There’s a wide range of Raspberry Pi robotic arms, but this is the smartest we’ve seen. Equipped with a wide-angle HD camera, just above its gripper, it uses AI computer vision to help it perform a range of tasks. Offering six degrees of freedom (6DOF), the arm comes ready-assembled, sitting on a solid black metal base whose rear section holds Raspberry Pi.

The Standard kit features the robotic arm, breakout board (for Raspberry Pi 4 or 5), power supply, paper ‘map’, wooden blocks, coloured balls, and tags. The Advanced version adds some flat-pack shelving for ‘warehousing’ operations.

A smartphone companion app is the easiest way to try out AI modes such as object tracking and face recognition. But there’s a lot more you can do: by following an extensive array of online tutorials, you’ll learn how to program it with Python, use OpenCV for image recognition, and much more.

Verdict

9/10

A sturdy robotic arm with 6DOF and computer vision. Price: £236 / $300