Freenove Mecanum Wheel Car Kit for Raspberry Pi Pico (Included) (Compatible with Arduino IDE), Dot Matrix Expressions, Obstacle Avoidance, Line Tracking, Light Tracing, Colorful Light

This is a review of the Freenove Mecanum Wheel Car Kit for Raspberry Pi Pico W. I don't usually leave reviews on Amazon, but I was sufficiently impressed by this kit that I wanted to share my experience with others who might be considering it.The kit is built around the powerful Raspberry Pi Pico W microcontroller. It connects a variety of components to the Pico, resulting in a smart car that has a range of capabilities and that offers many opportunities for learning and extension. Among the components are:* four mecanum wheels with motors. These give amazing mobility to the car: it can spin around its own axis; circle around an external point that it is facing; move directly left, right and diagonally; as well as go forward and backward, make turns, speed up and slow down, and the like.* light-sensitive photoresistors. These allow the car to measure the brightness level on its left and right sides so that, for example, you can have the car chase the moving light from a flashlight.* optical sensors underneath the car. With these the car can, for example, follow a track that you have laid out on the floor.* an ultrasonic distance measurer mounted on a servomotor that swivels to the left and right. With this you can, for example, have the car change direction when it detects that it is getting close to an obstacle.* an infrared detector that receives signals from a handheld controller. This lets you command any function on the car from a distance by pushing buttons on the controller.* a wifi receiver on the Pico W that again lets you command any of the car's functions via an app from another wifi device such as a smart phone.* other fun things like a LED array that can flash simple pictures; a set of NeoPixel LEDs that can be programmed to change colors according to a pattern; and a buzzer.These are all included with the very reasonably-priced kit. (The only things not included are a pair of high drain 18650 rechargeable batteries and a charger, which can be found on Amazon and elsewhere.) The car's tutorial explains clearly how to mount and connect the components. This is not a difficult kit to assemble, although some of the attachment nuts and bolts are small and want a bit of care and dexterity in handling. The completed car seems solid and robust, and not likely to be damaged by reasonable use.The kit is accompanied by a downloadable software library that provides programmatic access to the car's various components and their functions. The library includes examples (in the form of simple program "sketches" that can be uploaded to the car) that show how to use each of the components. In many cases the examples cover both a basic component use (e.g. how to measure distances with the ultrasonic module) and a more complex one (e.g. how to use the distance measurements to automatically steer the car away from potential collisions). The tutorial discusses each of the examples in detail, so that the reader comes away with an understanding both of the low-level outputs of the car's components and of higher-level program logic to transform these outputs into useful actions. (While the tutorial does not teach programming, anyone with a basic knowledge of C/C++ should be able to follow along.) With this knowledge, a builder is prepared to go beyond the provided examples and develop new applications for the car.I also wanted to mention the very high quality of the customer support that Freenove offers. I contacted them with some questions that I had about the kit while I was building it, and they replied promptly and with information that was very much to the point. We had several email exchanges, and throughout they remained patient and committed to helping me resolve the questions that I had.In my opinion, this is an outstanding product for those who want to learn about developing mobile hardware/software systems like robots and smart cars, and I have no hesitation to recommend it highly.

Due to storage limitations, you can only upload a certain amount of code.Some of the code works some of the time, none of the code works all of the time.We explored many of the functions, and most of them work.Instructions were straightforward, but hard to find.Once you figure it out it’s a neat little toy, and it really has room to grow.Well built kit, quality parts, lots of fun.

Okay, the blurb, on Amazon, says that batteries are not included. I have plenty batteries of different shapes & sizes, so I order the kit. Then I download the tutorial. Aha, the batteries are not the kind you get from Walmart or your local hardware outlet. These are 18650 batteries, and BTW, you also need a charger. So, we need to figure that addition into the price of the kit.In their documentation Freenove says the batteries are not available on Amazon, but they do give other sources. Yeah, well, Amazon does sell the 18650 batteries from different sources, some come with a charger. Come on Freenove, lets get the documentation updated and a better statement about batteries on the Amazon page.I have evaluated Freenove's tutorial kit for Raspberry Pi's (RPi's) for some teacher friends. Freenove does have good tutorials on the RPi's. There are a few typo's, but their explanations of components, how to connect them, and the coding involved (Python and C/C++ languages) are very good. They even work for folks new to Raspberry Pi's and coding.After quick scan through the tutorial for this car, I think they will live up to that reputation. They have you code and test for each separate component or module to show you how it works. Then they have you put the whole thing together in one program. I'm curious how the Arduino IDE will work, although I don't see why it wouldn't.BTW: I'm not sure that this is a good project for the rank beginner. It expects you to have a good knowledge of C/C++ or Python coding. You should, also have a good knowledge of basic electronics and how Raspberry Pi Pico's work.Knowing their attention to detail, I was amazed at the lack of info and misinformation about the source of the batteries. I would expect better of this company.

The box showed the old wheels but inside was the mecnum wheel’s