Robohub.org
 

Muribot: Bringing university level robotics to consumers of all abilities


by
06 May 2015



share this:
The Muribot platform. Source: Mid-Ohio Area Robotics

The Muribot platform. Source: Mid-Ohio Area Robotics

Muribot is an affordable, compact robot kit, designed to make coding and robotics easily accessible to people of all ages and skill levels. It packs in quality hardware, usually seen only at universities, and is intended to grow with the ability of the user. This makes Muribot significantly different from robotic platforms that are created for a specific skill level. By bridging the gap to a high-quality learning experience, Muribot aims to be a major competitor in the STEM market and is looking for crowdfunding to achieve that goal.

The robot is pre-loaded with a remote control demo, which means it’s possible to play with it right away. Code is written in C, using MPLab IDE, and the Muribot API makes it is simple and easy to get started. Even with no previous experience, you can be coding the tutorials in less than 15 minutes out of the box. More advanced users can begin to control the hardware directly, forgoing the API. Muribot can be used to explore concepts at different levels, from simple line following and odometry to the more advanced design of neural networks and swarm robotics.

muribot3Muribot is designed to make university level hardware affordable and available to everyone. By bringing the cost of a sophisticated platform down to a consumer level, we’ve produced a tool which will be attractive not only to universities looking to upgrade or replace their current platforms, but also to elementary school students and hobbyists.

The platform is fitted with 25 sensors, including 8 Infrared Proximity and Ambient Light sensors, 3-axis Accelerometer and Magnetometer, Yaw-rate Gyroscope and much more. The internal 900mAh battery takes about 1-2 hours to charge, and provides 6-8 hours of running time per charge. Muribot is part of the FOSS (Free Open-Source Software) and Free Education movement, so is fully open-source and hacker friendly.

muribot2

At $250, Muribot costs only a bit more than a Mindstorms NXT and can even be programmed by an eight-year-old. Most other educational platforms on the market today are either extremely expensive, or lacking in features. We wanted to create something that is as useful to an elementary school learner as it is to a university student, enabling people of all ages to explore those fields freely without having to spend a lot of money doing it.

Developers, Mid-Ohio Area Robotics will be performing workshops with Muribot, to help introduce kids to coding, electronics and robotic technologies. The project saw its Kickstarter launch on 1 May, so come and help us make a difference in the world. Your support will help open doors to a whole generation of programmers, scientists, and engineers.



tags: , , , ,


Michael Stone Founder, CEO and President at Mid-Ohio Area Robotics
Michael Stone Founder, CEO and President at Mid-Ohio Area Robotics





Related posts :



Robot Talk Episode 126 – Why are we building humanoid robots?

  20 Jun 2025
In this special live recording at Imperial College London, Claire chatted to Ben Russell, Maryam Banitalebi Dehkordi, and Petar Kormushev about humanoid robotics.

Gearing up for RoboCupJunior: Interview with Ana Patrícia Magalhães

and   18 Jun 2025
We hear from the organiser of RoboCupJunior 2025 and find out how the preparations are going for the event.

Robot Talk Episode 125 – Chatting with robots, with Gabriel Skantze

  13 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Gabriel Skantze from KTH Royal Institute of Technology about having natural face-to-face conversations with robots.

Preparing for kick-off at RoboCup2025: an interview with General Chair Marco Simões

and   12 Jun 2025
We caught up with Marco to find out what exciting events are in store at this year's RoboCup.

Interview with Amar Halilovic: Explainable AI for robotics

  10 Jun 2025
Find out about Amar's research investigating the generation of explanations for robot actions.

Robot Talk Episode 124 – Robots in the performing arts, with Amy LaViers

  06 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Amy LaViers from the Robotics, Automation, and Dance Lab about the creative relationship between humans and machines.

Robot Talk Episode 123 – Standardising robot programming, with Nick Thompson

  30 May 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Nick Thompson from BOW about software that makes robots easier to program.

Congratulations to the #AAMAS2025 best paper, best demo, and distinguished dissertation award winners

  29 May 2025
Find out who won the awards presented at the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems last week.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence