Ruku: a Rubik's cube solving robot for STEM education.
Ruku: a Rubik's cube solving robot for STEM education.
Ruku: a Rubik's cube solving robot for STEM education. Teaching students Computer Science, Robotics, & Engineering in an engaging way.
Ruku: a Rubik's cube solving robot for STEM education. Teaching students Computer Science, Robotics, & Engineering in an engaging way. Read more
About this project
Ruku Robot is a robot that can solve a Rubik's cube, but more than that it is a fun, interactive, teaching tool that engages people of all ages. Ruku Robot comes as a kit that students assemble and during the building process gain a greater understanding of subjects such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). We built it to be the perfect robotic kit for any STEM classroom. Purchase the Ruku Robot kit and soon you will have all the parts necessary to build your own robot. Ruku is an affordable STEM resource for educators, students and developers. Use Ruku Robot to grasp the fundamentals of robotics, computer science and engineering.
As you can see Ruku is made from colorful and high quality components that will last and last.
Watch Ruku in action, shown here solving a Rubik's Cube in 12 seconds!
Ruku is 100% open source, meaning all the hardware and software is available for students and developers to modify and contribute to. We believe in the open source movement because we know the power of many great minds can bring technology to new heights.
This video says it all! Did you know the Rubik's cube is one of most famous toys in the world and 1 in 6 kids have played with one? Also it is gender neutral appealing to both boys and girls, keeping them entertained for hours. As Erno Rubik (The creator of the Rubik's cube) once said "Once I completed the Cube and demonstrated it to my students, I realized it was nearly impossible to put down." which we totally believe is true! Thank you Erno for making this wonderful toy!
Ruku was built from the ground up to challenge and engage students of any skill level. Ruku is a kit for anyone that wants to learn about Robotics, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and wants to have fun while doing it. We have lesson plans for middle school ages and up. We also think it would be great for college students or graduates that want a fun and interesting robot to build.
Are you an STEM educator?
Ruku is also aimed at educators that need an exciting project for their classroom, since it already comes with teacher and student lesson plans it is the perfect teaching tool.
What is STEM?
STEM education is increasing in demand and we are happy to be part of the movement towards creating more STEM learning opportunities for students. We are seeing Robotics clubs, Computer Science classrooms, and summer classes popping up everywhere. Hands on activities it makes learning fun and interesting. When we (the founders of Ruku) were kids, we didn’t have the internet or computers in our homes, let alone in our pockets. The most basic electronics seemed amazing to us. We spent hours playing with Legos and erector sets, which became the basic building blocks of learning that led to us becoming the engineers we are today. However we understand the increasing desire of adults and children to be inspired by and learn through interacting with new technology. We have seen Ruku Robot amaze and engage classrooms full of students. We hope Ruku Robot will inspire children to become the next leaders in STEM professions.
Why is Ruku Robot an excellent STEM education tool for girls? It is based around the worlds best selling toy, the Rubik’s cube. The Rubik’s cubes popularity is based on its ability to equally engage both girls and boys due to it’s gender neutral design.
Children and adults are innately curious about how things work and puzzles such as the Rubik’s cube engage that curiosity. Unfortunately in today's world we find examples of toy manufacturers using gender stereotypes when marketing their products, pushing princess dolls dressed in pink to little girls and construction toys painted yellow and black to little boys. These messages are repeated again and again in toy stores, advertisements, and even in classrooms. There is a movement in education to encourage young children to embrace Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education, with a special emphasis on young girls. The data is clear that while women are at almost equal numbers in graduating with Chemistry, Material Science and Biological Science degrees, they fall well below in the Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science fields. Teachers and parents are aware of the need to encourage young girls in these fields but often don’t know where to look for resources that can engage them. Ruku Robot is the answer to their problems. The robot not only continues with the gender neutral color scheme of the Rubik’s cube itself, it also encourages collaboration. Girls inherently enjoy a collaborative environment where critical thinking, creativity and communication are encouraged. This robotics kit is perfect for group projects and the online community, that fosters a collaborative environment. We are the tool that parents and educators can use to nurture these young girls curiosity about Robotics, Math and Engineering.
We have put some amazing incentives together for this Kickstarter campaign, and every Incentive you purchase helps us tremendously to reach our goal!
Incentive $5 (Every Incentive comes with this of course)
A huge thank you to all of our supporters, we will put your name on our website!
Incentive $15 - Stickers + App + Thank you!
Awesome Ruku Stickers!
Our App for Android an iOS that can show you how to solve any cube by detecting the colors of any standard Rubik's Cube! It is also a virtual 3D Rubik's cube that you can use if you do not have a real one.
Incentive $29 - High Speed Professional 3x3 Cube + Stickers + App + Thank you!
This Rubik's Cube is one of the best on the market and has a 5 star rating on Amazon. It is what we call a "magic" cube because it is used by speed cubers all around the world, and is the type of cube people use to break the cube solving speed records. We love this cube so much it comes with every Ruku Robot!
Incentive $55 - Premium Ruku T-Shirt + High Speed Professional 3x3 Cube + Stickers + App + Thank you!
Incentive $149-$199 - Basic Ruku Robot kit + High Speed Professional 3x3 Cube + Stickers + App + Thank you!
Wow look at all those awesome parts! This kit is not only filled with all the parts you see in the picture, but it comes with lesson plans, and all the tools you need to put Ruku together! Everything you see is top quality and we know these parts will last and last so students can make their very own creations once they are done! This is ideal for people that already own a Raspberry PI. Also remember that this kit can be gifted to any school of your choice, and your name will be listed as the donor.
Incentive $259 - Premium Ruku Robot kit + Raspberry Pi + High Speed Professional 3x3 Cube + Stickers + App + Thank you!
This kit comes with the award winning Raspberry PI, SD Card, Power Supply for the Raspberry Pi and a WIFI adapter (a $99 value) and of course the Premium Ruku Robot set you see above!. This is ideal for total beginners that do not already own a Raspberry PI. Also remember that this kit can be gifted to any school of your choice, and your name will be listed as the donor.
This is the original Ruku Robot prototype, made entirely out of aluminum. Ruku has come so far in the last year and we can't wait to get the new and improved Ruku in the hands of students everywhere!
We built Ruku using state of the art 3D modeling software, to simulate the movements of the Robot. This means we can make changes in production and see how they work before we spend money manufacturing!
Ruku's Circuit board is a universal motor driver with six programmable stepper motor drivers, allowing it to be reused for any robotic creation you can think up!
Risks and challenges
One of our biggest challenges is that we need enough orders to bring the cost down in manufacturing our parts needed to build Ruku at an affordable price point. We understand educators are limited in their funding and we aim at making Ruku as affordable as possible. They only way to do this is to get enough orders to bring down the cost, that is why this Kickstarter campaign is so important to us. If we hit our goal, we will be able to get the cost down significantly and allow us to manufacture the parts at a price point that will be attractive to everyone. It will also help us refine our software and lesson plans to make Ruku the ultimate STEM educational tool.Learn about accountability on Kickstarter
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