Review
(^184) The Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book raspberrypi.org/magpi
A
complete
kit to build
your own
robot car
Dexter Industries
Maker
Says
GOPIGO3
or the last few years, the
GoPiGo has been one of the
most impressive robot kits
available for the Raspberry Pi.
The build remains excellent for
the latest version. Two 3D-printed
acrylic boards house a Raspberry
Pi 3 and GoPiGo3 board. To this,
you attach the motors, a wireless
networking dongle, a battery pack,
and a USB thumb drive.
The build of the robot is relatively
complex (although with fewer steps
than the GoPiGo2 kit it replaces).
It took us 45 minutes to put in all
the screws, washers, and posts that
connect the various parts together.
This build time is about three times
as long as most kits we encounter.
There are good photographic
instructions, though, and we
didn’t get stuck during the build
process. More information on
the build process can be found
at magpi.cc/2v08oV0.
You might be wondering why it
comes with a wireless dongle when
the Pi 3 / 3B+ has wireless built in.
That’s because GoPiGo3 broadcasts
its own wireless hotspot, so the
minute you switch it on, you can
connect to it via a local network
called ‘GoPiGo’.
Thanks to this approach, as
soon as you’ve finished the setup
and inserted the eight batteries,
it becomes an absolute breeze to
start using the GoPiGo3. There’s
a whole new DexterOS operating
system to play with and it’s packed
with features.
Hotspot robot
The robot transmits its network
called ‘GoPiGo’. You connect to this
network, and point a web browser
to bloxter.com. You don’t need
internet access to do this. You
can log into the network from a
Windows, Mac, or Linux computer;
a tablet or smartphone; and of
course, another Raspberry Pi.
The web interface starts with
four options: Drive, Learn, Code
in Bloxter, and Code in Python.
Click Drive and you can move the
robot around using the on-screen
buttons. Tap ‘Code in Bloxter’
and you can use Scratch-style
blocks to control the robot. The
‘Code in Python’ option lets
you use a web-based Python
IDE to program the robot with
the GoPiGo3 software library
(GitHub, magpi.cc/2tWzmwE).
You can use Scratch to control
the GoPiGo, but you need to switch
the OS over to ‘Raspbian for
Robots’. We think DexterOS has
the better solution with Bloxter and
Python. Based on Google Blockly
(magpi.cc/2uq6MG9), Bloxter is
similar enough to Scratch.
On the whole, DexterOS is a
slick solution that enables you to
This sturdy robot kit creates a network and broadcasts lessons,
making it ideal for students and teachers alike
F
CORETEC
TINY 4WD
With twice as
many wheels
for around
half the price,
this Pi Zero W
based robot is
a capable rover.
magpi.cc/OiXbKb
Related
£55 / $60
GOPIGO3