Budget Robot - from avoider to follower and beyond

Let's Make Robots Robots
1

To the doubters* my 8 yo son and I say ‘thbbbbbbsbb’. For about £30 we have an Arduino based 3 wheeled robot capable of object avoidance. We’ve since added a line following sensor and and a Bluetooth module.

*school ‘friends’ who said it couldn’t be done and tried to dissuade my boy from his dreams.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/budget-robot-from-avoider-to-follower-and-beyond
2

As long as you’re not
As long as you’re not feeding the 5v out from the Arduino into your motors it should be wonderful!

3

congrats

BRAVO and CONGRATS! Many here have heard the many doubters telling us something “can’t be done” - the only reason it “can’t be done” is because “they” haven’t tried, nor have they done enough research to prove otherwise and go forward. Your persistence eventually paid off! Well done to both you and your son! -DB

btw, you are permitted to say ‘thbbbbbbsbb’ - no doubters, naysayers allowed here! :slight_smile:

4

Thanks!
I hope this teaches my son that valuable lesson. The robot works beautifully thanks. Plenty more projects to come. Great community here. :slight_smile:

5

budget robot

Good one. I’m also very keen on building robots as cheaply as possible. For me, an Arduino Nano or Pro Mini works out cheaper than an Uno. Also, you can plug those smaller Arduinos straight into a breadboard, like you’ve done.

Some more budget-conscious thoughts:

ESP8266 module can be used in conjunction with the Arduino to provide control for the robot over Wifi rather than Bluetooth.

You can convert regular TowerPro SG90 servos to continuous rotation ones, with SMD or regular 2.2k resistors. Google for guidance on that. Continuous rotation servos are great as alternatives to regular electric motors. (No need for a H-bridge)

A large bead on a loop of thick wire can replace a swivel castor wheel.

Piezo speaker from an old pc motherboard can be used for robot beeps and buzzes.

Touch sensors can be made from simple wire + spring switch circuits. (Wire goes down the middle of the spring. Spring can come out of an old biro.)

 

6

Thanks and keep going!

Hi Sminky,

And thanks for sharing your robot! It will be great if you can detail a bit more the hardware and software you use, also some videos to see how your robot works. All that will give you more interesting feedbacks also more visibility to the community, and it will also help new robotic hobbyists. Thanks and keep going!