jason

WeDo: LEGO’s new robotics system for elementary schools - Boing Boing Gadgets pointed me to LEGO Education News

LEGO has announced a low-end, tethered robotics system called “WeDO” designed to be used in classrooms of elementary-aged children. It won’t replace Mindstorms, but instead serve as an intermediate step between the more fully featured robotics platform and regular, non-robotic LEGO.
The WeDo system will be available at the first of the year. Prices have not yet been announced. I wonder if we could get together with LEGO and sponsor a few kits for some Brooklyn schools.

From their press release:

The complete LEGO WeDo package includes:
• 158 brightly colored LEGO elements, including gears, and levers
• One LEGO USB Hub connects directly to a Mac/PC laptop, desktop, OLPC XO or Intel Classmate
computer to allow control of hardware input (tilt and motion sensors) and output (motor),
thereby bringing models to life
• One motor, one motion sensor and one tilt sensor
• Drag‐and‐drop icon‐based software that provides an intuitive and easy‐to‐use programming
environment suitable for beginners and experienced users alike, developed by a leading
provider of engineering hardware and software, National Instruments
• Activity pack CD‐Rom provides up to 24 hours of instruction and includes 12 activities based on
four themes: Amazing Mechanisms, Wild Animals, Play Soccer and Adventure Stories. Running
alongside programming software, activities are introduced via animations. Teacher notes and
glossary are also included.