Learning to code with Ohbot

About a year ago, we got to experience a fun and educational event at our local flagship Microsoft store, where they promoted their Microsoft STEM Summer Camps. One of the camps that my daughter fell in love with was the camp which featured the Ohbot robot. Ohbot is a programmable robot head which you can learn to build and program or you can purchase it already made and learn to code with Ohbot.

Programming Ohbot is a fun way to learn to code and bring your robot to life. There are a ton of fantastic features that Ohbot can do, which can provide hours of entertainment while building coding skills.

What is coding?

You have seen the craze for learning code. But what exactly is coding? Coding is the language our computers understand, and it is what makes it possible for us to create computer software, apps, and websites. Learning to code empowers you to do many things you wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. These things include hand-crafting your own websites, becoming a career coder, or even starting a technology business. Most importantly, you’ll be able to understand the technology shaping your world.

What is Ohbot exactly?

Ohbot is an educational robotics system which has been designed to stretch a child’s computational thinking and understanding of computer science.
It is a seven motor expressive robot head available either pre-assembled or as a kit to build with your child.
Ohbot connects to a PC using Windows.
Download the ohbot app from the windows app store to program your ohbot.
It includes a structured sequence of real-world problem-solving activities designed for children 7 and up that support the development of computational thinking.
Ohbot supports an understanding of sequences, repetition, and selection, variable and works with a range of sensor inputs, sound, and movement outputs.

What can Ohbot do?

If your child is familiar with Scratch, then your child will feel right at home with block coding used to program Ohbot. If your child is not used coding with Scratch, then you may want to pick up a book that will introduce your child to coding, like Coding for Beginners using Scratch.

Ohbot can detect movement, faces, sound/ voice recognition, and color.
Ohbot can be programmed to say or do almost anything you like.
Teach Ohbot to respond with simulated emotion. Give him a personality, let him tell you a story or teach him to search Wikipedia for you and tell you what he learns.