Smart Robot Dog Kit, 12 DOF Programmable Bionic Metal STEM Learning Toy, Open Source ESP32 Educational Project for Teens Adults, Wireless App Control(Basic Kit)

The media could not be loaded. I have been looking for a robot dog platform that I could purchase then add additional functionality to. The XR-Corgi caught my attention because it appeared to be well made, it offered an AI expansion pack and it also had 3 separate joints in each leg. When I received the XR-Corgi I was surprised by how well it was made. The unit is all metal and the machining is excellent as is the surface coating. The servos used have a shaft that extends on both sides allowing it to be captured on both. This provides much better support than the single shaft servos used in most other products. The head is mounted on a servo allowing it to rotate left or right. One of the enhancements that I plan to make is adding a second servo to allow the head to move up and down as well. There is a very nice power button and a voltage display that monitors your battery charge. The XR-Corgi ships in a box with two foam inserts that are precisely cut to support the XR-Corgi and its power supply. The box included a nicely printed 62-page manual, sadly in my case it was in Chinese. The good news is that a English version (PDF) is available from a link that Xiaor Geek sent through Amazon after my purchase. The power supply has a barrel connector rather than the typical USB connectors used these days. This type of connector provides a nice solid connection that will last a long time. I would suggest reading the manual before trying to turn the unit on. You need to charge the battery first then straighten the legs to a standing position before turning the unit on. When I turned it on I was able to connect my cell phone on the first try. The app worked perfectly, and the XR-Corgi performed all its preset actions without any problems. As the manual stated there was a slight response delay to commands when the video was on. The XR-Corgi moved smoothly and did not have any servo jitter or irregular movements that were common complaints on other products. The XR-Corgi comes pre-assembled which at first concerned me but then I realized that my purpose is to enhance the software and hardware not to practice the mechanical skills of putting something together. One of the things I liked about XR-Corgi was the ability to add an AI Expansion pack that also facilitates external programming which will be necessary to support an autonomous mode. I would also note that the XR-Corgi includes a battery and with the AI expansion a Raspberry Pi 4 and second camera which are not included in some kits. The support for the XR-Corgi has been great, prior to purchasing I posted a number of product questions. In each case their response was through and timely. If you are looking for a STEM project focused on Software development, Robotics and AI/Vision or if you are a robot hobbyist like me I would definitely recommend you consider this product.

The robot dog’s build quality is good. The body is all metal and solid. Having 12 leg servos allows legs to have greater range of motion. Initially the iOS app was so laggy it was barely useful. XiaoR Geek customer service responded and has fixed the the lagging issue with the iOS app. I have rated the Basic Kit 4 Stars it is not programmable. The kit’s FAQs spell this out. Furthermore, the last time I checked the upgrade parts are not independently listed on Amazon. I plan to upgrade the Basic Kit to the Expansion Pack and will provide a review of robot in the Expanded programmable state.