Ask a Robotics Expert

My son has been participating in a LEGO Club (no official competitions), but is “aging out” of the club.  He really wanted to join an FTC, but all teams are

Thank you for your question. The 2 degrees of freedom refers to the robot not just the attachment. This is just to make sure the robot has some complexity. 2 degrees of

This is a good question and one we discussed in our development group. Electronics is not likely to ever be a prerequisite for Robotics. There are many robotics platforms

Yes, the Arduino controller would be a good choice.  As a counselor, though, I would encourage Scouts to use what they have.  If a Scout wanted to meet the requirements

Any version of the Mindstorms kits gives you what you need to build a great

Taking apart an old radio control car is a great place to start. It has motors, a chassis and a battery already. All you need to do is find a processor of some kind and make sure your control signals work. While operating a radio-controlled car will not satisfy the requirements of the merit badge, taking an RC car, adding a controller (the computer brain that does the robot’s thinking) and some other mechanisms probably will. As always, talk to your merit badge counselor first to make sure that what you are planning is safe and will satisfy the requirements.

I really like the fact that we are able to use robots to improve all of our lives by having them perform tasks that are either dangerous, dreary or difficult. Having said

Start by speaking to your merit badge counselor. He or she should be able to give you some idea about the types of robot competitions available in your area and what it takes

To prepare yourself for a college degree that will allow you to work with robots, you should study as much math as possible in high school. The best place for you to end up