Fluffbug Is an Adorable and Affordable DIY Quadruped Robot

Radomir Dopieralski designed a small, low-cost quadruped robot that you can build yourself.

Cameron Coward
3 years agoRobotics / 3D Printing

There have been STEM education-oriented robot kits on the market for many decades now, but they have evolved a lot in recent years. Even 20 years ago, they typical kit contained a rough PCB onto which you had to solder components, a few mechanical parts, and a couple of electric motors. Those robots didn't do much more than follow lines or pre-programmed commands. But thanks to the proliferation of maker hardware, you can now build a robot "from scratch." That is experience is very rewarding, which is why you should check out Fluffbug.

Fluffbug is a small, adorable, and affordable quadruped robot by Radomir Dopieralski. It is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but is capable of smooth movement thanks to its eight servo motors. Each leg has two degrees of freedom: a hip servo and a knee servo. The leg "bones" and servo mounts can either be laser-cut from acrylic or 3D-printed. Fluffbug's "thorax" stability comes from the PCB that contains all of the control electronics. The PCB also contains a 16340 lithium-ion battery cell, so the robot is self-contained.

The current version of Fluffbug's PCB utilizes a Microchip SAM D21 microcontroller, which is powerful and compatible with CircuitPython. CircuitPython makes the robot easy to program. But there is a IC chip shortage right now that is making the SAM D21 difficult to procure. For that reason, Fluffbug might switch to a Raspberry Pi Pico-based design. The current PCBB contains the microcontroller, a battery protection and charging circuit, a buzzer, and an IR sensor. The IR sensor lets operators control the robot using any infrared remote, including TV remotes. If you can get your hands on the necessary IC chips, this is an awesome little robot that is perfect for STEM learning.

Cameron Coward
Writer for Hackster News. Proud husband and dog dad. Maker and serial hobbyist.
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