Fun to build but tricky to control, Morpx's cute MU SpaceBot is for kids ready to blast off into robotics.

Designed for children aged eight plus, SpaceBot is fun and educational to build in a few hours as an introduction to electronics and mechanics. My 11-year-old daughter enjoyed it, needing little help thanks to clear English instructions and well-fitting pieces, but high schoolers might prefer something more challenging.

SpaceBot certainly looks fantastic, standing 14 centimetres tall and made from plywood and colourful stickers. It ships from China as a kit complete with circuit board, two servos, camera, speaker, wiring and battery pack.

Unfortunately this little droid can be temperamental. The $78 kit includes a USB cable for connecting to an Android device or computer, although Android connectivity can be flaky and the app's English translations are sometimes found wanting. Meanwhile, the $91 kit adds Bluetooth wireless for connecting to an iGadget.

Plug in SpaceBot and it responds with an enthusiastic "Let's program!", with the app offering a simple block-style programming interface similar to most robotic toys. Unfortunately, the tutorial "Missions" aren't overly user-friendly or forgiving for beginners, but if kids persevere they can learn to move SpaceBot's head, flash the light and play sounds, including basic speech.

The robot also supports more complex programming, such as calculations and boolean logic, but the stand-out feature at this price is the built-in camera supporting motion detection and face tracking. You can program SpaceBot to respond to your movements and turn its head to follow your face, but once again it can be an uphill battle to win its cooperation, with little assistance from the app.

You'll find more cooperative robotic toys with more user-friendly apps, perhaps giving them more long-term appeal, but it's still fun to build this little chap from scratch and bring it to life.