The Boson Kits from DFRobot are interesting sets that are great for everyone. Today in our DFRobot Boson review, we’re checking out their Boson Science Kit and the Boson Inventor Kit.
The DFRobot Boson Kit is a collection of coding-free electronic building blocks that are perfect for learning. Getting into these will allow you to do excellent activities that everyone can engage in. Plus, they’re designed for young inventors, tinkerers, and STEM educators around.
If you think this is something that would interest you, your friends, children, or younger siblings, that’s great. To get more information about the sets, continue reading our DFRobot Boson review to learn more. But first, let’s look at how these are packed and what accessories are included.
DFRobot Boson Packaging
Both the Boson Science Kitt and the Boson Inventor Kit come in their own packages. So, we’ll talk about both of these as well as the items included inside.
Boson Science Kit Package
The Science Kit arrived in an eye-catching cardboard package that sports a cool blue and yellowish theme. The front displays the name of the kit, as well as some details about it.
It’s also cool that DFRobot opted for an attractive design for the set. You’ll see an image of lab flasks and tubes to show that it is a science kit. Inside, everything is kept neatly in place so you won’t have to worry about them getting mixed up.
Here are the set of items you’ll find in the Boson Science Kit package.
Sensors
The sensors you’ll find in the kit include a light, humidity, soil moisture, temperature, waterproof temperature, pH, and conductivity sensor. Plus, you’ll also find a heart rate monitor inside.
Display, Power, and Accessories
There’s also an OLED display module, one mainboard 1|O & 3|O, and an AAA battery holder.
For the accessories, you’ll find eight project cards, (10) 5cm cables, (10) 10cm cables, (10) 15cm cables, a Velcro pack, and a screw pack.
Boson Inventor Kit Package Contents
Our DFRobot Boson review will now focus on the package and contents of the Boson Inventor Kit.
This time, the Inventor Kit comes in a yellow themed box with a few hints of blue to match. It’s more simple than the Science Kit since you’ll only find “Boson” at the centre of the box. On the upper-right corner, you’ll find what type of kit you purchased.
Again, the insides of this package are neat and well-organised. Every item and accessory is set in place so you won’t have to dig to find what you need. This time, we’ll show you what you’ll find in the Inventor Kit.
Input, Output, and Function Modules
The input modules you’ll find in the box include a rotation sensor, push button, self-locking switch, and a light sensor. You’ll find a tilt switch, sound sensor, and a motion sensor as well.
For the output modules, there’s an ultra-bright LED, LED string light, buzzer module, voice recorder module, and motor controller module. The latter comes with a Gared motor too. In addition, there’s even a Servo controller module with one Servo.
When it comes to the function modules, there are three logic module-ANDs, three logic module-ORs, and three logic module-NOTs. There are also three splitter modules, two threshold modules, two reversible-counter modules, and two duration modules (0-60s).
Power and Accessories
In the box, there are two mainboard-3|Os and three mainboard-1|Os. There’s even an AAA battery holder available.
For the accessories, there are (12) activity cards, (5) project cardboards, a micro-USB cable, two Velcro and screw packs. Then, there are (20) 5cm cables, (20) 10cm cables, and (20) 15cm cables as well.
DFRobot Boson Review – Design and Functionality
Boson Science Kit
This specific kit is a collection of electronic building blocks that are specific for STEM education. Since it’s something that doesn’t require soldering and coding, it’s the perfect learning and teaching kit to date.
This Boson Science Kit makes challenging circuits into more straightforward modules that are simple and functional.
It comes with eight sensors that are utilised in modern IoT applications, and all these are made with industrial standards. Compared to the classic science kits, this kit’s scientific sensors produce immediate and accurate results, And, they come in the form of electric signals.
Aside from being great for modern IoT applications, its sensors are ideal for biology, chemistry, and physics too. Additionally, you can combine the sensors with micro:bit, Arduino, and other Boson modules to optimise your project.
The activity guards that are included are both straightforward and helpful, making them a perfect guide for all.
To continue our DFRobot Boson review, let’s check out the Boson Inventor Kit this time.
Boson Inventor Kit
This kit breaks down the challenging circuits into functional and simple modules. With that, it helps everyone learn about the basics of electronics and circuitry.
It includes a total of seven input modules, six actuators, (18) function modules, and six power supplies. Each of the modules is pre-assembled, so you won’t have to bother with soldering or coding, which is pretty neat.
The integrated magnets aid modules to easily link to each other. Then, its open-back design means that these can be utilised with Velcros, screws, and Legos too.
It’s nice that you’ll get activity cards in the kit which will give step-by-step instructions on creating interactive projects.
Key Features of the DFRobot Boson
This time, let’s discuss the different key features of the kits in our DFRobot Boson review.
Infinite Possibilities with 50 Modules
DFRobot Boson has over 50 different modules which include actuators, sensors, logic gates, and more.
Simple and Secure, No Soldering
The modules of the DFRobot Boson are connected through flexible cables with unifying 3-pin headers. With that, no soldering is necessary when you work on projects.
Since the modules have a classic plug-and-play design, this kit guarantees simplicity and stability of both power and signal transmission. At the same time, it prevents reversed connections and short circuits.
Magnetic Modules and Mounting Plates
Since the Boson modules are magnetic, it’s easy to stick these on whiteboards, fridges, and other magnetic objects. Each module also has mounting plates that are compatible with screws and Lego blocks.
Start Boson without Coding
You can physically program Boson’s logic modules like the AND gate, OR gate, and NOT gate with other function modules. This way, any user can instantly understand the logic flow.
Programmable and Upgradeable
You can upgrade Boson modules to platforms like Arduino and micro:bit to support various programming languages.
Digitalised Scientific Exploration
The Boson platform offers a series of industrial-grade sensors that are simple and easy as other Boson modules. You can use the Boson scientific sensor for entry-level experiments, unattended environmental monitoring, and transferring data to an IoT server.
Course Materials and Tutorials
Each Boson kit comes with a quick start guide with diagrams and sample codes to help you get started. DFRobot also continuously updates their course plans, tutorials, and other instructional & learning materials.
Specifications
Of course, we won’t miss out on the specifications of each kit in our DFRobot Boson review. For the Boson Inventor Kit, it measures 22 x 34mm and 34 x 48mm. When it comes to its package dimensions, it’s 130 x 220 x 300mm.
The Boson Science Kit, on the other hand, has an operating voltage of 4.5V to 5.5.V. For its measurements, it’s 60 x 220 x 300mm, and weighs a total of 1,800g.
Do note that the pH sensor that’s included in the Science Kit has liquid in it. So, it’s best to have adult supervision when children who are under 12 years of age use the kit.
Hands-on with the DFRobot Boson
We also tested the Boson Science and Inventor kits for our DFRobot Boson review. That means, we created a couple of projects to try them out.
During our tests, we found out why flowers die quickly after they’re planted. What we did for this was we first followed the instructions present on the card. Then, we utilised the Boson electrical module to find soil humidity.
Once we were done, we started recording the germination status of the seeds that were under various moisture conditions.
Additionally, we were able to figure out the effects of soil temperature on various plants using the waterproof sensor. With the electrical modules, we also found ambient temperature and sunlight intensity to see if these affect plant growth too.
Of course, we tried using the humidity sensors for the DFRobot Boson review too. And interestingly, it was able to quickly detect the humidity of the air in our room. We did this to see if plants really decrease the moisture in one’s surroundings.
Simply put, the Science Kit allowed us to do lots of things, making it a great set for learning.
Now for the Boson Inventor Kit, it was just as good as the Science Kit. Everything was designed to be straightforward and user-friendly.
Some of us who weren’t familiar with circuits and the like, were able to understand it easily. Nothing nerve-wracking and difficult which makes it even better.
It really did simplify tricky circuits into understandable functional modules. So, everyone who tried it enjoyed tinkering with the kit.
DFRobot Boson Review Summary
STEM courses are becoming a primary part of the curriculum in schools worldwide. With that, a lot of tech companies are encouraging learners to use their products as learning tools. And of course, the Science and Inventor kits from DFRobot are some of the best options available on the market.
DFRobot offers learning kits that make learning easy and fun for everyone getting into tech and robotics. This company helps prepare students for a tech-filled future with their comprehensive tools and detailed learning materials. All of these are designed for students to work on projects without confusion and come up with great inventions.
If you want to have the DFRobot Boson Science kit, it’s available from the company’s official website. The Boson Inventor kit can be purchased when you visit the product page as well.
