As a tech reviewer for almost 10 years, it’s difficult to truly be WOWed by new products!
I try many products every month, and for the most part, each one comes with both positive
and negative aspects.
I like a lot of them, but am wowed by very few.
The ClicBot Robot is a rare exception to my typical experience.
I’ve been with this thing for over a month and I, I mean my daughter and I, absolutely
love it.
You can make countless robots with it and you can remote control or program it.
It’s easy to learn, fun, versatile, has a ton of replay value.
We don’t get bored of it easily!
It is educational and can grow with your kid’s interest and knowledge,
and it even has enough sophistication that it’ll engage childlike parents or geeky adults as well.
What other single toy can check all those boxes?
Why not take a close look?
So first things first, let’s check what’s inside the box.
ClicBot offers 4 different bundles, which you can check out from their official Amazon shop,
link is in the description.
The one I got is the Full Kit version.
The moment you see the packaging, you know this thing is not going to be like some cheap
robot toys that you might find in your local store.
There are some highlights and instructions that are beautifully printed on the box,
look premium and eye-catching.
Open the box, first, we see the quick guide.
If you look closer, this quick guide comes with shortcuts for different sections like
Activating Brain, Connecting modules, Wi-Fi connection, etc. so you can just jump to that
page directly instead of going through the whole book to find the part you want.
So sweet.
Then some cute stickers.
Moving to the first layer, we find two wheels, a ClicBot brain module, some round joints
for connecting various parts together, suction cups, and some accessories.
Under that, there is another box that contains even more parts like limbs for walking and
a grasper for picking up stuff.
All in all, these are what we all got for the Full Kit bundle.
To be honest, the first time opening the ClicBot box can be a little overwhelming,
just see the sheer number of pieces.
But after the initial shock of seeing all the components and wondering “where do I
go from here,” it doesn’t take long to get comfortable with the ClicBot universe.
The reason I’m saying that is because for every kind of component it has all the same
electronics built right in – no wires or other doohickeys to contend with
– so they all connect exactly the same way, you just snap together easily with a satisfying click
like the video shows.
The main body, which includes a touchable display, cameras, and gesture sensors on the
front and side.
A power key, and a type-c port in the back.
Long press the power key to turn on, the first time it asks you to choose the language, after
that, the ClicBot is activated.
The blinking eye looks a lot of fun, looks like my daughter’s innocent eyes.
What’s more fun is the next, you can build your own unique “pet”.
There are instructions for 29 different robots right out of the box, which you can find them
from Clicbot app, we'll come to that in a second.
The first “pet” ClicBot shows you is the Bac, the high-definition screen shows you
exactly each step and which joint you should use.
Once you connect rightly, the port you are going to connect for the next joint will blink slowly.
If you connect wrongly, then the whole joint will blink quickly and you will also see a
notification on the screen to remind you to change the orientation.
Just follow them one by one, you will get there easily.
I took about ten minutes to build Bac, it’s so adorable and naughty.
Oops, that’s my fault, you have to make sure it sticks securely to the tabletop.
Bac can move its head around at the end of a long-articulated body.
Not just that, it has personality.
You can pet the top of its head or block its vision with your hand and it reacts to you.
It’s just so cute and fun to play with.
I also tried Bic.
It’s basically a self-balancing two-wheeled electric scooter that doesn’t pay attention
to the traffic very well.
Now I guess you fully understand what ClicBot is.
ClicBot is a modular robotic construction kit.
You assemble the various parts in a virtually infinite array of configurations—you can
make robots that walk, roll on motorized wheels, slither like a snake, grab things with a claw
and more.
The only limit I’ve got to say is your imagination.
If you want to find more ideas of creating more interesting “pets”, you can connect
your ClicBot to your phone or tablet.
The ClicBot app is another big bonus.
Here you can find numerous robots from the “Playground” tab.
You get step-by-step instructions to build dozens of robots.
Because the app knows the exact state of the robot, you can follow the incredible visual
instructions to add parts, you can drag it like a hologram, one at a time, to make your “pet”.
Welcome to the future folks.
Building a robot has never been simpler.
The Academy is a series of tutorials provided by the official ClicBot, they are informative
and educational.
You can even share your work or check out other users’ creations in the community.
If that’s all there was to ClicBot, it would be fun, but I think you’d agree that it
would hardly be a complete educational experience.
That is why ClicBot takes your kid even further with the ability to program the robot’s actions.
There are several ways to program ClicBot.
The simplest method is to click record on the programming console and literally move
the robot’s joints.
You can use this technique to create a series of macros and then play them back.
(It took some time to learn, but once you get familiar with it, you should be able to
create something awesome, or not)
Even more, you can program the robot with a simple drag-and-drop programming interface.
Just drag command blocks into the program window on a phone or tablet and customize
how each command should work.
It’s quite powerful, and among the simplest ways to introduce a kid to the logic and structure
of programming.
And for older kids and adults who are prepared for real coding, ClicBot also understands
Python.
But I don’t know Python.
From my months with ClicBot, I tried very hard to find disadvantages of it just like
I do reviews with any other products.
I just can’t find any!
But if you have to pick something that you wish was better than these, would it be: a
more responsive touch screen, a more stable internet connection with your phone and also
maybe the price.
From the bundles ClicBot is offering, none are particularly inexpensive.
The good news is that ClicBot is having their Prime Day promotion from June 18th to 22nd
and you can buy it at their lowest price ever!
Only four days left so don’t miss it, otherwise, you have to wait another year!
You definitely won’t regret it.
ClicBot is infinitely replayable, with no end to the robots you can design or the things
you can do with them.
And while a lot of toys get less interesting with time, the ClicBot seemingly comes from
an alternate reality: the older you get, the more you can do with it.
The components are super durable as well.
I accidentally dropped a robot to the hard ground I built when I shot the video, actually
several times, and my daughter threw them here and there-all without damaging the product.
ClicBot is built strong enough to take any normal wear and tear beating kids would have
on them.
And I’m also pretty sure your kids or you will love it because the parts are easy enough
to assemble and play with.
All things considered, I’d highly recommend ClicBot for any family with robot-loving inquisitive kids.
And, truth be told, you will find your inner child and totally geek out as well!