The MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor version of the StarterBot has everything you need to follow along with the lessons and activities in this guide.

You’ll start by building a drive base and you’ll add various sensor attachments along the way. This robot makes creative use of the left and right hub buttons to create working bumpers that can independently detect obstacles in its path.

This provides lots of interesting learning opportunities, such as monitoring multiple sensors at the same time.

The StarterBot with MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor.
Color Sensor
Ultrasonic Sensor
Inventor Hub
Left bumper
Right bumper
Right motor
Left motor
The StarterBot is very effective at avoiding obstacles. The left and right bumpers press the buttons on the hub when running into an obstacle that the Ultrasonic Sensor did not see. This robot can also follow lines or square the line with the Color Sensor.

You can build this version of StarterBot with just the elements in the LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor (51515) set.

This design is almost entirely the same as the SPIKE Prime version, but it uses a swivel wheel instead of a ball caster.

Building the base

This sturdy base consists of just the hub and two motors. Each motor drives a wheel and a ball caster in the back is used for support. You can use this drive base throughout chapters 3 and 4 to learn the basics of programming and robot navigation.

Adding the distance sensor

The Ultrasonic Sensor measures distance. You’ll use it to learn the essentials of working with sensors. You can build it now, or return here when you get to chapter 5 and onwards.

Adding the color sensor and bumpers

This attachment includes the Color Sensor for line following and line squaring. It also has two bumpers that press the left and right buttons on the hub when the robot runs into an obstacle.

You can build it now, but it’s better to leave it unattached until you get to chapter 6 and onwards.