Mobile Robot Made From Scratch

To many Hackster readers – and this author – mobile robotics systems are very entertaining, and often a good source of inspiration. Perhaps part of the reason they’re so fascinating is that they cover a wide variety of engineering concepts: mechanical chassis design, power transmission, electronics and computing hardware, and programming.

As such, there is a lot that goes into one. In this write-up, computer science student Niels Post outlines how he constructed his own mobile robot from purchased and 3D-printed parts. The project is a fairly standard differential control setup, with a pair of stepper motors controlling the driven wheels, and two casters employed to keep it from toppling over. The circular base can be printed in one piece, or as sections that are glued together.

Onboard computing is via an Arduino Due, along with a custom shield for wiring. 3 lithium-ion 18650 batteries provide power for the rig.

The robot, however, has no sensors of other navigation aids onboard, and instead relies on a Raspberry Pi camera system perched overhead for spacial awareness. A printed marker is attached to the robot for tracking, as well as to the four corners of the test area, allowing the Pi/webcam setup to dictate where the ‘bot moves. Wireless communication between these two elements is established with a pair of nRF24L01+ modules.

Code, STL, and Gerber files are available if you’d like to create your own.