Robots Frequently Asked Questions

Why a two-motor three wheel robot, not four motor four wheel robot?

We evaluated both the two-motor three wheel robot and the four motor four wheel robots and found that we could achieve all our learning objectives with the two-motor three wheel version. The kits are lower cost, have a simpler assembly process and have plenty of power for our projects.

Why do we use the L293D vs L298N Motor Driver?

Both of these popular motor driver chips are commonly used in robot kits. Our focus is teaching the principals of computational thinking using low-cost parts. Since the L293D is lower cost and has plenty of power for our two-motor robots we chose that. There is a detailed side-by-side comparison [here] (https://www.etechnophiles.com/l293d-vs-l298n-motor-driver-differences-specifications-and-pinouts/)

Why don't we just create a remote control robot car?

Remote control cars are very fun to play with. But we find that it often detracts from our mission of learning how to code. So we try to minimize the time students spend just driving their cars around our tracks.