$140$140.00 on the Arduino US store (in stock, October 2026), €130 in Europe at launch (about $140). The 18650 battery and the Nano ESP32 are included. Unveiled at Bett 2024 in London and listed on the US store from May 2024.
AvailableCoded on the robot onlyArduinoMicroPythonBlocksClassroomLEGO TechnicESP32
Possibly ≤ 1 weekIn stock on the Arduino US store, which offers free shipping on orders over $50 within the contiguous US. Delivery times are not stated on the product page. Arduino store ↗
Remote control: Programs are written on a Mac or PC and run on the robot's Nano ESP32, with a live MicroPython REPL over USB and Wi-Fi web-server and ESP-NOW remote-control examples in Arduino's docs.
Overview
Alvik is Arduino's own classroom robot car, a small 3-wheel rover built around a Nano ESP32 with an STM32 co-processor handling motors and sensors. It targets schools from primary (blocks) through high school (MicroPython and Arduino C++), with free CSTA and NGSS-aligned lessons. An 8×8 time-of-flight sensor, encoders, Grove and Qwiic ports and LEGO Technic mounts make it more capable than most cars in its price range, such as the mBot or Elegoo Smart Robot Car. There is no camera, speaker or published top speed, and the store page lists only two project-based lessons. It is in stock at $140 on Arduino's US store, alongside Arduino's Tinkerkit Braccio arm.
Specifications
| Category | Wheeled rovers · Classroom coding cars |
|---|---|
| Released | 2024 |
| Country | Italy |
| Availability | Available |
| Programmability | Full SDK |
| Built-in autonomy | Reactive · Responds to its surroundings without a map, such as avoiding obstacles or following a person |
| LLM support | Possible via SDK · There are no built-in LLM features, but its documented MicroPython and Arduino C++ APIs and Wi-Fi let an LLM write its programs or send it commands. |
| MuJoCo simulation | None found · Nothing found. |
| NVIDIA Isaac simulation | None found · Nothing found. |
| Gazebo simulation | None found · Nothing found. |
| Best for | Ages 8+ (estimated) |
| Vision sensors | No vision sensors |
| Actuators | DC / gear motors |
| Audio | No audio |
| Compute type | Arduino / ESP32 / microcontroller |
| Remote control | Coded on the robot only |
| Size | Not published (0.41 kg; 34 mm wheels on an 89 mm track per Arduino's MicroPython library) |
| Drive | 2-wheel differential with a ball caster, two 6 V N20 geared motors (GM12-N20VA, 96 RPM no-load) with magnetic encoders |
| Compute | Arduino Nano ESP32 (ESP32-S3, 240 MHz, 8 MB PSRAM, 16 MB flash) as the brain, plus an onboard STM32 Arm Cortex-M4 that runs the motors and sensors |
| Vision | None (8×8 multizone time-of-flight distance sensor, VL53L7CX, up to 350 cm, 90° field of view) |
| Lidar | None |
| Sensors | VL53L7CX 8×8 ToF distance sensor, RGB color sensor, LSM6DSOX 6-axis IMU, 3-sensor line follower array, wheel encoders, 7 capacitive touch buttons, 2 RGB LEDs |
| Runtime | 18650 Li-ion (replaceable, charged over USB-C), 8+ hours of continuous running (maker) |
| Speed | Not published, about 12 cm/s (unconfirmed) from the library's 70 RPM wheel limit and 34 mm wheels |
| SDK | MicroPython (Arduino Lab for MicroPython, `arduino-alvik-mpy` library), Arduino C++ (`Arduino_Alvik` library with the same API), block-based coding; Grove and Qwiic I2C ports plus a header for 2 micro servos |
Ratings & reviews
Ratings and reviews load on the live site.
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- Image 1: source (official product image)