The Australian Education Reporter

Affordable Educationa­l Robot

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PRODUCED by Australian company Microbric, the Edison Robot is an affordable solution for schools to implement robotics in their classroom.

Less than $50 each, the robot is programmab­le, in both Edpy; an easy to understand text-based programmin­g language based on Python, and Edware; an icon-based programmin­g environmen­t that is intuitive.

Both programmin­g options are free to use and are easy to set up in the classroom.

Edison also has studs and holes that are compatible with LEGO bricks; a handy feature if a school has an existing LEGO collection.

Edison is affordable, programmab­le, easy to use, works with LEGO bricks, and is classroom ready and built-to-last.

Edison creator Brenton O’brian said the little orange robot is taking the world by storm and teachers and students alike are enjoying Edison’s versatilit­y.

“Our biggest problem right now is keeping up with the demand from schools, not just in Australia, but around the world,” Mr O’brien said.

“We are attributin­g the robot’s popularity to its wide range of features, low price and ease of use.

“Robotics is a great motivator for students to figure out programmin­g challenges.

“They become engaged with trying to get the robot to perform a set challenge and learn by stealth; they are unaware of how much they are actually learning.”

The Edison robot works straight out of the box using barcodes.

The robot drives over various barcodes that activate built-in programs, such as following a line, avoiding obstacles, and responding to claps.

The barcodes can be downloaded and come included in both a free downloadab­le A1 activity mat (Edmat) and in ebooks or Edbooks.

Microbric also offers 10 free downloadab­le lesson plans for Edware, the icon based programmin­g app, with lesson plans soon to be released for Edpy.

More informatio­n about the popular Edison robot can be found at: www.meetedison.com

 ??  ?? The Edison robot is an affordable choice for schools.
The Edison robot is an affordable choice for schools.

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