Check Out the mBot Ultimate 2.0 from Makeblock

What is the mBot Ultimate?

With the rapid advancements in technology and automation, getting kids interested in the STEM fields has never been more important. Makeblock is an educational robotics kit company that believes strongly in this mission, and their lineup of kits allows children of all ages to explore the world of robotics and programming without the need for soldering or overly complex code. Designed with older students in mind, the Makeblock mBot Ultimate kit 2.0 is a 10-in-1 set of parts with instructions for building tracked vehicles, a catapult, 3D capture rig, and several more useful projects. Even better, Bluetooth connectivity allows for users to move their robots with the Makeblock Remote Control App.

Unboxing

Everything arrived in a sturdy box with ample amounts of padding between the metal parts and electronics boards to keep them safe. The top layer held most of the structural components such as angle brackets, plates, and linear rails, along with three DC motors, a couple of cogs, and a gripper attachment. Below this sat the controller board, tracks, cables, and a wide variety of sensors for interacting with the world.

Some of the components

Responsible for controlling everything, the MegaPi is an ATmega2560-based microcontroller board with a variety of helpful features. DC motors are connected by first attaching a driver board to one of the four motor ports on the side. From here, the motor/encoder combination unit can be wired in and then easily programmed to move or read its current position.

On the opposite side is a series of pin headers which are meant for attaching the expansion port breakout board. This system of expansion boards allows for external modules to be safely connected via RJ11 cables and then easily programmed thanks to the port numbering system- no electrical engineering experience required!

The last section of the board is for connecting the Bluetooth radio module via Serial3 to the microcontroller if remote control access is wanted.

How is it programmed?

Because the mBot Ultimate kit is aimed at students across a wide age range, not everyone is going to have the same knowledge or skills when it comes to programming a robot. At the most basic level is a block-based coding editor similar to Scratch where users can drag-and-drop all kinds of code blocks to build their applications. After selecting a device such as one of the supported robots, new blocks are presented for gathering sensor data, moving the motors, and more.

For those wanting to use a Raspberry Pi as the controller, the MegaPi can be connected via a set of pin headers and loaded with the megapi_firmware. Then on the Pi, Python programs can be written with the help of the megapi Python package to access functions for GPIO, motors, sensors, displays, and the DSLR shutter module.

The last option, and the most flexible of the three, is directly programming the ATmega2560 with the Arduino IDE. The provided Makeblock library contains plenty of helper classes for motors and sensors, as well as dozens of pre-made sketches for the supported projects and countless variations of robot configurations.

Robot arm project

If you don't know where to start, Makeblock provides highly detailed and well-illustrated instructions for each of the ten official projects. The first project I built, a tracked robot arm, was listed in the booklet that came with the kit. It started with assembling the motors onto the chassis, attaching the gears, and adding the arm extension.

The last steps included connecting the gripper, the battery pack, the tracks, and most importantly, the MegaPi.

After installing the Makeblock app and flashing the MegaPi with the base firmware, I was able to drive it around and pick up objects.

Where to get one

The mBot Ultimate 2.0 kit from Makeblock is a great way to learn more about programming and robotics thanks to the detailed instructions and ready-made modules. If you would like to purchase one, you can visit the Makeblock store here.