Building Instructions -

• Gears

We experimented with building a box robot powered entirely by chains—a unique approach inspired by the original LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Robots. Chains like these can be hard to find, but we thought: why not try to power both the robot and its attachments with them? This design not only powers the entire robot but also provides a great demonstration of how and when chains can be effectively used in robotics.

To build this robot, you'll need approximately 180 chain links (part 3711a), which are available in the NXT kits and some Technic sets.

Please note that this robot requires additional components beyond those included in the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime and SPIKE Essential kits. Check out the additional parts required.

This incredibly compact SPIKE Prime Box Robot is designed for competitions such as the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and World Robot Olympiad (WRO). Named Whakatae, derived from the Māori word "whakataetae," meaning "competitive," this robot measures 17 LEGO units in length and 15 LEGO units in width. It features two color sensors in front of the wheels for precise alignment, two large motors for movement, and two medium motors for attachments.

The best part? You can build this SPIKE Prime Box Robot using just the Base Set, an additional large motor, and a color sensor!

Building instructions for a competition robot following the "Box robot" principle. The robot is built with LEGO Mindstorms EV3 and could be used at FLL and WRO.

Do you remember the Chain Monster Box Robot? This one is the same but without the chains. What is cool about this robot is you can use almost all Chain Monster attachments and build a lot more.

The Unchained Monster box robot requires additional parts on top of the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime and LEGO Education SPIKE Essentials. Check out the additional parts required.

This incredibly compact SPIKE Prime Box Robot is made for competitions like FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and World Robotics Olympiad (WRO). Whakatae (from Maori's word "whakataetae", which means "competitive") is long 17 LEGO units and is with a width of 15 LEGO units. In front of the wheels it has two color sensors which it uses to align. Whakatae also has two Large motors for moving and has two medium motors for attachments!

It's has "V2" in its name, because it's the second version of Whakatae - LEGO Education SPIKE Prime Competition Box robot. The difference between the two is that the first one can be built with only a Large Motor and a Color sensor in addition to the Base set, while this one needs an additional ball bearing. This provides this robot with a lot more stability and can be seen as a true upgrade to the first version.

Introducing Kufar! In Bulgarian, Kufar means "suitcase," and just like a suitcase, this robot is easy to "pack" with different attachments for each task.

Unlike traditional box robots, Kufar is an "out-of-box" design, enabling fast, easy attachment swaps. This flexibility allows teams to build a new chassis with customized attachments for each run, making transitions quick but requiring more parts and careful handling due to its gear transmission, which can sometimes cause gear slippage or play.

To improve precision, Kufar’s gear transmission is optimized for lower speeds. Kufar also includes a color sensor to detect specific colored bricks on attachments and a force sensor to start corresponding programs. With two motors for movement and one for attachments, Kufar is compact, efficient, and easy to handle, especially with its sturdy top handle.

We thoroughly enjoyed exploring this innovative concept and hope you find it equally fun and inspiring!

Building instructions for a robot for the World Robotics Olympiad Sputnik competition. This is the light version without the lift at the top.

This is the robot that we use to demonstrate a solution for competition. This is a Post season solution. We never release any solutions during the season as this will have a negative impact on the competition. But after the competition we try to make a review and to see how we could have accomplish it. Our goal is to be better for next year.

This robot is quite powerful. The attachment mechanism on the front is one of a kind as it can do several things with a single motor: it can lift, it can unlock, it can grab. All of this thanks to the unique mechanism of gears