works but it is extremely unforgiven.

This is a follow up review. We previously reported a false issue of missing parts with 3-start rating. The customer service personnel responded promptly. When trying to get back with the details, I learned that the kids chose Meetbot, instead of Buzzbot. I am revising the rating to 5 start now. Hope the product can last long.

My first impression was that Jimu would be a nice but delicate toy. It resulted that is not only a toy or any toy!! It is a great opportunity for your kids to learn more about robotics and coding, while they play. The degree of movements and the shape designed for Jimu, just make it a funny way to teach easily your kids about new technologies.

Muy buen juguete, bastante sofisticado, recomiendo sea para niños de más de 8 años por tener piezas muy pequeñas, una vez armado es genial verlo moverse desde tu celular