Jan 16, 2015 | By Will
Are you tired of feeling utterly incapable of all the DIY robotics projects floating around online? Well sulk no more, because now you can print out parts and assemble your own Escarabajo robot, Spanish for beetle, with the help of Navarra, Spain based BQ Labs. They provide a user-friendly kit with all the servo motors, a Freaduino UNO (a version of Arduino), LED lights, buttons, and all the other bits needed to make your own little robot with functional pincer clamps.
The 3D printable files are available for download at Thingiverse under the name 'PrintBot Beetle'. The kit includes sensors that allow it to follow lines and seek bright areas in its environment, with the option for Bluetooth connectivity to Android devices using the RoboPad app for manual control capabilities so that you can tell it where to go and what to grab right from your smart phone.
This do-it-yourself robotics kit, called Mi primer kit de robotica (My first robotics kit) is an educational tool for all ages intended to provide hands-on exposure to the marriage of 3D printing and robotics. Instructions include a whopping two lines of pre-written code that allow the robot to interpret sensor data for lines and brightness in its surrounding area and can be easily inputted to the Freaduino board.
The assembly instructions are written in Spanish, although BQ assures users that the pictures are sufficiently descriptive to allow English speakers to understand the process. Not included in the physical kit is a small selection of screws, gaskets, nuts, batteries, and O-rings in addition to the parts that are intended to be 3D printed at home. For those who are more advanced, having all the information about the design means you can modify or customize the robot to show your true colors or even broaden its potential.
With this user-friendly assemblage of parts, code, and downloadable 3D models, kids and adults alike can step lightly into the realm of 3D printing and robotics right in the comfort of their own homes. Just print your parts, follow the build guidelines, upload the small amount of pre-written code to the Freaduino UNO for sensor connectivity and clamp initiation, and voila! A real, functional robot is at your service ready to gallivant around floors and flat surfaces everywhere. Left a soda can across the room? Escarabajo can grab that! The hamster escaped its cage? Perhaps some things are still best left to the human touch.
Watch RoboPad-controlled BQ robots in action!
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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