Feb 4, 2019, 8:24:15 AM
Testers wanted!
View test report
PACKAGING & DESIGN
Please tell us how you liked the design of the construction kit and the presentation of the individual components in the construction kit. What did you particularly like and what would you perhaps improve?
The kit is amazing and has all the parts for a Bionics enthusiast and is easy enough to understand for any beginner. The fish assembly with the perfectly engineered flexible tail and fins makes it one of the best products in the market to learn the wavelike movement for aquatic robots. Every part, like the custom board with Wifi capabilities and battery slots, the motors, zip-ties, etc., have their own particular designed slot so it makes it really easy for mounting them. The larger zip-ties are pretty standard, so if you ever run out it'll be pretty easy to source them at the nearest hardware shop. Out of the 4 servos in the kit, the smallest one is designed specially for the water based application and that was pretty easy to figure out.
From an experienced maker's point of view, this is pretty easy to work with, but for teachers and students, it would be beneficial to have an assembly manual or some basic instructions included with the kit or text inside the bod mentioning that instructions can be found on the Bionic Robots page of https://www.bionics4education.com The cardboard casing is pretty solid and should survive shipping to most places with a good courier service like DHL or Fedex.
EXPLANATION OF THE BIONICS4EDUCATION kit
How well have we designed the explanation of the product range and building instructions? Are there elements you miss or would like to see better? Tell us about your impressions.
The instructions on the website are pretty thorough and easy to follow. The file downloads are grouped together on a separate pop-up of the website which is good.
BIONICS ANIMALS
How challenging was the assembly of the robotic animals for you? Were there many enlightening moments and surprises on the way? Were the artificial robotic animals in the construction kit able to convey to you the unique findings and optimisation strategies of our animal world and to translate them into technology?
The assembly is pretty straight forward on the website, but could include more details of the products not included in the kit, like the type of foam required or the type of sheet needed for the elephant trunk distance plates or the aesthetics of fish/chameleon. The fish design doesn't need any major external product besides what is in the kit, apart from a big water tank to let your fish roam free!
TECHNOLOGY AND OPERATION
Was the supplied technology easy to use? Was it a balance between ease of use and the need to get to know the latest technology? Have you had other experiences with similar technology that you want to share with us?
The design assembly is pretty easy to use, and with Arduino support, its also pretty easy to customize by following the instructions on https://www.bionics4education.com/repo/pdfs/microcontrollerreflash.pdf and writing your own code in the
CONSTRUCTION PLANS AND EXPANDABILITY
How did you like the product Bionics4Education engineering kit: moving and gripping? Were you able to find additional help? Were the building plans helpful for you and were you able to use them directly? Does the material help to give your creativity its own drive? Could we motivate you to add your own contributions?
If the 3D designs of the parts of the elephant trunk or fish/chameleon aesthetics were available in 3D format as well, they could be 3D printed and used over and over again without much wear-and-tear. For those who don't have access to 3D printers, the instructions on the website are more than sufficient.
TOTAL FACT
What was the overall impression of our Bionics4Education kit for you? Do you think with our offer we can win educational institutions on the one hand, enthusiastic makers on the other hand for us and help to open up the important field of bionics? What can we do to make ourselves better known and to get your recommendation? In which media, communities and groups would you see the information about Bionics4Education?
This kit can definitely be a stepping stone towards learning bionics in schools and even colleges. Makers will definitely be excited to tinker with the code and come up with new designs of what else can be achieved with adding different hardware. It would also be beneficial to sell some of the parts individually when replacements are needed in the future for the servo horn, and other parts which may be constantly used.