Juku™ STEAM Smart Car Bots Kit

Fun to use. Gift.

Fun to build but my kid definitely wouldn’t have been able to alone. The mic doesn’t work unless we directly tap on the box. The instruction book is very hard to understand at first and pieces pop off super easy. I pulled it apart 3 different times trying to get the drive motor assembly to work correctly. I would not recommend this item.

I purchased this kit on deal through an online reseller that resembles Amazon's Woot. My child and I were excited to receive it. When we began, we noted several problematic issues: 1) The instructions are barely adequate: if one does not pay exact attention to the orientation of blocks/objects, it is easy to make a mistake. This is a problem with both the design of the product itself and poor instruction manuals. 2) If one makes a mistake, it is very hard to detach blocks and reassemble them. We found that we needed a tweezer to do so. Given the relative complexity of the product, and the tightness with which the pieces fit together, I would have expected either a tool for detaching blocks or clear instructions on how to do so. 3) My child would not be able to assemble this alone. My child enjoys assembling things and has a knack for it, but I cannot imagine a child under the age of 13 who would be able to do this alone, or who would not get bored/frustrated with the number of small parts, some of which are difficult to fit together.

I did not buy this product. My 7-year old granddaughter received it as a prize at her school. She assembled it herself, which I found impressive, but lacked a battery. My wife and I took the assembled car, bought a battery, consulted the (minimal to non-existent) instructions and completed the assembly with its specified 9v power source. When I connected the 9v battery to the cable that was to connect to the activation microphone--basically a switch--a sealed box along the cable lit up red. That cable connected to the microphone by magnets. It took a couple of tries to figure out the proper "port" (there are 4) on the hexagonal (= 6 sides: there are no ports on two of the sides) microphone system to use to attach the battery cable. When that connection was made, red lights came on in the microphone system. At first, when I connected the motor cable (downstream of the microphone) to the microphone (also by magnets; N.B., there are three possible connection for the motor cable: why?), the wheels turned for a split second and then stopped, while a blue light came on in a sealed block part way down the motor cable. I discovered that by pressing a button on the sealed block, I could toggle the light color between blue and red. No amount of talking, singing or whistling into the microphone caused the motor to turn the wheels. I tried all of the three possible connections for the motor cable to the microphone; none worked. After a few minutes, the red/blue light in the sealed block went out. I noticed that the battery, microphone and the sealed blocks had gotten very hot, so I disconnected everything to see if the original illumination scheme would return once the components cooled off. No luck; the red/blue light is still out. Later, I tried to complete a circuit directly from the battery to the motor by removing the microphone. The motor still would not rotate. I removed the cover of the motor to check the physical connections of the motor cable to the motor. The connections appeared to be intact. I am out of ideas, and patience. And my granddaughter is "over it". Don't waste your time or money on this toy.

The instructions are OK. Most children without previous model experience are unlikely to understand the exactness required. The pictures are nice, but understanding the exact positioning of pieces might require looking forward and backward thru the pics. The micro phone switch is pitiful. It just isn't sensitive enough for continuous operation. I could only get it to go a few inches at a time by sound and even when making the same noise I got different distance results. Blue light is one direction Red is opposite direction I completed "car" assembly and found the torque was too little. It would spin and lose traction. I ended up changing design of track and I increase the mobility. It's cute and neat. Needs a better switch which will allow voice activated change of direction. Tapping mic gave me the best response.

after some resoldering, it works.... finally