Adeept DarkPaw Bionic Quadruped Spider Robot Kit Compatible with Raspberry Pi 4 3 Model B+/B, STEM Crawling Robot, OpenCV, Self-stabilizing Based on MPU6050 Gyro Sensor, RPi Robot with PDF Manual

This is an advanced kit for assembling and running a legged robot. It takes quite a while to put together, and needs very good mechanical, electrical, and programming skills. High school or college level. Things you need to know: --Each leg is three-axis, position-controlled, not bang-bang. Axes consist of a horizontal hip, a coupled knee/ankle, and an ankle. Because the long, tall foot is attached with a scissors mechanism, two joints control foot position simultaneously. --Leg assemblies have four configurations, being left-handed, right-handed, up, and down. The version 1.0 instructions only show you one configuration; you have to mirror this to build the other three legs. --The Y piece needs to be inboard of the motors, that is, triangle, Y, spacer, triangle; not spacer Y as the v.1 diagrams show. Otherwise the Y piece will not connect with the No. 1 girder to the motor smoothly. --Adeept has very good instructions on the whole, and you should look at them on their website before starting with this kit, to get a feel for the level of challenge. See the links in the Q&A section above. --Although the body looks like it's made out of aluminum, it's actually shiny laser-cut plexiglas. This gives both strength and lightness. You have to peel the backing tape off, both sides. Use a wad of duct-tape to get this started. --Adeept has been very responsive, and stands behind their product for me. They have recently come out with a second version of the assembly manual. --The hundreds of small parts are kitted out into labeled envelopes. Adeept seems to include some extras on some of the small screws and nuts, as the tiny nuts have a habit of getting lost on the workbench. The envelopes and extras alone mark these guys as professionals who care, really outstanding. --This kit even includes a Raspberry Pi camera, which is designed into the robot. It's quite an advanced kit. --Batteries (size 18650, Samsung 20S is best) and Raspberry Pi shape B+ (3B+ etc) are not included. Also see Adeept's Mars Rover kit for something slightly easier to put together and direct.

I built this with my daughter, although I ended up doing most of the building as we got into it. Once it was completed she really enjoys programming and playing with it. If you have no experience with building complex models like this and/or with Raspberry Pis, it could probably be a bit intimidating to build. Let’s just say the instructions are not exactly ideal. It was only when I went looking for which servo goes to which port on the Pi (the instructions manage to omit this little detail) that I discovered a second set of instructions on a Google Drive folder somewhere that were much more clear—but I was 99% done at this point.

A teenager would have to be REALLY determined to get this going. Poor instructions. Maybe try the 4 legged version, I think it has more documentation

I ordered DarkPaw a week ago and it arrived amazingly fast in less than 1 week, coming all the way from US to Germany. All parts are in good quality and complete. I already know I will have as much fun with it as with the last robot I have ordered from Adeept, the Picar B. The after-sell-service is also good. You can find detail-oriented introduction videos with lovely music and a forum, which is full of a variety of relevant topics. I had a software related question and went to forum, and I got an answer in 1 day. They reply the questions quite efficiently. I would definitely recommend people to buy it, especially for those who want to build their own robots and code with it. :)

This is a very cool robot and a complete kit (minus pi and batteries). However, I had hoped for more in terms of guidance for the intended learning application. Yes, sample code is included for basic functionality, but for the average user playing into the intended use of this product, there is an overwhelming learning curve. For example, where would one go to learn about alternate gates for a quadruped? And, how do changes to sections of the code impact how the robot responds? I get that this is a learning tool, but without that facilitation, most may be lost and give up. Without background in robotics or vision, be prepared for a lot of work. Regarding the hardware, I don't see any recommendation for using glue, but there are places in the boxed-in section where the legs meet the frame that were loose initially, and becoming looser. I will sacrifice the maintenance potential and apply a bit of CA in order to mitigate the slop. Overall, the robot is "ok". Maybe after the forums at Adeept liven up a bit this robot will more closely meet expectations. I purchased the RaspTank at the same time as this robot. Hopefully the guidance will improve by the time it's ready to roll.

Granddaughter loves it. Still didn't receive certificate for repair Paid for nut not received

Loved building and putting this together however if you are new to python. This might be a fun little project for you. If you look at previous reviews you find out real quick the code doesn't really work that they give you. So make it a project of your own which is what I did and now I know some python and have a remote control/ autonomous walking bot.

The best toy for my 13 year old ever! Like an extreme Lego kit but more advanced with the ability! I love it