Best Raspberry Pi Robots Kits for Beginners

This post is about Raspberry Pi robots kits, but before going to the description of my top kits, let me explain some basic terms. Please, don’t get me wrong… I just want to make life easier for those who are not that familiar with robotics terms and Raspberry terminology in particular.

What is Raspberry Pi?

Raspberry Pi is a small, credit-card sized, single-board computer that is plugged into a computer monitor or TV. It uses a standard mouth and a keyboard. Using Raspberry Pi you can learn how to program some of the computer languages, Scratch and Python, for instance.

Buyers Guide

I’m not going to copy Buyers Guide (what to consider when buying any robot kit) here, as very detailed guides are in my other reviews of robotic kits. You can read it here.

My Top of Best Raspberry Pi Robots Kits for beginners in November, 2024 Review

Image	Product
Best Choice	Adeept RaspTank WiFi Wireless Smart Robot Car Kit Easy to assemble and coding Equipped with sturdy 4-DOF robotic arm Excellent support Check Price	Check Price
Robot Dog	Freenove Robot Dog Kit for Raspberry Detailed tutorial Ultrasonic distance measurement Compatible with Raspberry Pi 4B / 3B+ / 3B / 3A+ Check Price	Check Price
Also Great	SunFounder Smart Video Robot Car Real steering system Aluminum alloy structure Compatible with multiple devices Check Price	Check Price

Let’s get started!

Adeept RaspTank WiFi Wireless Smart Robot Car Kit – Best Wireless Raspberry Pi Robots Kits for beginners

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This STEM educational crawler mobile tank is a perfect kit for beginners. Anyone who is trying to get started playing with robotics would be able to learn A1, electronics and programming. The robot is based on Raspberry Pi and comes with Raspberry Pi camera, ultrasonic module, motor HAT, 18650 battery holder set, track and N20 geared motor. It can not only track a line, recognize an object and detect a motion, but move flexibly and grab lightweight objects with its 4-DOF robotic arm too.

Note: To assemble the robot, you need to follow step-by-step instruction on the adept website. Once assembled, it looks rather cool and compact. I don’t think you would have problems programming the tank. The procedure is straightforward: you need to run the setup script and it will automatically take care of installing most dependencies.

Tip: If you have never ever built any robot, watch the video in slow motion and step-by-step assemble the unit.

If you wish you can remotely control the robot either using the buttons of the keyboard or virtual buttons on the GUI. Moreover, you can have a real-time video transmission. It means that the real-time images taken by Raspberry Pi camera could be transferred to the any remote computer. This smart robot is also capable of tracking objects of a specific color and shape and walk along the line you draw.

If you are a fan of various light effects, you do it with RGB LEDs. There’s a possibility to change the variety of colors of the robot and indicate its working status.

Pros:

• Easy to assemble and coding
• Follow online PDF for easier assembly
• Reliable technical support
• Equipped with sturdy 4-DOF robotic arm
• Possibility of remote control by GUI APP on your computer
• Possibility of real-time video transmission
• Equipped with 12x WS8212 serial RGB LEDs
• Compatible with Raspberry Pi 4/3 Model B+/B/2B
• Affordable, good value for money

Cons:

• Raspberry Pi board is not included

Freenove Robot Dog Kit for Raspberry – Best Fun and Educational Raspberry Robot kits for beginners

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This multifunctional robot dog is such a fun to build! You would be amazed how many things it can do once fully assembled. It’s capable of self-balancing, tracing red ball, measuring the distance. It can also recognize of a face and be used as a buzzer. You can charge it on board and control wirelessly by any Android device, iPhone and computer. This educational kit is not very difficult to build as it comes with lots of out-of-box components: camera, LEDs, ultrasonic, gyro, 13 metal geared servos, and more.

This funny robot dog can function in different modes: it can step forward and backwards, left and right, and turn left and right

Note: The kit doesn’t come with a manual. You can find it together with an operating software online, on the site of the manufacturer.

Tip: I would highly recommend this kit for those who are making their first steps in robotics. Of course, it would be better if you learn some basics of Raspberry Pi and Python. However, to activate this robot dog you don’t need to learn Python programming as a code is provided (it is an easiest way to get into complicated world of coding). And it could be a perfect gift too, just saying.

Pros:

• High quality materials
• Detailed tutorial
• Buzzer
• Face recognition
• Ultrasonic distance measurement
• Mobile app and computer client
• Easy programing
• Affordable
• Fun to build
• Many out-of-box components
• Compatible with Raspberry Pi 4B / 3B+ / 3B / 3A+
• Self-balancing, walking, ball tracing, face recognition, real-time video transmission

Cons:

• Raspberry Pi and battery are NOT included in the kit

SunFounder Smart Video Robot Car – Fun Raspberry Pi Robot Kit for beginners

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This multifunctional electronic DIY robot is a perfect way to learn robotics and build your own remote-control truck. The kit comes with various modules (camera, ultrasonic, line-tracking) which make possible face and color detection, automatic line tracking, real-time image/video transmission, text to speech conversion, automatic obstacle avoidance. It has collection of sound effects and background music. Moreover, you can program texted message “Hello”, for instance, and surprise your friends: any time your car sees a face, a programmable texted message would be played. Sounds great, right?

It also supports visual programming Web Control for Raspberry Pi 4B 3B+ 3B 2B and Ezblock/Python Code Control. The kit is perfect for beginners to learn codes.

Pros:

• Real steering system
• Aluminum alloy structure
• Color detection
• Face detection
• Text-to-speech conversion
• Multi-sensor self-driving mode
• Compatible with multiple devices

Cons:

• Raspberry Pi/TF card/battery are not included, you need to purchase them separately
• There were some complaints from the customers about missing parts: they were not able to complete assembly

FAQ

Conclusion

In truth, most of the Raspberry Pi robot kits are similar. All of them will give you a chance to build a robot and program it. Before making a purchase carefully read the description and try to pick up the features you like the most.

All of the robots are really fun to assemble, program and play after! It can be an absolutely perfect gift for a beginner making his first steps in the multifaceted world of robotics.

I hope this review would help you to make the right choice about best Raspberry Pi robots kits for beginners. And don’t forget to read Buyers’ Guide!