In 2019, ELECFREAKS developed the ELECFREAKS Smart Cutebot kit, a safe, durable, and easy-to-install cart robot, according to the market demand. Over the past four years, it has been recognized and loved by hundreds of thousands of students and teachers worldwide for its compact size, simple installation structure, affordable price, excellent and sturdy quality, and its rounded and cute appearance. It has been recognized and loved by hundreds of thousands of students and teachers around the world for its compact size, simple installation structure, excellent quality, and lovely rounded appearance, allowing more children to start experiencing the charm of hardware programming in a fun way and becoming ELECFREAKS’ best-selling product in the world.

With such a large user base, we have gathered a lot of valuable feedback. For example, the battery will be insufficient when using it for a long time, the interface is not enough when you need to expand the structure, and so on. Although we launched an expansion kit to solve some of these problems, ELECFREAKS was not satisfied with that. Therefore, in 2023, we developed a more specialized version of the ELECFREAKS Smart Cutebot Pro Kit to meet the more in-depth and complex needs of our users.

If the normal version of Cutebot makes learning hardware programming accessible and easy to learn with its fun and cost-effective features, the Pro version makes Cutebot not only a fun tool for hardware programming beginners but also a possibility for experienced programmers to realize their creative ideas, making it no longer difficult to realize them in the real world. Now, let me introduce you to the necessary upgrades and extensions in the Pro version while maintaining the excellent performance of the first-generation Cutebot.

a. Upgraded rechargeable 18650 battery. In the feedback we collected from teachers, we noticed that power was a problem for them when the robot was used continuously for learning in the classroom. Frequent use makes the remaining battery power unpredictable after use and also results in frequent battery replacements, which to some extent increases the burden on teachers and may affect their teaching rhythm. Therefore, for the sake of environmental protection and to make the use last longer, we changed the battery box to a Rechargeable lithium battery expansion board. Supports 2000ma lithium battery power supply, which Supports 2000ma lithium battery power supply, which makes the battery life longer and can create more cases. The reusable battery reduces the pressure of having to keep replacement batteries on hand and reduces the negative impact on the environment. We have also added a power indicator that shows the remaining battery power in real-time, prompting the user to recharge the battery promptly.

b. Programmable closed-loop motors. Feedback from teachers was that after implementing the basics, they wanted to go further in terms of speed, angle, and number of laps so that the children could learn more. So we upgraded the motors to codable motors. In addition to making the carts run, move forward, backward, avoid obstacles, etc., we were also able to go further and precisely control the speed, distance, and angle of turn of the robotic carts, as well as driving long distances in a straight line, walk on a grid, etc., so that they could learn more advanced and complex programs.

c. Upgraded to 4 line-tracking sensors. In the normal version of Cutebot, there are only 2 line-tracking sensors, so they can’t do the job when recognizing complex cross routes and intersections, and they need the map to be a special material to be able to recognize them. In the Pro version, we upgraded it to 4 line-tracking sensors, which solves the previous problem and also allows kids to learn part of the AI algorithms and applications through the PID algorithm. The restriction on the map material is also not as strict as before, we set up a training button so that the 4 line-tracking sensors can learn maps with different materials. In terms of use and functionality have made the PRO more convenient.

d. More expansion interface. On the regular version, even though there is an expansion kit, there are still fewer locations that can be expanded, and the structures that can be expanded are very limited. This is not enough for users to realize more creative ideas. So on the cutebot pro kit, we have expanded the peripheral interfaces, making it possible to add additional motors, sensors, and building blocks to prepare for the creation of more complex cases. We use the Cutebot Pro for designing race structures in our races in China because of its scalability.

ELECFREAKS has always been committed to meeting the needs of students and teachers and continues to provide users with powerful and affordable teaching hardware. We hope that the expansion of the ELECFREAKS Cutebot Pro Kit will help more kids and teens learn amazing things and understand the real world better in the easiest way possible.