Platforms

Choose your platform

You have decided that you want to build a robot, now the first step is to choose a platform. There are several options:

• 2WD (a robot with 2 motors)
• 4WD (a robot with 4 motors)
• Caterpillar

In addition to the differences in engines, the platforms are also made of different materials. The cheaper models are made of acrylic, while the more expensive models are made of a very strong aluminum alloy. A beginner can build a really nice robot with a simple acrylic platform. If you are more advanced an aluminum alloy platform is a better choice. You can expand it much more.

Choose your controller

The next step is to choose your controller. This choice is very dependent on the purpose of your robot. If you just want to build a simple possible autonomous robot, we certainly prefer one Arduino Robot. An Arduino has PWM pins that are very useful for controlling motors. If you want to build a robot that uses image processing, for example, then a Raspberry Pi Robot a better choice. The Raspberry Pi boards do not have PWM pins, so take this into account in your choice. If you want to build a very elaborate robot, you can also choose to use both an Arduino and a Raspberry Pi board to use. However, this is definitely not for a beginner.

Choose your components

You now have almost everything you need to make a cool robot. Now you have to figure out the components. You can use an Arduino to send the signals from your controller to the motors motor shield use. If you are using a different controller you can use a motorcycle driver to use. To connect everything you need Jumper wires and a Breadboard required. If you want your robot to drive autonomously, you need sensors. Two cool sensors are the:

• HC-SR04 (To measure distance and detect obstacles)
• Line tracking sensor (Makes the robot follow a line)

Do you want to let your robot drive in the dark? Then you can also add lighting.

And build!