As we all know, sometimes the projects we plan simply never materialize. You have an idea, maybe even buy some of the parts you need, and then…nothing. Maybe you changed your mind, or maybe the idea was never that good to begin with. In any event, time marches on, the parts pile up, and the ideas come and go. Such is the life of the hacker.
[Andrius Mikonis] writes in to tell us how his graveyard of abandoned projects ended up providing exactly what he needed to embark on a project he’s been fascinated with for years: the two-wheel self balancing robot. He started with a motor and wheel set that was originally intended to be part of a rover, added an accelerometer, and tied the whole thing together with an ESP-01 he had lying around. The final result certainly looks the part, and goes to show that projects don’t always need to be 1000 hour labors of love to accomplish their goals.
The construction of this little bot is simple in the extreme. A piece of plywood makes up the primary structure, with the wheels glued to the bottom and the electronics taking up residence in the top. It’s powered by two lithium battery cells that were salvaged out of an old laptop, with a DC-DC buck converter to provide a stable 3.3 VDC for the ESP-01 and MPU6050 accelerometer. To control the motors themselves, [Andrius] is using a cheap L293 controller that he found on eBay.
For interactive control, [Andrius] is making use of the ESP’s Wi-Fi to provide a web-based interface. This lets you control the bot from essentially any device that has a browser, rather than having to use a dedicated hardware transmitter.
Self-balancing robots of various levels of complexity are a relatively common project in the hacker world. There’s just something magical about the way they scoot around, seeming to defy gravity.
Definitely earns extra points for soldering directly to the esp 8266 pins.
I’ve tried several times to make inverted pendulums and once to make a balance bot.
Don’t hire me to make balancing things.
https://youtu.be/RD2ZHtSvuco
I’m not sure why, but I can’t stop laughing at the “bang my head on the floor” mode. I know I personally have that mode, and believe that more devices need a “self abuse” mode for when they irritate you. :D
Segways should have that mode, too.
Much more entertaining than a “balancing” robot.
I’d put something on the top to raise your center of gravity. Like a hammer. That way the head banging mode will be extra entertaining!
If you were to put a knife on it you could call it the STAB BOT
Nice rims ;)
Video?
I love the rigid foam insulation as “bumpers” in case it falls over.
PS- I would also like to see video of this :-D