Erector by Meccano Meccanoid XL 2.0 The Best Robot Kit of 2021

The Erector by Meccano Meccanoid XL 2.0 personal robot building kit is the favorite choice of the education experts. It’s size (4ft tall), quality and user-friendliness to teach children & parents about science, technology, engineering, arts, and math, make it the perfect choice to teach about robots in 2021. Perfect for kids of 10 years old and up, and adults.

Technical Specifications of the Erector Meccano Robot XL 2.0

This post is a Meccano Meccanoid XL 2.0 review that will give you a better idea of what this robot can and can’t do. Let me start putting the facts about it and we’ll go from there.

• 4 feet tall
• Over 1000 Meccano robot parts
• Enhanced voice recognition
• 10 motors for realistic movements
• Learned Intelligent Movement (LIM) Technology
• 24 pounds of weight
• Made of polycarbonate plates which is very resistant
• Bluetooth (r) communication
• Compatible with IOS and Android devices
• Rechargeable battery Ni-MH
• 4x alkaline batteries LR14, C
• 4x alkaline batteries LR20, D
• LED eyes with over 500 colors
• MeccaBrain – Microcontroller of 8 channels with 64 MB of flash memory. It can be upgraded through USB.

Meccano Tech Robot Building Kit

The Meccanoid XL 2.0 has articulating head, arms, and motorized feet. If that is not enough, it stands 4 feet tall which makes it more cool. This fantastic robotic kit features voice recognition, so it responds to your kid’s voice. It has over 1000 pre-programmed phrases and can establish true communication with humans.

Speaking about communication, it can be programmed using a smart device with the meccanoid app available for IOS and Android devices. The Meccanoid 2.0 instructions can be given using speech as well.

The Meccanoid is part of the Meccano metal robots collection and requires batteries to make everything work. Some are rechargeable and others don’t, so bare this in mind when getting this model. 

Learn and have fun while you build

One of the most amazing features of this 4ft tall robot toy kit is the Learned Intelligent Movement (LIM) Technology, which allows the robot Meccano to do more realistic movements. These movements happen when it repeats what you are doing, or when you speak to the unit.

Again, this is possible thanks to the motors it has for each moving part of the body. This includes arms, head, feet, and hands. The movements, while realistic, still look a lot robotic.

When I say realistic, I mean the parts of the robot move together as a real arm would move. Also, the robot is able to move several parts at the same time and in a coordinated way, which may look simple but it is actually a great achievement for a robot.

Something else that is important to mention, is that while this is a great project for kids to learn to assemble a complex set, it can be frustrating without the help or supervision of an adult.

For instance, think about the amount of pieces needed to assemble the full model; these are more than 1000, so you can start to imagine the dimension of the table needed to complete the set. This is why you and your kid need to have a clear and clean space to work on this project.

Organization is key. All the parts need to be accessible, yet classified so you don’t mix them by mistake. It will be easy to place something in the wrong spot and continue building the set, but sooner or later you’ll notice you are out of parts and that’s when you’ll know something was misplaced.

This can mean heavy rework and lead to frustration. This is why organization is key and your best friend to avoid these types of incidents.

Also, even if you have several kids building the robotic set, I would still encourage to have an adult present to help and supervise the project. Especially for things related to organization and team work.

Also, all the tools needed to assemble the full Meccano robot 2.0 kit come included inside the box, so you don’t have to worry about that, yet there is more that tightening screws and fitting pieces together to complete this project. You’ll need to strategize your way to the goal.

Great gift for boys and girls 10 years old and above

Given the complexity posed by the amount of pieces to fully assemble this kit, Meccano recommends this set for children 10 years old and up. And again, even if you have several kids putting everything together, I would encourage the help and supervision of an adult to complete this.

And just in case you want to know about some Meccano sets for adults, here are a few recommendations.

Both boys and girls will have fun putting the Meccanoid XL 2.0 together and then enjoying the end result.

It is no exaggeration to say this is a great project to kick start the engineering mind of the young ones. And given all the interest that girls are showing in getting started with robotics, the Meccanoid is the perfect project to move to higher levels in this discipline.

Consider this is a 4 feet tall robot from Meccano that moves on its own and mimics human behavior with its movements as well as the phrases it says and the way it interacts with your kids. This is a lot like the modern home robots big companies are building to interact with humans in the future, so again, this is a great project for anyone to start digging deeper into how robots work.

Also, given the Meccano robot price and considering everything inside the box, you get more value than the money you pay for it since this is for the education of the young.

A new generation of inventors dedicated to understand you

Much is said about how easy the young ones interact with technology. For instance, my 2 years old daughter seems pretty comfortable interacting with touch screens and other technology. Often parents think this is due to the talent of their kids. While this is true to some extent, there is another crucial factor.

The people behind the technology of the Erector by Meccano Meccanoid XL 2.0 robot-building kit think about designing user-friendly devices. This means making intuitive technology that the user can interact with without having to read through heavy user’s manuals.

While the assembly process requires you to pay attention to the Meccano Erector set of instructions, once the robot is built, the Meccanoid robot is very user friendly and intuitive to use.

Also, there is a strong foundation built by the Erector team at Meccano, and they have used that legacy to apply the lessons learned from the previous version of this robot, and thus design the 2.0 version.

This new generation of inventors is betting heavily into the design phase, and while there is a lot of overlap from the last version to the Meccano robot kit 2.0, this Meccanoid release is a great project for anyone to learn while building something that will give hours and hours of lasting fun. 

Meccano robotics is here to stay, and with more models like the robot Erector set, more and more kids will feel pretty comfortable to have fun with robotics kits.

Best offer of the Erector by Meccano Meccanoid XL 2.0 Robot

Advantages versus other robotic kits

The Meccano Meccanoid XL 2.0 robot is 4 feet tall and a full robot kit that poses a very realistic challenge to anyone trying to build it. While this is a toy, it is at the edge in terms of how things are when building a real robot.

This is why during this entire Meccano Meccanoid XL 2.0 review I’ve been stressing the fact that this is a challenge that you need to consider carefully when putting in front of your children.

And of course, help from an adult is always needed.

The other cool thing about this Erector set robot is that Meccano has been building these types of kits for many years now. I’m a great advocate of Lego kits, but those are just building blocks that fit using snaps.

Meccano gives you a more realistic experience in all ways. 

Also, the quality of the materials they use to build these sets is out of question. These materials are super resistant and withstand heavy use. The MeccaBrain of the robot can be updated using the PC firmware updater by Meccano, and this is always good news as your robot will be free of bugs and its operation will be improved.

Other Robot Meccano Erector Models

Another cool model is the Erector Meccano Meccanoid G15 personal robot. A robotic model that is not as tall as the XL 2.0, but looks pretty similar.

The G15 personal robot is only 2 feet tall, but still has many of the features the XL 2.0 has. 

Among the main differences are:

• 2 feet tall.
• Only 6 motors in total to move the whole robot.
• Only 621 parts to assemble the whole model.
• It can be built into different shapes, not just the humanoid version.

The Meccanoid G15 commands work the same as the XL 2.0, and the MeccaBrain can be updated as well using your computer and the software provided by Meccano. The Meccano Meccanoid 2.0 robot update software is available in the downloads section of the Meccano website.

It is also recommended for kids 10 years old and above. And just like the XL model, it is full of jokes, fun facts, interesting phrases and the ability to start conversations and play games.

The Meccano Meccanoid G15 KS personal robot as well is another Erector model which is 4 feet tall. KS stands for King Size, and it is the G15 version but 4 feet tall. This is an old Meccano model for sale, but still works fantastic.

The Meccano micronoid is another cool robotic model that is smaller in size but has lots of the amazing features these robots have. It comes with various presentations and your kid can have fun with these as well.

How to build your Meccanoid XL 2.0 Personal Robot

As I mentioned, this is a process that will require patience, time, and dedication.

Here is a video showing you the entire process to assemble the Meccano Erector robot.

This is what you have to know before buying the Meccano XL 2.0 Erector

Very few robotics models pose a challenge like the Meccanoid 2.0 XL. This is something you must not take lightly.

The challenge of assembling this robotic kit will require patience and attention to the details, something even adults have issues with.

Yet completing this set is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences you and your kid can have as a team. This is a project that will help you spend some high quality time together.

Also, as an educational toy, this Meccano kit definitely represents what a STEM kit is all about. This is the task of a true engineer, and nothing replaces experience.

This kit deals with the mechanics required to make the robot move. The electronics needed to give means of motion to the model, and the programming (at a basic level) that deals with giving instructions to the full set.

Final thoughts: Among the best personal robot building kit for children and parents

The Meccanoid XL 2.0 is by far among the top of the list when speaking about robotics kits. I would say it is the best just based on the complexity of building the whole set.

I have to admit I’d like it to be something more complex in terms of programming, maybe controlled by Arduino boards or something like that.

By the way, I don’t think it is difficult to tweak it a bit and make it move using an Arduino board, yet that might be a more challenging project. 

For now I think it is enough to say that given the way this model is assembled, and how it interacts with humanis, it is the most remarkable robotic kit your kid can have.

The Meccanoid XL 2.0 is the real deal if you want to experience the basics of building a real robot.