Ask HN: Seeking Advice on Educational Robots
Ideally I'm looking for small wheeled robots with a grasping arm attached. It would have a built in camera and enough compute on board to do some basic computer vision, so maybe Raspberry Pi based.
To be honest the students that I work with are not strong at programming, but they do have some experience with Matlab and Simulink from previous classes. I'm hesitant to bring ROS into the picture based on previous frustrating experience (though that was nearly 10 years ago, maybe it is better now).
Last year we did a pilot class based on the cheapest robotics kits on Amazon (Adeept brand arms, built from small hobby servos and acrylic plates). The students enjoyed working with them, but the arms weren't rigid enough or strong enough for accurate and repeatable control, like drawing with a pen.
Industrial robots like the Franka Emika Panda are out of my budget. I've started to see some Chinese companies and kickstarters offering cheaper 6 degree of freedom "cobots," but I haven't found much info and worry about customer support. The "Locobot" system from Interbotix (like a roomba with an arm on top) is in the ballpark, but maybe larger than necessary.
Is there anything like the Adeept RaspTank Pro (http://www.adeept.com/rasptank-pro_p0245.html), but just a little bit more sturdy?
Are Amazon and RobotShop.com the only places to look for educational robots in the US? I would hate to make a big order and find out later that I missed out on a great option.