ELEGOO Tumbller Self-Balancing Robot Kit

Elegoo makes several robot/car/tank-like kits, and Amazon seems to lump all the reviews together, so: This review is about the: “Elegoo Tumbler Self-Balancing Robot Car Kit” which is their only 2-wheeled self-balancing kit. I received V1.1, current as of this date. This kit is beginner-friendly, and only involves mechanical assembly. It even includes the single small Philips screwdriver needed. No soldering. Just connect three connector cables once built. Mine worked perfectly first time. Found one small inconsequential typo in the online assembly manual, but corrected in the included printed manual. Took about an hour to build. Not strictly necessary, but you’ll want to download the accompanying phone app (Android or IOS) which works fine as a remote control over Bluetooth. If, however, you want to go further (much, much further) than just having a cool toy...: One very nice thing is that the entire product is effectively open-sourced. You’ll want to download the .zip from Elegoo’s download site which contains *everything* you’d ever want, including the source Sketch to the operating Arduino Nano’s firmware which compiled perfectly, (although it comes pre-loaded on the Nano so a PC or Mac is not necessary to simply play with it.) Also in the .zip are pretty comprehensive design files, including tutorials on how each sensor works and the overall theory of operation. There’s also sample code for operating each section (ie. Motors, ultrasonic, LEDs, etc, etc) complete with code walkthroughs. Lesson 2 (of 7) (“Balance Control”) goes into very very deep detail on the PID algorithms, which here are used to effectuate self-balancing… There's even a section on how to configure Visual Studio Code for use in the Arduino context simply because that's what their engineers prefer to use over the Arduino IDE. Geek heaven. Obviously a lot of engineering went into this product, included for all to see. Overall, a great product and eminently hackable, if that’s your thing.

I got it for my son's birthday. An awesome science demonstration. This is not the first kit that we have put together, and it is surprisingly well-built!

I've recently put together a couple different mobile robot kits and the Tumbller is easily the highest quality. The parts are clean and assembly is straightforward using nothing more than the included paper manual and screwdriver. In fact, it took longer to charge the battery than it did to assemble the Tumbller. When I finally turned it on, it stood upright as promised. Some of the screws and parts are quite small so manual dexterity is required and you should work carefully over a table or bench. Elegoo thoughtfully provides a small number of extras in case of loss during assembly. The one complaint I have is the difficulty of finding the software. The Elegoo website is largely devoted to their 3D printers with only the vaguest links to their robot cars. It required many start-over attempts plus some imaginative Google queries before I was finally able to track down what I *hope* is the github package, and I have no assurance that the sources thus obtained are what's actually running in the Arduino Nano. Getting the source code is important to me because I want to understand the self-balancing algorithm and I also hope to devise some sort of radio control other than the smartphone app provided. One possibility is replacing the Nano with a Raspberry Pi Pico W or some other microcontroller that is WiFi capable. This is certainly going to be $90 worth of fun! Update: I finally obtained the Arduino source code for the Tumbller but was unable to get it to work due to a certain section of code which caused the Nano to reset. As a last resort I sent an inquiry to Elegoo support. Rather to my surprise, I got a reply indicating the technical solution. Support like this speaks well of Elegoo as a vendor.

I bought two of these for the purpose of modifying them into differential drive robots with caster wheels. Here is my assessment: 1. The robots work out of the box for its designed purpose. 5 stars for that. 2. Hardware quality is superb. 5 stars. 3. Tutorial/doc is OK. 4 stars. 4. Example code quality is not great. 2 stars. Flaws: 1. Motor encoders have A/B phases, but phase B is not hooked up to any pin. As a result, you cannot tell the motor’s rotation direction, making position PID control impossible. Remedy: I cut the traces for the IR LEDs and wired phase B signals to these pins. Now position PID works. I should not have to do that though. 2. Only one free pin left on the Arduino Nano used. This would be a much more expandable robot if they had used Arduino Mega2560 instead.

So many things to add on! Got this for a college project. This is amazing.

I buy this to study control theory as a hobby. As an adult, I like this toy very much. The materials are very solid and the whole architecture is very compact. The assembly instructions are also very detailed. It’s an advanced LEGO, a more precise RC.

I bought this kit for my grandson for Christmas. We just built it today. I have to say I am really, really impressed with the quality of the design and the components. Everything went together very easily, and the directions were top notch. It turned on and performed well! This is an excellent kit, with lots of possibilities. The technology available today never ceases to amaze me (I've built about two dozen Arduino projects from scratch over the last few years, but this kit is really good). I haven't even tried the remote control functions with a phone yet. Well done Elegoo!

As others have indicated, the documentation is a dramatic improvement over every other China originated product I have ever purchased from electronics modules to machine tools. They aren't quite up to the old Heathkit standards, but they are pretty good as far as the hardware and assembly. The Youtube video is also helpful. Other information including source code can be dowloaded from the Elegoo site. Operation is a bit flaky. I have not had time to do a lot of troubleshooting, but the behavior of this device is more erratic than I would have expected. Whether this is a simply a deficient unit or a deficient product line remains to be determined. When I have time to get it on the bench I will know more, and I will try to remember to update this review accordingly. The Bluetooth connectivity isn't great. I tried it with both an iPhone 8 and an XS Max. Pairing is slow and unreliable. Once paired I found the user interface to be cumbersome and difficult to use. Commands often fail, and the "joystick" tends to vary between under and over control. I suggest that you use a non-permanent thread-locker when assembling this kit. During some of the aforementioned erratic behavior screws were being shaken loose (and vanishing), and indeed, the manufacturer mentions this problem with regard to one specific set of screws. I ended up disassembling the entire kit and rebuilding it with blue thread-locker on every screw. You can Blue Loctite here on Amazon in liquid form (although I actually used Permatex brand #24300 threadlocker) or in a "chapstick" tube format (I used Loctite #248). I used both, alternating based on screw location and circumstance. DO NOT use a "Red" permanent type thread-locker. If you do, I doubt that the low cost hardware in this kit will hold up during any future dis-assembly attempt. I made this purchase on impulse in response to a Lightning Deal. It seemed like a fun project to tinker with, and I felt sure our pets would enjoy having a new playmate. I probably would not buy it at the regular price, but my interest was very superficial. For someone who wants to use this as a basic platform upon which to build and experiment the regular price may seem more reasonable. Hope you find this helpful.

Excelente producto es lo que esperaba

Es muy entretenido para los niños que les gustan los legos; este sería la siguiente etapa con otro plus.

Es un buen kit, y bien desarrollado, es muy útil para estudiar programación y puede ser ampliado, para otros nuevos proyectos, saludos

Le gustó a mi hijo y lo reco7

El artículo llegó completo y mi nieto lo está disfrutando mucho, juega con el constantemente y está encantnado con es te regalo