SainSmart InstaBots 2-Wheel Self-Balancing Upright Rover Car Robot Kit, Compatible with Arduino, Joystick and UNO R3 Included to Remote Control the Robot, A Customizable Robot with PDF Easy-to-follow Instructions

This is a nicely priced device for an experienced assembler but not a kit for beginner, or even intermediate level. The instructions are minimal. You need to look extremely carefully at photos in the instructable to get it correct. Even then you are liable to have some issues. Really, you need to have a good idea of how this is all going to work before you start or you are going to be very frustrated. You also need to understand the code to check if you are getting the expected results.More specifically, the connection from the joystick to the sensor board has a twist in the analog inputs which IMO is strange since a simple software change would eliminate this. There is no direction on where the red / black wires should be connected to the motors (put the red on the one near the spot) and then where they should connect to the motor control board. That is neither the color to a specific connector nor where left and right motors get connected.I'd describe this as a set of parts for building the robot, not a kit.On the positive side, all the parts were there. They come in a nice plastic box with compartments that can be reused for storing other parts. Everything is operational. The shield has the not uncommon problem of not always making good contact with the UNO.I would like to know where the PDF is that is mentioned in the description.Since the rating are about this being a 'toy' let me address them. The durability is low because there are number of wires that can easily be pulled or come loose during operation. That is not untypical but needs to be noted.With a knowledgeable and patient adult working with a teenager the experience could be quite educational. The teen (or adult!) would learn about mechanical assembly, wiring, and reading the software code. I have to take a star of for fun because there is going to be level of frustration due to the lack of instructions and durability.

This is a review for the version 1. I thought this was great value for the parts alone, and comes in a nice parts box you can reuse. I was originally going to buy parts separately and to build it completely DIY but the kit saved me time to do that. For parts alone great value.However, don't expect it to be like a lego, or RC car kit. I would say building this is not for a beginner, and definitely not for small kids (they could drive it once it's done though). I would say an advanced and patient High School student could do it. For someone like me who is some sort of engineer it is a good way to get started..There are instructions at the Sain Smart site. There are Instructables and 1-2 Youtube videos as well. When I bought it (version 1) the Youtube wasn't so clear, but I think they updated it. Same goes for the free code, they commented it further in version 2.For the wiring info I'd use the Sain Smart site as some of the Instructable pictures aren't quite right. When doing the initial tuning I'd turn off the code for the remote control.Customer Service was v. responsive, and attentive helped me when I ran into a Snafu.

This is a fun toy and great value for the money if you figure all the hardware you are getting. BUT I have not yet got it to respond like the video shows. I would really love some more tutorials on tuning the PID values. Also one of my joystick modules was missing the plastic knob and sainsmart was quick to send me another joystick module. I had to come from china but was decently prompt. If this was a little less confusing to wire and we had better PID tuning tutorials I would easily give this 5 stars. I gave it 3 because you get a lot of hardware for not much money. The controller will be great to use for future projects. Keep Learning!

Haven't been able to get a good handle on starting this project. As with most of the kits I've found on-line (with some wonderful exceptions) this one comes with very little documentation. Most of the documentation is on YouTube - pretty inconsiderate of them- and is not very good. So I will meditate on this and see if I can come to terms with the instructions I eventually found.

Awesome but instructions suck

This kit did NOT contain 2 uno r3's it contained one r3 and one non r3 that doesn't fit the included shield. I have not completed the kit yet to see if it works but beware!

Missing parts and no instructions.

Not for the beginner. Fun project.

Fantastic bit of kit. This is the older version (without the LCD read-out on the controller), but it still does the job, and is a great way to understand the principles of balancing and PID control. There are no instructions, but the plastic mountings are pre-drilled, and construction is pretty intuitive. Well worth reading the comments on the 'instructables' website, as these can save a lot of effort later.Oh, and if you intend to leave the variable resistors in place (rather than hard-coding their values), I'd suggest fixing them in place with a small strip of pvc tape - their pins are too thin for the sockets on the shield, and they fall out regularly.

nel complesso le schede sono di ottima qualità ed hanno funzionato al primo colpo. le ruote ed i motori sono un pò inferiori in qualità. in particolare i motori hanno molto gioco e questo influisce sulla prestazione di bilanciamento.nel kit è compreso anche il telecomando, che è di buona fattura soprattutto per il prezzo.nel kit non sono comprese le batterie e questo è un problema non tanto per il telecomando, quanto per il robot.infatti il problema principale è che assolutamente NON SI BILANCIA COME NEI VARI VIDEO. non sono mai riuscito a bilanciarlo bene, e non sono ancora riuscito a controllarlo in modo completo con il telecomando. peccato perchè proprio il peso e la collocazione delle batteria potrebbero influire sulle performances. mi sarebbe piaciuto avere poi delle guide su come posizionare meglio i pesi e su come ottenere le prestazioni. nel video invece il montaggio è di nessun aiuto (un pò per la meccanica, nulla per i collegamenti elettrici) e la parte di programmazione è assolutamente ridicola (il ragazzo butta lì dei numeri e si aspetta che tutto funzioni)

je rassure ceux qui ont un doute sur ce produit. Il fonctionne :) et a moins de 80€ c'est une très bonne affaire pour comprendre le fonctionnement d'un système en équilibre.Par contre a ne pas mettre entre toutes les mains, ce n'est pas vraiment un jouet ou alors c'est un jouet pour grande personne (comme moi) qui a une bonne expérience des produits à base d'arduino, assez habile de ses mains, lit l'anglais et ne se décourage pas. c'est vrai pas de doc, est ce fait exprès pour pousser a l'expérimentation, assez vicieux. On arrive a trouver , le site instrutable fournit un certain nombre de photo qui permet avec un peu d'imagination de s'y retrouver. Par exemple ces photos mon permis de voir ou était placé les 2 capa (une sur chaque pôle des moteurs) et il y une récap des connexions entre les différentes cartes. Il y a plein de problèmes à résoudre, mais cela fait très plaisir quand on y est arrivé, le but de ce genre d'exercice sinon acheter a votre gamin un truc tout fait. Quand j'aurai un peu de temps, je détaillerai tout cela. En gros pour les programmes prenez ceux de la version 2 , pas grave si c'est la version avec afficheur et que vous n'en avez pas, cette version est mieux aboutis et utilise des librairies externes ce qui est plus conventionnel. Ne vous cassez pas la tête avec les potards, préférer le changement des paramètres P/I/D directement dans le code au niveau du void PID. n'oublier pas d'équilibrer votre plateforme avec le paramètre en début de code "offset angle" c'est a faire en début avant de chercher a régler le PID. Paramètres de départ qui pour moi fonctionne P= 17 I=0.15 D=400 si vous devez adapter jouer sur la dérivée (ne descendé par en dessous de 300 et au-dessus de 850, ça sert a rien, votre problème de stabilisation provient de votre angle d'équilibrage ) et pour l'intégrale I entre 1 et 1.5 . Dans mon cas la valeur d'offset angle est de 3.7 mais cela dépend vraiment de votre type de batterie de son poids et de sa position. Bon courage.

Un ottimo regalo per veri appassionati pronti a tutto.I componenti ci sono e sembrano anche di buona qualita'. Tuttavia:-le istruzioni di montaggio sono assenti. Bisogna cercare in rete e trovare il sito che spiega in modo appropriato i particolari-la taratura per raggiungere l'equilibrio e' molto difficile e puo' richiedere la revisione del firmware-le batterie vanno comprate a parte e possono costare parecchio

Con las fotos y ayudas es algo confuso, estoy haciendo un tutorial.Trataré de ir probando trozos poco a poco.Es interesante ponerle algo que haga de sombrero para no dañar las cartas inclinómetro y antena!!!¿Alguien sabe qué batería de 10 a 13 V comprar y que quepa bien?

En un principio parece complicado de montar porque no trae un manual, pero en realidad es mucho más fácil de lo que parece. Le he puesto una batería de 9v y funciona bien, aunque lo suyo es una LiPo de 12v.

Bon kit mais nécessite quelques recherches sur instructables et youtube pour les détails du montage et des réglages.je recommande.

英語ですがサインスマートさんのHPで組立のビデオと調整のビデオがあるので参考にしてます。組立は形になったのですがプルプルしてなかなか立ち止まってくれません。ですが、簡単にできないところが楽しくてやめられないですね。工夫しながら、悩みながらenjoy!してます。説明書どおりにできる日本のものとは違い何かしら工夫しながら完成まで到達できる魅力がありますね。もちろん手ごろな値段も大きな魅力です。これが完成したころには私の知識がレベルアップしていると思ったらチャレンジ精神に火が付きます。また、わくわくするような新作の登場を期待します！

この商品には一切の説明書が添付されてなく、英文Webの動画や画像と簡単な説明を参考にして組み立てます。組み立て自体は工作に慣れてる方にはそんなに難しくありませんが、初めて工作をする方には難しいと思います。マイコンにインストールするソフトウエアについてもWebからダウンロードしますが、英文の簡単な説明のみです。この商品購入をお考えの方は、上記の件をWebで充分に検討してからの購入を勧めます。

倒立振り子を買おうと思ったが、日本製のはちょっと高かった。これは安いし、無線リモコンまで着いている。このおかげで、arduinoに嵌ってしまった。とにかくセンサーなどいろいろ安いし、ソフトが充実している。説明書やフォロー無しの世界が苦にならない人にはお勧めだ。