Contempo Views Edison Robot V2 Programmable Educational Bot STEM Coding Kit. Package Includes EdCreate, IR Remote, Carrying Case, USB with Software, Resources & Lesson Plans.

From its description, this seems like the perfect cost-effective alternative to Lego Mindstorm. It has collision and light sensors as well as multiple ways to program it. It has a cool barcode scanning interface where you print out some barcodes from their website and the Edison drives over them to learn certain pre-programmed behaviors. Kids can then move on to a drag-n-drop programming interface and then on to python. So it's programmable by all different ages and skill levels.However, the reason why it gets 3 stars is because it's really finicky. I've tried programming simple remote control commands but I'm yet to get it responding to simple forward,backward,left,right commands from the remote. New commands interfere or wipe out previously programmed ones. Also, while I think sending programs via the audio output of a computer or tablet is a cool way of enabling compatibility, it is a headache for desktops that have audio output in the back. I also found that my Fire tablet does not generate enough volume for the Edison to receive programs. I was hoping I could just let my kids play with these on their own but it's little annoyances like these that requires an adult to come in and troubleshoot. I wanted my kids to explore introductory robotics, not watch their dad browse the web on why their Edison isn't doing what the documentation says it should be doing.

Our son uses Edison robots at school and wanted some for home use. He enjoys writing the code and seeing the results. Lots of laughter and fun.We had some problems initially, and Contempo sent us an exchange robot immediately. It turns out it was a problem with faulty batteries we are using, so check those batteries first!

I really liked how this product came with a nice sturdy carry case along with the remote and Flashdrive. The case will actually fit two Edison robots nicely. I’m having fun teaching my students how to use these codeable robots. I will definitely be purchasing a few more.

This was one of my 11 year olds favorite birthday presents. They use Edison in his technology classes at school and he was so happy to have all the tools at home to do his own coding. The flash drive was very helpful once Edison was up and running and the coding for the robot is pretty simple but still gets him engaged and excited about robotics. His teacher has been impressed when he takes it into class and shows him all the things he has his Edison doing. Yay Science!

It's a fun little robot. My daughter used it in school wanted one for home. Easy to program.

Nice product very difficult to put together.

The Edison robot is great for engaging middle school students in programming. They can use Scratch to start, and graduate to Python. Lesson plans are included, making it easy for even a novice to teach programming.

My students and grand kids love them.