KEYESTUDIO Robot Arm Starter Kit for Arduino,4DOF Electronic Coding Robotics Arm DIY Set for Kids Adults to Learn Robotics,Support PS2 Joypad Control,Remote Control by Android/iOS APP

The robotic arm works and is easy to get going! Clearly this is more of a toy / learning kit, but it illustrates all the right features to start building larger projects.I was looking for a good Arduino robotics project to do with my child, and this product stood out. The majority of the arm came assembled (phew!), with the remaining assembly was easy and related more to the base and joystick. Wiring worked as expected, though I added a bit more length to the servo cables for the clamp servo (wires come with the kit for things like this). The product links to a long PDF manual that seems informative enough.Caveat: I've been programming Arduino's for a while, and it seemed easy enough to write my own code using the Servo library, so I did. The required code is not too complicated. I have yet to play with the bluetooth module, but I doubt it has issues. The PDF manual has code in it that I didn't try.

Good: You would never be able to gather and print the components for a DIY version at this price, so it is a good place to start for a first robot project. Code is easily downloaded and installed to the board from the Keystudio site. Assembly instructions are decent.Bad: Preassembled part is very rickety and sloppy. This is a learning platform, not a toy for repeated use in play; the metal parts will wear out quickly. Short servo wires require extensions (included). Mainly, who has 18650 batteries sitting around? Does not include batteries. The included holder is for 18650 cells at about 3.7 V each (7.4 total). Few people have these sitting around. You can plug a power supply into the servo shield and it will power the whole thing instead (observe voltage and pin polarity requirements).Verdict: These were too complex for the kids I intended them for. It even took me a while to get it all going. This is a good value if you are considering building a small robot from scratch, since it contains everything you need. After you get it working as it is intended, you can start working with the code to do specific tasks and demos. I did not try the bluetooth module yet, but it introduces you to using apps to control devices.

Nice little robot arm that you can build yourself. This is more than a remote control arm that you run from your phone. This kit is a learning experience. I particularly like the joystick handle that allows you to experiment with direct servo wiring and Arduino programming. You mount the two joysticks on an acrylic game-like controller, wire it to the Arduino type board, and go to it.Tons of screws and you have to go online for the manual, but once you have everything at hand you are ready to start. Take your time adjusting the motors and examining the assembly pictures, and everything goes together smoothly. When you have completed the included projects, there is great opportunity to experiment with other projects of your own.There is also a way to control the arm via Bluetooth (this means using your Android or Apple phone) or even a PS2 JoyStick controller. If you tire of experimenting with servos you can always remove the arm shield and have full access to the Arduino pins. Just add a few sensors continue exploring.

The media could not be loaded. I’ll start with the wiki. The arm comes with a parts list in the form of a pamphlet within the box. There is a QR code on this that will take you to the Keyestudio wiki and on this page you will find a search bar. I believe I searched something like “4DOF Arm Kit” and some suggestions came up (make sure you select the V2 instructions).Very cool little robot arm, the provided code works great and if everything is plugged in correct; runs flawlessly. The “arm” unit comes preassembled so you’re basically just going to be attaching that to a base you put together and coding it to work.Biggest problems are the weird 18650 batteries you’ll need to get to use the provided battery pack.This is one of those devices that will do WEIRD things when undersupplied (like whip or spin around all crazy) These batteries are 4.8V-5V rechargeable batteries (so a 9v battery won’t do if you want to drive all 4 motors simultaneously) I also ran into trouble with the servos; after 3-5 minutes of use (only occasionally being driven) they started seizing up and about 2 days later I have only 1/4 servos still working. (the others spin freely in the casing and get very hot but do not actuate the gears inside anymore.) Hard to say if this is standard quality control or if this was the weird 18650 batteries frying my servos *shrug* either way; learned a lot and have a lot of questions I’d like to go find the answers to.Final thoughts: if you were going to order this, consider picking up some extra metal geared servos and 18650 batteries or a suitable replacement battery pack.**UPDATE**Replaced the 3 broken servos with new motors. Works great now. My base servo has a little “Jig” to it (visible in the video, this is the only keyestudio servo still on the bot so these servos must not have great QC). Link to replacements I used included below. They all work and fit the build. The final tip I can give you is to make sure to test all your servos actuation between 0-180 before running this thing. Specifically the forward and back and up and down servos are placed in such a way that they are sometimes in competition if not installed correctly which will break them. All in all: 4/10 on difficulty for most people, 3/10 on quality of included parts, and 5 stars because this was all very fun.(https://www.amazon.com/MG90S-Servo-Motor-Helicopter-Arduino/dp/B01JY3H4MA/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?keywords=9+gram+metal+gear+servo&qid=1659280156&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFLOFMxQjZJRjEzVUcmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAxNTQ4ODhJNE5WUElWRkdKSVYmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDU5NTkxNDJLNVVLN1I3MzJYUlgmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==)

Assembly is fairly simple.to a point. Then the fun begins. Mine had defective arduino, would not light up.Keyes Studio was notvery helpful, Some parts do not resemble instructions. Color codes are different from text. Making connections tricky at best. Apparently IOS, never heard of control ap, and android ap keeps crashing. Overall, fun to build. Never got the android ap to work. Never got the arm to fit according to instructions. Tried contacting, but their "verification" thingy is insane. Finally put ot away, out of frustration. I see that later than my kit, they are shipping with arm assembled! That would be lovely.