Robots are super interesting, but you probably shouldn’t start learning about them with a full-sized industrial SCARA arm or anything. Better to learn with something smaller and simpler to understand. This simple Arduino-powered robot is called Bug, and it aims to be just that.
The design comes to us from [Joshua Stanley]. It’s based around the ubiquitous Arduino Uno, paired with a motor control and I/O shield for more connectivity. The robot uses treads for locomotion—each side has two wheels wrapped in a belt for grip. The robot has a small DC gearmotor driving each belt so it can be driven forwards, backwards, and steered differentially. To perceive the world, it uses an off-the-shelf ultrasonic transceiver module, and an NRF24L01 module for remote control. All this is wrapped up in a basic 3D-printed housing that positions the ultrasonic modules effectively as “eyes” which is kind of cute, all in all.
Despite its small size and simple construction, Bug gets around perfectly well in testing on an outdoor footpath. It even has enough torque to flip itself up at full throttle. For now, [Joshua] notes it’s a glorified remote control car, but he plans to expand it further with more functionality going forward.
We see lots of educational robots around these parts, like this nifty little robot arm. Video after the break.
[Thanks to Jan-Willem for the tip!]
“We see lots of educational robots around these parts, like this nifty little robot arm.”
That’s a classic. Back in the 1980s, Fischertechnik (not fisher price) had made such robot arms in my country.
There were optional computer interface boxes for computers such as Apple II, C64 and IBM PC.
Example:
https://homecomputerguy.de/2020/12/27/fischertechnik-robotor-am-c64/
Other models were cranes and elevators, I think. Or plotters, maybe.
The functioning of a traffic light or a railway turntable also used be a thing in education, I believe.
Fischertechnik is incredible stuff, as part of my job I arranged training for my apprentices with a local tech college and on one open day got lost for half an hour just messing about with a Fischertechnik conveyer belt
Fischertechnik is still making amazing robotics kits, and they are used in robotic clubs as introduction to robotics, before kids move on to more complex stuff as arduinos etc…
I like your approach to create this adorable ‘Bug’. Its based on easy accessible to components, versatile in usage and as it looks very straight forward to program. As it looks in the video, its also very quick in its movements and with the IO ports on top of the Arduino HAT, its a great platform to educate youngsters and make them enthousiastic on robotics. Great work!
It needs a little TFT or OLED for Cozmo-like facial expressions. Also, the sonar could be replaced by one or more VL53L0x ToF sensors.
Don’t say stuff like that, you’ll tickle the Hanchar ego and get sued even though he’s ripped off millions of dollars.