Tinkerbots
Kinematics GmbH was an EdTech company founded by Dr. Matthias Bürger, Leonhard Oschütz and myself in 2012. Our StartUp was specialized in developing robotic toys and robotic based educational materials. Core value proposition and positioning: “Learn by playing with robotics”. Creativity and joy of play were important aspects and inherent elements of our approach. Our aim: To enable children to master the challenges of the 21st century because as we beliefed: STEM education is key.
Together with our fantastic team we developed, manufactured and marketed our product from Berlin and Brandenburg. With three different product lines we had a very engaging product portfolio for private customers (retail market) and for educational institutions (education market).
As the CTO of the company my role was to take the prototypes and develop them in to a marketable product. I was leading a team of CAD-, hard- and software engineers. I was also in charge of the in-house production line, the supply chain, QM, product vertification as well as logistics.
With immersive playing experiences, children got introduced to the world of robotics & mechanics. Every Tinkerbots building kit included a different set of modules. Each kit included a Powerbrain, the heart and soul of every robot. There was also a variety of Motion modules, Cubies (passsive building blocks) and Brick Adapters which allowed the user to add other building systems like LEGO® to their creations.
Robust, easy and quick to assemble. With the patented plug and play connection between the modules a wireless power and data transmission was guaranteed. No cables needed! Everything just snaped together easily.
Programming your robots was as easy as it was to built them. We offered an intuitive control via app (Andoid & Apple) and teach in which is also used in the world of industrial robots.
We also developed a programming interface to Google Blockly & Python for more advanced users.
There was a variety of Tinkerbots Sets available. The My First Robot Set was developed for children from the age of 5+. The Tinkerbots Robotics Series was developed for children from the age of 10+ and for private use. The Tinkerbots Education Series was developed for educational purposes.
100% Made in Germany: Tinkerbots products were developed & manufactured by our own team in Bernau. I focused on local sourcing of high quality components: Over 90% of our suppliers were located close to our headquarter (300km radius). To cover peeks in the manufacturing line we collaborate with sheltered workshops in Berlin and Brandenburg.
Our products were long lasting & free from harmful substances: Product quality and child safety meant the world to us
Tinkerbots was fully certified : CE, ASTM, FCC, ICE, UN, Bluetooth for GER, EU, USA, Canada & CCC certification for the Chinese market