Why do robots cost so much?
Too_Many_Tools
Posts: 765
That question was asked of me recently by a young budding roboticist.
She pointed out that robots like Vex, Lego AND Parallax cost a lot of money.
Unfortunately she is right.
So why do robots cost so much and why haven't their prices come down over time?
When entry pricing for robotics kits are set high, it prevents many wanna be roboticists to be involved.
The world is poorer because of it.
She pointed out that robots like Vex, Lego AND Parallax cost a lot of money.
Unfortunately she is right.
So why do robots cost so much and why haven't their prices come down over time?
When entry pricing for robotics kits are set high, it prevents many wanna be roboticists to be involved.
The world is poorer because of it.
Comments
I think there is a thread around here somewhere where Prof. Braino was trying to come up with some low cost options.
C.W.
LEGO, Vex and Parallax are very different things. Which model robots did you have in mind?
Speaking of eBay, educators occasionally sell off spare Boe-bots and I scored one for $60 once. So don't underestimate the value of scrounging.
There are several threads about building low cost robots. I'm pretty sure I link to several other of these threads from my cheap bot thread.
The main costs are control board, servos (or motors) and batteries. There are a lot robots that can be built for less than $50.
-Phil
When I built Clyde the only high-dollar part was the BS Homework Board ~$40. The rest came from parts I had on-hand, a couple of bits on eBay and the scrap bin at a local plastic supplier.
I did recently buy a robot kit, a bipedal walker. It was a bit pricey at $100 plus shipping. Previously, for about the same cost I built a larger, more complex walker (Wally) using parts on-hand and scrounging for deals on eBay.
So, again, nothing wrong with kits ('cept price maybe), but for me the fun is in designing my critters and making all the parts I can as cheaply as possible.
Amanda - Apprentice Tinkerer
Edit: See Gordon McComb's book "The Robot Builder's Bonanza"
For all three of the brands mentioned at top, the biggest contributor to the end price is support. Toolsets, learning guides, examples, tutorials, books, and all that cost money. In the case of Parallax, at least, these are always free when downloaded. Few other robot kits have the depth and width of free support as the BOE-Bot, and its selling price reflects the time and energy that went into creating that support.
IMO, LEGO is absurdly priced. But apparently they can get it, because the thing keeps selling.
Scratch-build, and not relying on Chinese sources to save nickles-and-dimes, you can do a decent bot for $50, and in style for $80.
Do you have anything you have built you would like to share?
The thing Lego has going for it is that you can turn an eight year old lose with it, and they can turn out something impressive without breaking it. The problem of course is that it does that by constraining your choices so much that in two years you'll start to outgrow it. Some people continue to turn out amazing stuff with Lego, but they do it by buying add ons that are pretty expensive.
What's funny is that I bought a Scribbler 1 when my son was five and my daughter was seven. We had a blast with it and the built in programs. We bought Lego NXT when they were eight, and ten, and likewise had fun. But then I realized there was more to Scribbler then met the eye, I learned PBasic, and ended up a forumista.
I'm not saying LEGO robotics is a waste, but there are many other alternatives far cheaper. LEGO is becoming something for either rich kids, or schools, leaving out less affluent learners who don't go to a school with a robotics program. TMT nailed it with the comment "The world is poorer because of it." That's exactly right.
LOL...I am slowly donating those Bots to deserving groups since I already had a number of them from past purchases.
FWIW...my mention of the mind blowing pricing of those Bots was not meant as a personal gloat but as a heads up to others to be shaking the Radio Shack trees for hidden treasures. The last time I had seen those type of prices were during the Great Robot Purge several years ago at Radio Shack when they blew out Boebots and the Vex line.
I think that is part of the problem..but only part of it.
The Lego robot line is based on mechanical components that are made in the BILLIONS.
All of them.
I understand that development costs need to be crawled back but what we are seeing that robot kits retain their initial MSPR pricing over years.
History has shown us that electronic companies who charge low prices for development kits see far better market penetration.
I understand the lure of scratch build and the champaign tastes beer budget magic of the surplus market but history shows it is asking far too much for the young and inexperienced (who seldom have any mentoring available) to get robotics from that venue.
Good point...one of the many strong points of this website.
Good reference...Mr. Tilden's approach is a valid one.
Unfortunately few newbies know of it and one needs to come to it with working electronics knowledge (or make the time to gain that knowledge) to enable its implementation.
I would agree...I especially like this approach since I have a substantial tool capability available to me.
Unfortunately building scratch built assumes that you already have the infrastructure skills and resources in place.
Most people do not...and usually all newbies do not..which is why most commercial kits are based on supplied components.
The decline and fall of the hands on culture in the USA is a sore point with me...next time you are driving around a neighborhood count how many households have a shop in their garage versus those who do not.
I agree and understand the increased cost of a kit where predevelopment has been done versus the "raw pile" approach.
What the young person's question unknowingly raised is why do the costs of robotics kits remain high years after being introduced...long after develeopment costs have been reclaimed.
Thanks Gordon...that is my point.
As we who have worked with robotics all know from experience, costs can be reduced through different routes..but again we know this because of our robotic experience which newbies do not posess.
All of the above and more.
I use kits as resources to build custom setups as the need arises.
As for building a specific robot, I have been considering building a working version of the Martian Curiosity rover as a personal project.
Agreed that the Lego kit does leverage the basic building components.
Softwarewise it seems to require adult assistance.
I would agree that having access to the programming language adds power to the build experience but again that knowledge base is required that newbies lack.
Well said Gordon.
We can easily see the mechanics but the software content is invisible...we tend to discount the "out of sight out of mind" content of any effort.
I posted in the general discussion area about a film Stanford students attempting to design and build a useful product using minimal resources..a very telling real world challenge.