Hummingbird Makes Coding Easy

If you've ever wanted to learn how to code, here's your chance. Hummingbird is back with a vengeance as it unveils a new robotics kit that can teach anyone the basic of robotic engineering, even children. The kit was released on Kickstarter and has surpassed its funding goal of $30,000.

The kit is called the Hummingbird Duo and is meant to provide a progressive robotics learning experience. Users start on level one, where they build and program their own homemade robot using the Hummingbird board. At level two, users can program their robots using computer programs Scratch 2.0 or Snap! Makers can also use the very same kit to run Arduino Leondardo (which comes installed on the backside of the board) to create a standalone robot, capable of doing anything really, since it's open source and can run on Mac, Windows, or Linux.

Hummingbird won the Parents' Choice Gold Award with its original robotics kit for children in 2012. This time around, they're marketing their updated kit to all aspiring makers. Their campaign is, of course, child-focused, and schoolteachers can get supersized classroom Hummingbird Duo kits to accommodate 16 to 24 students. The design team says the kits are equally useful for elementary children, high school teens, college kids, and adults, all with a desire to take their robotics skills to the next level.

Each kit comes equipped with a different bag of tricks, but most include the Hummingbird/Arduino board itself and add-ons, like LEDs, sensors, motors, and more. Kit options start at $69 (for just the board) and increase in price up to $1,500 for the classroom kit (for early backers, of course).

Backers can expect the Hummingbird Duo to ship as early as December. Hummingbird's self-proclaimed focus is to enhance the education of robotics, engineering, electronics, and programming. With children at the center of their projects, introducing kids to the wonderful world of engineering early on can mean a serious enhancement in how we access technology. Children are by far some of the most imaginative creatures on the planet.

Along with promoting child creativity, another company is targeting the child market, but not quite on the same level as Hummingbird. Child's Own Studio encourages children to expand their minds through drawing. The drawings are then made into plush toys that they can cherish forever. Dream it. Make it. Laugh about it when you're 30. That's their motto.

Related posts: