👍 Recommendation
A great, if not slightly expensive, STEM robot dog for learning and playing. The Review Score is only really let down by the excess packaging; otherwise, this is a solid buy decision.
Bittle Review
Meet Bittle, the Palm-sized Open Source Quadruped Robot Dog. It has impressive performance for such a tiny package. Moreover, it is highly programmable with the lifelike animal behaviours of a four-legged robot. Bittle is the evolution of the OpenCat project, initially developed by Petoi founder Rongzhong Li.
It’s aimed at adults or children under supervision (14+), so this is quite like the Lego Brainstorm kits that were available up until recently.
Part of the fun with this is in constructing the robot and then learning how to program it and extend its behaviours.
Features & Functionality
- Programmable
- Multiple language support - C++, Python & Scratch-like block coding
- Highly extensible with Raspberry Pi & Arduino ecosystems
- The Onboard Arduino-compatible processor can be enhanced using a Raspberry Pi (not included!)
- Four legs for movement
What’s in the box
What’s Included:
- preassembled package
- construction package 1
- Servos
- Body
- Battery
- Remote
- Screws & tools
- Calibration tool
User instructions & Documentation
The instructions are available via the Petoi website and can be updated long after the product is shipped. The documentation is available in a couple of languages too.
Ease of use
Bittle is suitable for adults and children over the age of 14. Kids can enjoy playing with Bittle under the supervision of an adult.
Availability
Bittle is widely available (worldwide); the Developer model was unavailable for purchase as of the time of this writing.
Aesthetics
The design of Bittle is a clear evolution and improvement on the original Opencat robot. The parts are sculpted, moulded plastic and fit together perfectly, and the proportions are pleasing to the eye. The colour combinations work well together and complement each other. The tail is a particularly nice touch.
Price
The price for the preassembled robot is $248.99, and $231.99 for the construction-only version. There is also a Developer version for $368.99 USD2.
| Version | Price |
|---|---|
| Preassembled | $248.99 |
| Construction | $231.99 |
| Developer | $368.99 |
Colours
Bittle is available in 3 colour combinations:
- Black, Yellow and blue
- Black, Yellow
- Black
Build Quality
The build quality is excellent, the parts snap together nicely with a very close fit, and the overall fit and finish are high quality.
The springs on the foot mechanisms are excellent and give the feet some bounce and responsiveness.
Packaging
One thing of note about this product is that this is a lot of largely unnecessary plastic packaging. Plastic packaging will likely hold all the parts in place during shipping; however, other companies have found ways to do this with cardboard rather than plastic.
Environmental
I checked the website and tried looking for a statement about the environment design, production, packaging, delivery or disposal of the product. There was no environmental policy or clean energy use that I could find.
Review Score
Below is the Kevs Robots review framework. First, each product is scored out of 5 for each of the 9 areas. The total score is then calculated by adding the scores for each area and dividing by 9. The total score is then rounded to the nearest whole number.
| Scoring area | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Very Expensive, verging on not worth it | Expensive, but worth it for the value add | Affordable, similar in price to competitors | Cheap / great value for the parts and features | Free / Very low cost |
| Ease of use | Hard to use, complex operations requiring multipe steps | Many steps, some of which as complex. | Some steps to construct or operate, some of which are complex | Few steps, simple to do | Very easy to use / use is obvious and clear |
| Functionality | Very little innovation or usefulness | Does less then you’d expect, but still useful | Practice, does what you expect but no more | Quite a few innovative functions, does more than you’d expect | Amazing features & innovation, industry leading |
| Availability | Very difficult to get hold of any variation or version | Little available; some variations or versions are available | Available in some countries and stocks mostly available | Available in most countries & mostly in stock, short wait for stock replenishment | All versions and variations widely available in all countries & in stock |
| Aesthetics | Design is not pleasing to the eye; poor colour choice, parts do not fit together, no cohesive design | Design is acceptable, some elements do not work together well | Design is functional, no overall cohesion | Design is functional with some flair, most elements work together well | Very pleasing to the eye, complimentary colour choices, great fit and finish, with an overall cohesive design |
| Build Quality | Poor construction, with gaps or overlapping parts. Poor quality materials used | Functional construction, cheap materials | Functional construction, acceptable materials used | Durable design, some parts are high quality, most are acceptable | Solid construction, parts fit together as intended with no unexpected gaps or overlapping parts. High quality materials and parts used |
| Documentation | Single language instructions, no diagrams, basic features only | Basic instructions, technical specifications in a few languages, little no diagrams, no example code | Basic instructions, technical specifications in a few languages, diagrams for use. Some example code | Documentation available in multiple languages, with all features covered and diagrams for use. Some example code | Documentation available in multiple languages, with all features covered and simple diagrams for use. Mechanical and circuit diagrams also included. Example code. Advanced topics covered too |
| Packaging | Little to no thought given to environment. Wasteful use of space leading to higher shipping costs. Excess layers of packaging | Some thought given to environmental packaging & recycling. A few layers of packaging | Some thought given to environmental packaging materials & recycling. Single layer of packaging | Environmentally friendly, packaging designed for recycling with some effort. Packaging is has mostly efficient use of space to cut down on shipping costs | Environmentally friendly, packaging designed for easy recycling. Packaging is small with efficient use of space to cut down on shipping costs |
| Environmental | No consideration given to sourcing, production, supply, delivery or disposal of product, with toxic chemicals used in production | No consideration given to sourcing, production, supply, delivery or disposal of product | Product is efficient to operate, but may have poor environmental production or disposal impacts | Most of the product is sourced from recycled materials, no toxic chemicals used in production, some thought given to production and delivery energy used | Product is sourced from 100% recycled materials, with no toxic chemicals used in production. produced with clean energy, packaging designed to lower delivery costs and disposal of product is taken care of |
total is 3.7
🎁 See the transparency notes for details.
