DJI’s RoboMaster S1 is an educational RC robot with 31 sensors, a camera and a cannon

DJI, the famous drone makers, has brought its first RC rover to consumer market. The RoboMaster S1 is an advanced radio controlled vehicle that can wander around like many other RC cars, it can join in a battle field with other S1s and shoot gel beads. But more importantly it can also help students learn programming.

The drone maker recently entered the action camera market taking on GoPro with its own Osmo Action. The RoboMaster S1 is now a product among the field where no other one looked more interested to bring dedication with education.

The rover is named for DJI’s annual RoboMaster competition that allows students to engineer their own machines and battle in the field. It’s for consumers who not only want to play around but also want to learn programming. RoboMaster S1 is customizable and programmable and hence cost more than any other RC car out there. It starts from USD 499 but educational discount may be applied.

The RoboMaster S1 comes disassembled into 46 parts, which DJI says can typically be assembled in about 2 to 4 hours. Yes, this robot, you will need to assemble yourself with the guide provided. DJI labeled it with S1 (or Step 1) in learning. After assembly, you can head over to RoboMaster smartphone app to drive and control the rover. There are three modes or sections that include Solo, Battle, and Lab.

With Solo mode, you can drive the S1 and play around like any other RC car. The Battle mode prepares the S1 for action against other S1s in the field.

However the most important mode that makes this robot different than any other, is the Lab mode.  As told the S1 is almost fully customizable, it can be programmed as you want. The company offered it to do with Scratch — an interactive programming tool for kids that allows to pin in and out the code blocks like Legos. Or advanced coders can use Python to customize the RoboMaster S1.

In addition, the RoboMaster S1 equips with 36 different sensors and its modular design with six pulse width modulation (PWM) ports allow you to modify the S1 and connect additional third-party accessories like speakers or LEDs. You can also add in a second camera may be? and can code yourself to support with the S1. It also comes with a rechargeable battery.

The S1 features Mecanum wheels which allow the rover to drive in any direction without even rotating. S1 has a built-in first-person FOV camera on top as well as two blasters. One is the infrared blaster that is used to shoot other S1s in the battle mode by hitting any one of those 36 sensors deployed on the body of S1.

The second one is the gel bead blaster that shoots anything around with little beads more like orbeez. However this blaster can not work alone and will need the help of infrared blaster to lock on the target and hit.

There is much more to learn about RoboMaster S1, head over to its portal and order one for yourself or your kids.