Robots
Xiaomi's Two Wheeled Mi MITU Robot Builder
November 26, 2021. I have been into robots, toys and otherwise, since my youth. I remember being fascinated by the automatic movements of robots, and even more so, the programming capabilities offered by these systems. I recall, if correctly, when I was in middle school, my mother enrolled me in a “Mars summer camp” program that I never forgot. The school took place near Foothill College in the South Bay Area. Using Lego toys, my mentor and I created a track course for Lego vehicles and programmed the vehicles along the course, taking turns, altering velocity, stopping and going. That was one of the best exposures I had with robots in my youth. This article series is following up on the Roving Robots article I wrote previously.
Since then, my exposure with robots was less optimized and more of bits and pieces. The summer camp was in the Silicon Valley, while real school was in Taiwan, which was developing in the 90s (and still is). Taiwan is a land of many opportunities, and today is a land where a company can cobble together a system for building millions of facemasks in a matter of weeks. When I was growing up however, overseas was where certain inspirations was found.
So when I noticed the Xiaomi robot, I was motivated. In a way, the rationale for the purchase is finding avenues for reinvigorating my interest in robots and robotic toys. There is longer term educational planning in mind as well, as I envision my children tinkering with these systems when they are of age. The Xiaomi robot seemed slightly more delicate and sophisticated than a standard Lego toy set, so I was not purchasing for a five or three year old. I received the Xiaomi Mi MITU Robot Builder about three weeks ago, which was a purchase online at Amazon near the end of October. The robot is not the cheapest available, though the cost is comparable with high end Lego robot toys, at $60-70 for the entire box.
I plan on documenting the build procedures. The box cover shows two robots that could be built with the pieces included, which number at 978 pieces. This robot should be interesting developing because of the advertised balancing capabilities — having two wheels placed so that the robot is vertically standing as if human.
Opening up the box, I find an orderly designed placement of robotic motors, control box, power cables, and the building blocks.
Building blocks are in numbered plastic bags that have QR code’s, which correspond with the user manual and robot programming guide.
I’ll update as I build.