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BBC Doctor Who HiFive Inventor Kit (Coding Kit)

Navigate exciting lessons such as wirelessly piloting an alien spaceship, building an intergalactic weather station, controlling a robot, inventing alien musical instruments, and more. The Doctor Who-themed kit aims to get kids coding and educate people worldwide through the art of story telling. The education based program walks students through 20 themed projects and is Narrated by Jodie Whittaker; the familiar voice of the thirteenth Doctor. The HiFive Inventor is a hand-shaped mini-computer that is designed to teach kids how to control robots, and interface with IoT enabled systems via the on-board espressif ESP32-SOLO-1.

The Doctor Who Inventor Kit is based on the HiFive Learn Inventor and is a partnership with the BBC, Tynker, and SiFive. This kit uses the popular Doctor Who series to get kids & fans interested in programming & hardware. This kit borrows from the very popular BBC micro:bit platform, but instead bases it on the free and open-source RISC-V instruction set architecture. With built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies this kit reinforces the wireless data handoff “HiFive” between devices that power Internet of Things (IoT) applications of computing like smart cities, intelligent factories, and enhanced wearable technology. With the rapid increase in Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smart consumer products, opportunities for bright young minds with coding skills are being created every day. Enabled by the award-winning Tynker creative coding platform, the HiFive Inventor engages students to begin coding quickly in a self-paced and learner-driven environment.

  • HiFive Inventor mini-computer & case
  • Doctor Who and Tynker coding lessons
  • 20 guided lessons and many additional activities & challenges
  • External Speaker
  • Light up USB LED cable
  • External battery pack
  • Alligator clips (3x)
  • RISC-V mini-computer
    • Wifi & Bluetooth (via espressif ESP32-SOLO-1)
    • 150Mhz RISC-V Processor - SiFive FE310 32-bit microcontroller
    • Sensors - light sensor, accelerometer, compass,
    • A-button, B-button,
    • Color LED matrix (6x8)
    • Edge connector for expandability
  • Thousands of activities and challenges. Lessons narrated by the Doctor herself.
  • Block Coding for Beginners
  • MicroPython for Advanced Coders

  • INDUSTRY LEADING PARTNERS - Tynker and BBC Learning take coding to the next level with the revolutionary new BBC Doctor Who HiFive Inventor Coding Kit. Comes with a programmable HiFive mini-computer and guided coding lessons covering Block Coding and Micropython.

  • EXCITING NEW CODING PLATFORM - Featuring the HiFive Inventor, a programmable Internet of Things (IoT) mini-computer, complete with built-in sensors, (6x8)matrix full color-LED display, WiFi and Bluetooth enabled, a lighted USB cable, external battery pack, speaker and alligator clips.
  • ENGAGING CONTENT - Powered by lessons narrated by the 13th Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, users will navigate exciting activities such as wirelessly piloting an alien spaceship, building an intergalactic weather station, controlling a robot, inventing alien musical instruments, and more!
  • PROGRAMMING FOR ALL AGES - Includes Block Coding courses for beginners, MicroPython courses for more advanced coders, expandable edge connector and interactive Tynker Workshop environment for virtually unlimited creativity!
  • CODE WITH FRIENDS - Connect your HiFive with your friends and collaboratively code together. Powered by Tynker, the #1 coding platform for kids worldwide, and BBC Learning, a global leader in digital education. Works with any Internet-connected computer, no coding experience necessary. Ages 7+

BBC Doctor Who HiFive Inventor Kit (Coding Kit) Product Help and Resources

Core Skill: Programming

If a board needs code or communicates somehow, you're going to need to know how to program or interface with it. The programming skill is all about communication and code.

3 Programming

Skill Level: Competent - The toolchain for programming is a bit more complex and will examples may not be explicitly provided for you. You will be required to have a fundamental knowledge of programming and be required to provide your own code. You may need to modify existing libraries or code to work with your specific hardware. Sensor and hardware interfaces will be SPI or I2C.
See all skill levels


Core Skill: Electrical Prototyping

If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.

2 Electrical Prototyping

Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
See all skill levels


Comments

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  • ThatAintWorking / about 4 years ago / 1

    Does it let you do the dalek or cybermen voices?

Customer Reviews

5 out of 5

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1 of 1 found this helpful:

This kit and the online materials are amazing

Got two kits, for my 10yo and 8yo, both of whom loved this even though they are only sort of into Dr. Who. They hardly wanted to do anything else but work on these kits for weeks. The ability to network with the computer and also pull data directly from the internet is magical to grown ups but just expected by kids so regular micro:bits sometimes fall short but this kid did not disappoint.