Butterbot: Arduino Nanosumo

This is the Butterbot. I started out wanting to make a robot that could butter my french toast. Then I got the idea to make it a 1" cube robot for Nanosumo at Robogames. I used my vacation to get it done and I finished midnight before the competition. When we were weighed though, everyone was close to 25g and I came in at 10g, so I knew in a push fight I was hosed. I feel, however, it was mission accomplished.

I had more pcbs so I kept making more and refining the design. The Butterbot is based on an Atmel Atmega328p, like a lot of Nanosumo designs. It has planetary gear motors, 3D printed wheels and axles and shell. It has bearings in the wheels. The sensors are 2 forward facing object sensors (IR targets), 2 line sensors and wheel encoders. I also made an accelerometer "shield" that can be plugged in on top. I have written code for sumo, line following, IR communication between robots, motor balancing with the encoders and tilt sensing with the accelerometer. Also, I made an attempt to sell them, but I don't think it will be too popular unless I can get the cost down.

My website is here: http://www.wweilereng.com

If you live in the Bay Area, come to my electronics meetup, it's totally fun and free. http://www.meetup.com/San-Jose-Electronics-Robotics-and-RC/

I plan to make some videos of the Butterbot in action. I will post those soon and put a link in. Here is a video of the Nanosumo competition at Robogames, with one guys sumo catching on fire. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Ld_FO7uSo Bill Weiler