UBTECH Alpha1 Pro - a programmable robot for children from 8 to 150



    It is no secret that in our time children receive much more than what their parents had in their childhood. Is this good or bad? It is not for us to judge; debates about this have been going on for several years. The farther, the more electronic devices and even robots become in each family. What you could only dream of before is now quite accessible (with a few reservations, of course) for a very wide range of customers.

    The fact that modern toys are high-tech is a big plus, since children can learn the basics of electronics and programming while playing. One of these cool toys is the UBTECH Alpha1 Pro robot. A programmable robot that boasts a range of interesting features.

    UBTECH has been creating robots for several years. It also makes relatively simple constructors that you can turnVoltron has almost anything and complex functional devices - for example, the Cruzr robot, which can help at home or in the office. The fact that the robot drives for coffee to the nearest coffee shop can not be expected, but to find an interlocutor in it is not a problem.

    What is in the box?




    The robot’s package bundle is minimalistic - it is it, a charger, a USB cable and a manual (read without fail, yes!). The system is controlled using an application for mobile devices - there is an option for both PC and mobile platforms.



    In order to start, you just need to download the application and turn on the robot, everything is as usual. However, the setup process runs smoothly, a lot of time is not required.



    Design


    The robot looks menacing. It’s good that he’s small, so if you met him somewhere in the dark, you could be scared. Alpha1 Pro is humanoid: two arms, two legs, a head. There is also a “backpack”, similar to a satchel of astronauts - this is the unit used to control, charge and turn on the robot.



    The unit has a power, stop button, power port and mini-USB port (yes, not micro, to our surprise). Whether the robot is active can be judged by its LED.

    The robot assembly is of high quality. We had to hold a bunch of different gadgets in our hands. This robot leaves behind the impression of a good build: no backlash, no gaps - nothing like that. Material - aluminum and plastic. Dropping the robot from the fifth floor (and other heights) is not recommended, but it can withstand the physical impact that is inevitable during its “work”. Over time, scratches can form, but what to do - the operation of gadgets always leaves traces.



    There are as many as 16 servos in our robot. Three are located in the hands and five are in the legs. There are a number of restrictions on freedom of movement, but this is not essential, so the robot fully fulfills its main purpose - it kills peopleallows you to have fun and get new information. There are LEDs that are especially effective in the dark. The robot can reproduce sound - for this it is equipped with a speaker (it is located right in the head). The servomotors are noisy, the audibility of sounds made by the robot is quite low.



    What can he do?


    When leaving the box, the robot can do exercises, show yoga asanas, dance or fight (it shows the skills of a fighter, he is without victims). The user can supplement the list by programming various movements.

    By the way, it's cool if there are several robots. In this case, they can show dancing in a group or fight. Well, if all this does not seem like it, you can play soccer. A little later, the creators of the robot promise to add features - in any case, make dancing more fun.





    In order to program the movements, you do not need a huge amount of knowledge. Everything is scripted here - to create a new movement, you need to execute it using software, and then “remember” it. Someone who has good imagination can have a wonderful time creating a dynamic robot dancer or gymnast. Movements can be limited in time.





    This we just talked about the phone. If you work with the robot from a PC or laptop, then there are even more opportunities. The program for the PC provides a 3D model, controlling which, you can create scripts for the movement of the robot.

    Unfortunately, the system does not have any sensors that allow it to stop near the wall and not rest its head. So when working with a robot, this is worth keeping in mind.

    You can also record your voice so that the robot learns to tell stories or even sing. There are simply no limits to creativity. Well, there is, but this limit will appear very soon.

    And what else?


    You cannot call a sophisticated robot. At the same time, the basic set of movements can be supplemented as you wish. A child (and an adult) can spend a lot of time programming movements.

    The work done can be saved by sharing script files with other users. So in order to understand what the robot can do and its limits, it’s worth downloading a couple of complex scripts, seeing what the robot will do.



    Yes, by the way, in that very “backpack” the robot has a battery. It lasts for about an hour of active work. During inactivity, less energy is consumed, although it should be borne in mind that even then the battery will burst.



    Our rating



    We played with the robot for a couple of days and we can say with confidence that for a child (children also took part in the study) this is an interesting, but expensive toy. It is unlikely that you can play with UBTECH Alpha1 Pro all day, but a couple of hours a day is quite possible.

    Using a robot, you can instill in your child an interest in electronics and robotics. When the capabilities of this particular robot will be few - you can begin to already serious things like programming and working with electronics.

    The instructions say that the audience of the robot is children over 8 years old, but taking into account the current acceleration, you can make a correction and say that kids are 5-6 years old (and many at this age are now able to read and write, plus working with a computer speaking of mobile devices) will also be able to useUBTECH Alpha1 Pro features .





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