The robots are going to school - or, at least they will be if the interest they generated at last week's Acorn Education Show is any indication.

At least four varieties of robotic device for the BBC Micro were playing to large audiences of goggle-eyed teachers at the show in Central Hall Westminster. In addition to the old favourites - the Edinburgh Turtle and the government-sponsored BBC Buggy - two relative newcomers also garnered some of the limelight.

The first of these was a Lego-like contraption called 'The Beastie' which hooks up to the BBC's user port and operates up to four servo motors. Those servos can then be hooked up to output arms which allow you to twist, turn, push, pull, lift, lower, open and close various objects. The Beastie is manufactured by Commotion (Computer Operated Motion) and sells for £49.95 - with servo prices starting at £14.50.

The second was a similar device that isn't entirely new but still remains popular: the Armdroid Robotic Arm from Colne Robotics.

The other main draw seemed to be add-on memory and processor systems for both the BBC Micro and the Electron.

Broadway Electronics was showing a plug-in user port and printer interface card for the Electron that it hopes to have in production within a few weeks - and said it is now making plans for a disk interface system. A spokesman for the company said, although he hadn't expected there to be a big demand for Electron disk interfacing, he had received more than 60 enquiries on the subject during the few days run of the show.

The company has not yet established a price for the add-on cards. It can be reached on (0234) 58303.