Raspberry Pi Pico Robot Kit – Hands-on Rover Learning

The Pico Robot Kit and its accompanying tutorial were created by the Raspberry Pi Foundation with the support of Infosys Foundation USA. The kits are now available to the public through our sites, and the tutorials are hosted on Infosys Foundation USA's digital learning platform, the Pathfinders Online Institute as "Welcome to Design, Build and Code a Rover with Raspberry Pi Pico." Educators of grades 4-8 are invited to simply log in to create a free account to access the tutorial.

The Pico Robot Kit introduces learners to physical computing through six lessons culminating in a finished working robotic rover. Using the Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller, learners will explore inputs and outputs utilizing hardware components including buttons, LEDs, and motors.

The lessons develop students' knowledge and understanding of physical computing, starting with the creation of basic circuits and building up their usage and confidence by incorporating and programming a new piece of hardware with differing inputs/outputs. By the end of the unit, learners will have a solid understanding of microcontrollers, as well as conceptual and practical experience of physically connecting input/output devices to GPIO pins, and using algorithmic thinking to solve a maze with code.

The Pico Robot Kit provides an opportunity for learners to apply knowledge and skills from their studies in a practical and tangible project.

Each of the six lessons in this course contains the resources you need to prepare to teach and engage your students in the classroom:

• Lesson plans
• Slide decks
• Activity sheets
• Starter programs and solutions
• A final assessment rubric
• Research-based pedagogical approaches
• A learning graph to visualize progression
• Streamable video lessons

All of the programming examples and activities for this course use MicroPython, and no previous programming experience is required.

If you are a US-based K-12 public or charter school educator, you can apply to receive a free kit of components on the Pathfinders Online Institute website. 

Kit Contents

• Raspberry Pi Pico with pre-soldered Header Pins
• USB to Micro USB Cable, 1.5 ft
• 2x DC Gear Motors with Plastic Tire Wheels
• Miniature Castor Wheel
• Motor Driver Board (L298N)
• Battery Holder for 4x AA Batteries (batteries not included)
• Half-size 400-Pin Breadboard
• 2x White LEDs
• 2x Red LEDs
• 4x 100 Ohm Resistors
• 2x Crocodile Clip Cables
• 20x Female-Male Jumper Wires
• 20x Male-Male Jumper Wires
• Momentary Miniature Push Button
• Small Phillips Screwdriver