MechDog Robot Dog for Arduino Scratch Python Starter Smart Robot Kit with ESP32 AI Camera, Self Balancing Target Recognition&Tracing Open Source Bionic Quadruped Programming Science Set, Advance Kit

This is an in-depth kit. As an avid hobbyist, and automation engineer, I find the LewanSoul/Hiwonder MechDog wonderfully, and continually satisfying. It is not just one thing. It uses the most modern standards on which a learner can build their increasing and fullest understanding of robotics, embedded control solutions, APIs, and the list goes on. First you need to know this is based on the ESP32-S3 system and in itself opens a well known world of limitless capability. Then there's the accessories that come with it that exponentially increase the entire value of the MechDog. I highly recommend the Ultimate Kit because you don't miss out on anything. I'm saying , the MechDog and a BBC Micro Bit, the array of sensors, even a servo to give MechDog a gripper. You get way more than one thing here; you get an entire engineering educational experience. I I have five LewanSoul robots, including the xArm1S and LeArm. They are rugged and robust, outstanding examples of real-world educational robots. I will soon post images and videos. I come from the Heathkit Hero-1 generation.

This little robot dog is super cute and can interact on both desks and floors. Kids love it, and even middle schoolers can use it to explore some cool smart features. The app works pretty well—no major bugs—but sometimes there’s a slight 1-2 second delay. It’d be awesome if they released a version I could build by myself like more DIY.

The development software is poorly designed. When we do the python coding, the robot dogs cannot connected to iPad through Bluetooth.

The mechdog programming kits (python and scratch) are outdated, they look for COM1,COM2 serial ports instead of USB ports. the android app crashes on newer phones. Really lacking software support from the vendor.

Excellent product and works amazing with our youth groups who’s been learning low code with scratch AI

I got this for my 8yr old son for Christmas, and it exceeded expectations. This does not feel like a toy - it’s a real robot, with a real AI platform. My son is into robotics right now, and this was truly the perfect gift for him. Setup was easy (mostly assembled), and within about 10 minutes we had it running using the mobile app. But what makes this robot dog amazing is that you can program it with Python code (code is provided, with other languages supported) to make it AI-enabled. The robot can use computer vision to track colors, grab objects, avoid obstacles, and more. It’s been an incredible hands-on way for my son to learn Python (the basics), robotics, and basic AI concepts. It's been fun to learn together about computer vision, classification, and other aspects of AI. And of course about robotics - like servo motors, sensors, etc. I've been able to talk with him about all sorts of AI (which I know). And I'm learning all about robotics with him (which I don't know). We did have a small shipping issue (a loose screw in the vision module), but HiWonder’s support was excellent and immediately sent a replacement - great customer service. The coding can feel a bit overwhelming at first (for both my son and I), but working through it together has been a fun daily project. I told my son that in the real world, you often have to figure things out with not perfect information. This project has been really amazing for my son (and me). My son absolutely loves it and treats it like a companion - the robot dog even “sleeps” in his room. If you’re looking for a serious STEM gift that teaches real skills in AI, programming, and engineering, this is an outstanding choice. I have already recommended this to many of my friends. Highly recommend! PS - my son is giving the "thumbs up" in the pic with his dog "Bolt". :)

We bought 4 of them and are currently using them to teach students programming basics, and it's working like a charm - a great asset to have!

It’s pretty cool but I didn’t get to test it much because it broke on the first usage after it fell like a foot. What I did think of it while it was working was that it was REALLY slow and a lot smaller than how it looks in the pictures. It still gets two stars back for being very code-able, though.