FREENOVEBig Hexapod Robot Kit for Raspberry Pi 5 4 B 3 B+ B A+, Walking, Self Balancing, Face Recognition, Ultrasonic Ranging, App Control, Camera, Servo (Raspberry Pi NOT Included)

The media could not be loaded. OK so I know it is clearly stated, but be aware, you need to supply batteries, charger and Raspberry Pi.I used a Raspberry Pi 3.This is my 3rd Freenove kit. I have been impressed by the quality of their kits and their outstanding customer support and the big hexapod is no exception.I believe problems can happen with any purchase; it is how they are dealt with that is the measure of a company. My kit had one mis-cut piece. I contacted Freenove support and they had a replacement in the post the next day, they also offered me an STL file to build my own if I had access to a 3d printer. I consider that to be 5 star support.The kit included 2 screw drivers and a spanner, which between them were suitable for all the nuts and bolts. Freenove do supply a few spares of each nut and bolt, but the servos do not include spares, so be careful with the screws for securing the servo arms!I found a very helpful set of build videos on you tube (search for 'Blade Dreams'). If you do follow the video, a couple of points to note:Blade Dreams had an issue with the orientation of the ultrasonic connection wire - the tutorial is now updated so just follow that.Blade Dreams also inserted rubber bushes in his servo mounts - I don't believe this is necessary.The Freenove tutorial is clear and easy to follow, except, perhaps, when connecting and orientating the servos. The golden ruler is never connect or disconnect anything when the Pi is powered up, always shut it down and power it off first. So first connect the servos, then turn on and run the server program.Everything else went smoothly and was a lot of fun.It sailed through the set up tests, I calibrated the leg positions using the supplied calibration sheet and now it's good to go.One aspect of Freenove products that I particularly like is the open source code. Having had fun creating new movements and actions with my Freenove dog kit, I am now looking forward to exploring and tinkering with the Hexapod code. I have found with previous kits that any questions I have about both the kit and the code are always promptly and helpfully answered by the support team.I think the coding side is a big plus, but, having built the kit, it is good to go with the supplied PC software or via a phone app so software tinkering is purely optional.Compared with my previous kits, the Hexapod is big! It also feels very sturdy. I am very pleased with my purchase and I'm looking forward to further exploring its potential.I would recommend the Freenove Robot User group on Facebook facebook.com/groups/333208747878884 which is a recently formed group for Freenove robot owners with the intention of sharing tips, mods and code.I shot the video immediately after calibration, I'm not very good at filming and controlling the robot (via android app) at the same time which is why things get a bit jerky particularly when I move the head!

Build was interesting and not too difficult. The most important part of the build starts on page 61 where you have to set the servos to a known position and then attach the legs to the chassis. This is important as if you don't do this correctly the robot will not operate correctly. Instructions are clear in the most part, but take your time and double check as you go along. Once built, the camera didn't work, so I contacted support. The response was quick, helpful and I managed to fix the camera.I would recommend this robot, for the price it's a good robust unit.

The number of products one sees with so many detailed and useful 5 star reviews is small. I agree with pretty much everything I've read in these reviews, and my experience of the technical support is equally positive - they helped to diagnose a small problem and quickly shipped a replacement for an electronic item with an intermittent fault. I think this product is excellent value for money - there are 20 servos in the kit, several electronics units, a camera and numerous custom components (see the list in the Amazon ad) which all fit together and work exactly as in the promotional video. I haven't had time to fully investigate the potential for coding, but I suspect my Python skills will be a biggest limitation. I have shown that the source code can be downloaded and used to build the same client program that is supplied as a '. exe' file - so now its down to me to work out what I want to change!

As the kit was sold out in Germany I had to buy one of the few remaining in the UK. The robot is easy to assemble because there are good instructions - better than what I've seen out of China before. It is however very advisable to watch the Youtube videos where the assemply is shown in every step. Sometimes the instructions in the PDF file are not in the correct sequence and sometimes a missing information is given only in the video. The video suggests that everything can be assembled very fast in a few hours. In reality however the M4 screws and nuts require considerable force and there is the danger that you break parts.Quality issues:One of the battery case lids was broken when it arrivd but replaced by the support.I had to replace 4 of the 18 leg servo motors because they were shaking instead of moving. Here I also got help from the support.If you want to write your own code you have to interface to the software provided by Freenove. This is a challenge since it is in no way documented and doesn't follow the standards for Python for readability.If you want to have more than a remote control toy (I want to make it move autonomously) you will soon see that the ultrasonic sensor is of little value for obstacle avoidance. The narrow beam cannot find all the chair legs where the robot's legs get stuck.The legs were hitting very hard on our wooden floor and made a terrible noise. I added "feet" of silk clay to the tips of the legs which has the rigidity of soft rubber.The support deserves a merit. If you send a mail in the evening you get the answer for breakfast.

The media could not be loaded. Amazing product. Very good for programming beginners. Assembly take some time but once it's done it's a lot of fun with it.Also support from Freenove is very quick and they helping if u have any issues. My LED module had some problems and wasn't working properly - they send me new one and now everything is running as it should. :)

One of the motors is not working properly, unfortunately I will not get only one part replaces.My 8 years old son loves it.Totally recommend for a father to son weekend together.