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"Remote controlled cars are fun, sure, but self-driving robotic cars are even more fun. In this tutorial, we'll build a four-wheeled robot that can drive around and avoid obstacles. I purchased this complete 4WD kit from AliExpress, but you could easily buy most of these components from an electronics store and put it together yourself. I recommend reading through all of the instructions before you start, as that will make some things clear that might be confusing on the first time through. Also, this may look like a very long, advanced project due to the length of the instructions, but it's actually pretty simple. No need to be intimidated - this is a beginner level project that you can get some satisfying results with, then build upon as you learn more. Don't like this style of robot? Here's some more Arduino robots you could easily build instead."

"When it comes to productivity, humans don't come close to robots. Machines don't need sleep, won't slack off or ask for a raise and generally don't need vacation days so they can sunbathe in Bali. According to a study from Oxford University and the Oxford Martin School, 47% of jobs in the United States are "at risk" of becoming "automated in the next 20 years." PwC has similar findings, estimating that 38% of U.S. jobs are at risk of being replaced by robots and artificial intelligence in the next 15 years. And while two-thirds of Americans believe robots will take over most of the workforce in the next 50 years, they're also in denial: 80% say their job will "probably" or "definitely" be around in five decades. Here are five robots that are coming to take some jobs from unsuspecting humans: "

Every year, Time magazine gets swamped with pitches from thousands of companies, all convinced their product deserves to be included in Time's "25 Best Inventions" list. This past December, the magazine reserved its cover for a Pixar-like, 11-inch armless robot named Jibo. Jibo - a so-called "social robot" - is just the latest example of a clear phenomenon: A new generation of exponentially more intelligent and capable robots is on the way. In fact, they're already everywhere we look: over our heads, in our cars and operating rooms, next to us on the assembly lines, in our military, and on the last mile. And the prospect of exponentially more robots, crunching exponentially more data, necessitates not just a lot more computing power but also an entirely new product architecture."

"Like a lot of children, my sons, Toby, 7, and Anton, 4, are obsessed with robots. In the children's books they devour at bedtime, happy, helpful robots pop up more often than even dragons or dinosaurs. The other day I asked Toby why children like robots so much. "Because they work for you," he said. What I didn't have the heart to tell him is, someday he might work for them - or, I fear, might not work at all, because of them. It is not just Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking who are freaking out about the rise of invincible machines. Yes, robots have the potential to outsmart us and destroy the human race. But first, artificial intelligence could make countless professions obsolete by the time my sons reach their 20s."

"This episode of ITT features the Sphero 2 robots and how the innovative educator, Sam Patterson, is using them in a robot club as well as when working with classrooms of students. From the Sphero Website: Control Sphero from your smartphone or tablet, change colors, complete challenges, earn tricks, and more. Sphero is waterproof, pet-proof, and ready to roll. Educationally savvy: Download free SPRK lessons and learn the basics of programming. Then unleash Sphero's inner robot and program like a pro. The more you play, the smarter you get."

"Robots! We just love them: 3D printing and robots are a match made in mechanical heaven. So, we've made a short list on the best 3D printed robot projects you can find out there. This list is divided into two parts."

"Modio is a new and free iPad app that anyone can use to design model robots for 3D printing. The app features a large collection of robot parts that you snap together to design your 3D robot model. You can mix and match parts to heart's content. Modio provides a visualization screen that will reveal the dimensions of your model before you print it. Included with those dimensions is an estimate of the time it will take to print the model."

"Building robots inspires such passion in high school seniors Violet and Kjersti that they've begun mentoring younger robotics teams to teach STEM skills -- and save their school's robotics program."

I recall logo and turtle robotics. Seymore Papert is skill alive and well. This clever 'robot' kit could be a nerd's delight!

"A new tool developed by Disney Research and Carnegie Mellon University could let you 3D print your very own walking robot. "Progress in rapid manufacturing technology is making it easier and easier to build customised robots, but designing a functioning robot remains a difficult challenge that requires an experienced engineer," said Markus Gross, vice president at Disney Research. "Our new design system can bridge this gap and should be of great interest to technology enthusiasts and the maker community at large.""

"Some people think that K-12 computer science requires a large budget, a classroom full of tablets and robots, and an experienced tech teacher. We are pleased to dispel those myths--and introduce you to SAS CodeSnaps! CodeSnaps is a collaborative coding environment requiring only one iPad and one robot. The app takes advantage of tangible, printed coding blocks, allowing students to prepare programs together on a shared work surface without a device. After students scan the blocks with the app, commands can be executed on the connected robot (compatible robots include Sphero, Ollie, SPRK, and SPRK+). "

"This coming summer I am getting the opportunity to teach a maker education camp for three weeks, half-days at a local elementary school.  The descriptions for the three one-week workshops are: Circuit Crafts: Build glowing, sensing, and interactive circuit projects; make electronic stickers, circuit sketchbooks, circuit cards, and sewn circuits. Sweet Robotics: Make simple robotics using Popsicle sticks and LED lights; play with and build some robots with Makey Makey, littleBits, Hummingbird, and Modular Robotics. Toy Hacking: Take apart simple electronic toys to see how they work & then put them back together again creating a new toy; make an operation game."

"In recent years, there has been a push to introduce coding and computational thinking in early childhood education, and robotics is an excellent tool to achieve this. However, the integration of these fundamental skills into formal and official curriculums is still a challenge and educators needs pedagogical perspectives to properly integrate robotics, coding and computational thinking concepts into their classrooms. Thus, this study evaluates a "coding as a playground" experience in keeping with the Positive Technological Development (PTD) framework with the KIBO robotics kit, specially designed for young children. The research was conducted with preschool children aged 3-5 years old (N = 172) from three Spanish early childhood centers with different socio-economic characteristics and teachers of 16 classes. Results confirm that it is possible to start teaching this new literacy very early (at 3 years old). Furthermore, the results show that the strategies used promoted communication, collaboration and creativity in the classroom settings. The teachers also exhibited autonomy and confidence to integrate coding and computational thinking into their formal curricular activities, connecting concepts with art, music and social studies. Through the evidence found in this study, this research contributes with examples of effective strategies to introduce robotics, coding and computational thinking into early childhood classrooms."

"There are an amazing variety of robot kits available, but which one is right for you? There is no such thing as the best kit, just the one most suitable for your purposes. Still, the number of choices can be confusing. Why start with a kit? Well, there are several advantages. Generally, kits will be cheaper than buying all the same parts. The companies that put kits together buy parts in quantity, usually passing the savings to you. You also save on shipping costs, since you buy one box from one supplier. It is often a challenge to get all the parts you need for a robot from a single source, so you end up paying a significant amount in shipping costs."

"ve been playing with ways to make a switch or button on my paper circuit artwork appear more integrated and purposeful. The robot I originally played with had a momentary button that I designed over the battery into the belly of the robot. See it here. The button also worked as the mechanism that closed the circuit. This time I bought a button online that was spliced into the circuit and not necessarily near the battery. This meant the connection to the battery was fixed and pushing the button (with a satisfying click noise) completed the circuit. I've been playing with ideas in preparation for the fall since I finally received the Donors Choose grant for supplies to try this with my students."

"The iPad is a great tool for coding.  Particularly for developing the skills and concepts in the junior years around directional language, understanding sprites and developing the building blocks of coding before moving onto traditional desktop coding software. Here is a list of great apps on the iPad to assist coding and robotics in the classroom.  If you would like to learn a great deal more about coding and robotics in the classroom I an strongly recommend getting a copy of this excellent eBook."

"My cat is pretty unflappable, given that she shares a house with four children. But when a three-wheeled robot trundles into the living room, even Lola can't belt out of the cat-flap fast enough. Perhaps it's the barking that spooked her. The robot is called Dash, and like its smaller, stationary friend Dot, it's the work of technology startup Wonder Workshop. It's excellent at yapping cats off the sofa, but its real goal is teaching children to code."

""ICE CREAM!" A group of six year olds are grinning as a small girl holds a laminated picture in her hands. Calmly, she puts it down and picks up the robot bee sitting in front of her. It has five buttons on top: forwards, left, right, back and go. The girl prods a few of them in turn, puts the bee down and presses go. It trundles across a colourful mat, turns left and stops on a picture of an ice cream cone. Everyone cheers. This short exercise has just taught her basic vocabulary, logic, sequencing and navigation. The robotic bee is one of four high-tech toys being trialled with pre-school children across Singapore. It is part of a new scheme - called Playmaker - using technology to give the next generation skills the they require. GI caught up with with the educators, technologists and government officials behind the scheme to find out more."

"Why is robotics awesome?  Because it can fit ANYWHERE in the curriculum.  It's problem solving, critical thinking, cooperative learning, collaboration, play, exploration, creativity, and grit… all in one.    It's often thought of as an afterschool program or an enrichment.  But robotics should be part of the everyday classroom.  Why? Because it has so much to offer."

"The good thing about my school is that we do have teacher leaders who will take ownership of initiatives and run with them with little more than moral and budgetary support from me. Our Beebots are used widely in our Early Years classes with a couple of teachers taking the lead - and we have had our kids use them for learning Vietnamese! But Spheros in our school has been my own journey. I have added to the original 15 Spheros that I bought in March, bringing two Sphero SPRKs and four Ollies in as additions. I just want to reflect on what else I have learned since the last post when I was still just working with my Digital Leaders. This term, I started to work with some classes within my own building. I am line manager for four classroom teachers and my office is based in that building. I am also the self appointed Sphero maintenance person - I keep them secure, charge them prior to use and kept tabs on the apps needed on the building's squad of 10 iPads. Just prior to starting with the first class, I saw a tweet about an app called Tickle that uses a Scratch style interface to program a number of connected robots including both Sphero and Ollie. It is easier to use than MacroLab and as I was about to introduce programming robots to Year 3 and 4 students, it was the perfect tool to use to set some simple programming challenges."