If you’d like to build a walking biped robot, this 3D-printed design by Technovation looks like a fantastic place to start. Each leg features three servos that actuate it at the hip, knee, and ankle for a total of six degrees of freedom.
Control is handled by an Arduino Uno board that rides on top of the legs, along with a perfboard to connect to the servos directly.
Movements are calculated via inverse kinematics, meaning one simply has to input the x and z positions, and the Arduino calculates the proper servo angles. The bot is even able to take steps between two and 10 centimeters without falling over.
Maker Jeremy S. Cook has been building Theo Jansen-style walkers for literally years, and after several iterations has come up with what he calls the “ClearCrawler.”
This little guy stands at just over 15 inches tall — including its comparatively large clear cylindrical head — and travels around via a pair of motors that move four legs on either side like tank treads.
For control, Cook is using an Arduino Nano onboard, along with a motor driver, plus an Uno and joystick shield as the remote unit. Communication between the two is accomplished by a pair of nRF24L01+ radio modules.
Code for the project is available on GitHub, and the build is split up into an electronics and mechanical section in the videos below.
If you think building a walking robot is impossible, perhaps this little guy will change your mind!
With platforms like the various flavors of Arduino, robotics has become accessible for many more people. Walking robots, however, can still be challenging. Especially when it comes to electronics and programming, one has some fairly complicated mechanisms to figure out. Perhaps none is more frustrating than four-legged walkers, as they seem very stable, but that all changes when one foot is removed from the ground.
QuadBot aims to change this with an Arduino-compatible robot that, with clever cutouts for servo motors and plug-in headers on its main board, should be fairly easy to set up, yet capable of being expanded as needed.
The 3D-printable, open-source bot is designed for Makers of any skill level. It works right out of the box and can be programmed using graphical blocks, ideal for beginners. Every aspect of QuadBot can be customized and modified, though, from the 3D design down to a single line of C++ code, opening it up to more advanced users as well.
QuadBot was made for you to do real deal robotics. This means that you learn coding techniques that are scalable to bigger and better projects, rather than an oversimplified and limited alternative (such as Lego Mindstorms). A robotics platform that sets up young and experienced Makers like this has not existed until right now.
QuadBot doesn’t just walk either, it can dance, light up, and with sensors, can follow you, avoid obstacles, and even play songs. The project is the brainchild of Jack Scott-Reeve and Josh Elijah, who graduated with master’s degrees from the University of Manchester’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
If you think building a walking robot is impossible, perhaps this little guy will change your mind!
With platforms like the various flavors of Arduino, robotics has become accessible for many more people. Walking robots, however, can still be challenging. Especially when it comes to electronics and programming, one has some fairly complicated mechanisms to figure out. Perhaps none is more frustrating than four-legged walkers, as they seem very stable, but that all changes when one foot is removed from the ground.
QuadBot aims to change this with an Arduino-compatible robot that, with clever cutouts for servo motors and plug-in headers on its main board, should be fairly easy to set up, yet capable of being expanded as needed.
The 3D-printable, open-source bot is designed for Makers of any skill level. It works right out of the box and can be programmed using graphical blocks, ideal for beginners. Every aspect of QuadBot can be customized and modified, though, from the 3D design down to a single line of C++ code, opening it up to more advanced users as well.
QuadBot was made for you to do real deal robotics. This means that you learn coding techniques that are scalable to bigger and better projects, rather than an oversimplified and limited alternative (such as Lego Mindstorms). A robotics platform that sets up young and experienced Makers like this has not existed until right now.
QuadBot doesn’t just walk either, it can dance, light up, and with sensors, can follow you, avoid obstacles, and even play songs. The project is the brainchild of Jack Scott-Reeve and Josh Elijah, who graduated with master’s degrees from the University of Manchester’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
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