The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. All opinions are my own.
The kids are around technology daily and there are many times I am trying to limit their screen-time. There’s games, videos and apps that can keep them busy for days. However, one thing they were missing was a robot just for them, that is full of benefits.
It is safe to say, we have a pretty ‘smart home’ with many different technologies allowing us to control our thermostat, lights, cameras, etc from anywhere. We even have a voice-activated smart speaker that connects them all for even more convenience. The boys are always around technology and often curious how it all works.
Now, that’s where Dash comes in. Meet Dash and Dot:
Dash is a real robot (and Dot is the single one, the brains of the robot). This is a very kid-friendly robot that is sure to spark creativity and imaginations for all ages.
Right out of the box, Dash is ready to roll. It comes with a charging cord and 2 building brick connectors.
It took just a few minutes to download all the corresponding apps (see compatibility). I downloaded all the apps on my old cell phone, so the kids could have something specifically for Dash.
The different apps connect to Dash via Bluetooth and allow you to create different behaviors & tasks while learning coding concepts.
The boys started with the Wonder App controller. Right from the phone they could change his light colors, record sayings for him to say, drive him around, have him look around or do/say pre-loaded actions. It was very simple for even my four-year old to figure out all the controls.
Once we had a feel for the different things he can do, we started to do Challenges in the Wonder App. This starts as a tutorial on how to create actions with picture-based coding. When each Challenge is complete, Dash gets excited, which makes the kids even more excited.
Through the various challenges and actions, I could see the sense of achievement and confidence increase no matter who was using it. They were quickly learning how to make Dash respond to voice commands, navigate objects, dance and sing.
The building connectors it comes with it extremely neat. They can be attached to a few different locations. Then snap on building blocks to the connectors to transform Dash into anything. The boys already want to make a bulldozer and a bucket to go on him.
There are more attachments available (which we will be ordering) to get even more creative. There is a launcher, xylophone, bunny ears, tail, bulldozer bar, smartphone mount, and a tow hook.
I think my favorite part about Dash is the endless possibilities that the kids can imagine and create. As they boys get older, they can continue to use it in more complex ways. There is also a Wonder League where fellow users can solve new challenges, show off codes and get inspiration for new ideas.
Tonight they plan on making that bulldozer out of building blocks for the front of it, in hopes they can navigate it around to help them clean. Dash is going to be doing his fair share of work in their eyes.
You can get Dash at Best Buy for just $149.99. It would make a great gift!