Hrafn Posted January 29 Posted January 29 My 7 year old is very interested in robotics. I was looking into starting a First Lego League team, when I found out that the Spike system is being discontinued. The replacement system seems to be more focused on coding than on robotics per se, and seems to lack the modularity of the Spike system in terms of motors and sensors. Is there another product I should consider? Should I just get a Spike set? I would love to stick with Lego compatible robotics since we have tons of Technic. My son is not interested in the competitive aspects of First Lego League, and the other parents I have spoken to are also not interested in competition, so not being able to participate in FLL is not a big deal. We do have some old Power Functions stuff (battery boxes, motors, lights, switches), PF-to-9V adapter cables, plus an RCX set and a couple of Spybots, but I don’t know how useable the RCX or Spybots are. Quote
Toastie Posted January 29 Posted January 29 8 hours ago, Hrafn said: but I don’t know how useable the RCX or Spybots are. In my view, they are absolutely useful! Also, NXT and EV3 bricks are and the software runs fine on modern computers. It may need a little digging, but these are all doing their job when it comes to getting into robotics. I started in 1998 with the RCX/Mindstorms 1.0 set and quit "updating" after the NXT. So no EV3s and Spikes here as I did still not take full advantage of what the NXT provides. My projects are running perfectly fine on RCX bricks - there are about 10 here (the 1.0 version only, as they can be powered using a wall wart. Downside: Computing power (but hey, we are talking LEGO here and getting into robotics, not about flying to Mars, right?) and somewhat limited communication means - on the other hand, it seems that RS232 will never die, my Win11/64 bit laptop is happily talking with my RCXes. I love old stuff though ... I am now focusing more on LEGO/Dacta (4.5V) Technic Control stuff from the 1986 onwards. So others here may have a totally different view! All the best Thorsten Quote
JopieK Posted January 29 Posted January 29 You could also use the https://www.lego.com/nl-nl/product/audi-rs-q-e-tron-42160 e.g. as an affordable start. See for programming: https://www.lego.com/cdn/cs/service/assets/blt5e2546716d484ba8/PoweredUp-ProgrammingBlocks.pdf. see also https://www.thebrickland.com/2026-lego-powered-up-smarter-faster-and-more-connected-than-ever/ (of course all rumors). Quote
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