Hi! Welcome! And thank you for checking out my project!😊
I'm building a hexapod robot from the ground up - which includes sourcing components, modelling and 3D-printing structural pieces, wiring and soldering, and of course writing the code.
It is a very ambitious project - and i have many plans / goals / wishes. The very first is naturally to make a robot that is able to walk, which includes inverse kinematics and creating a gait - when that is achived (essentially making a platform in which development can continue), that's when the opportunity for some awesome stuff will arise!🙏🏻🔥
For example:
- Object recognition with artificial intelligence/neural networking
- Autonomous navigation
- Gesture and/or voice command recognition
- Expressive body language (eg. 'defensive' when someone suddenly approches, 'looking up' when listening to command, etc.)
- Cellular connectivity
- Regenerative shock absorption
- Machine vision using 360 degree camera coverage, possibly combined with lidar and/or infrared (think navigation in low light or heat-seeking)
- No "locked" front or back. The robot can change "front" to any point, making it able to switch direction quickly.
- Computer running it's own operating system (probably a flavor of linux)
- High torque / muscle power (can we make it pull a car???)
- Built in wireless charger for phone (When not walking about, it's essentially a big powerbank - useful for something like BornHack!)
- And much, much more!
Do keep in mind that this is the first version of ARA and that it is a work in progress😊
I will try to make everything for the project available, so you can start your own project❤️
If you have any tips or suggestions for improvements, please let me know! It will be much appreciated!
| Part or component | Quantity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| MG996R servo | 18 | Each leg contains 3 servos, 1 for the coxa, 1 for the femur and one for the tibia |
| PCA9685 | 2 | 16-channel PWM servo driver module, for controlling all of the servos through the I2C BUS |
| Wemos ESP8266 D1 Mini | 1 | Microcontroller flashed with MicroPython, for controlling everything. |
| RC Shock absorber | 6 | Shock absorbers for the legs, i found mine through a local RC-supplier. |
| Servo horn | 18 | Servo horn for attaching the servo gear to their respective component. |
| M3 screw | Lots! | I think there is about 108 M3 screws in total (this is a rough estimate though..) |
- Kevin McAleer for his MicroPython PCA9685 and Servo code.
- Zarya / Rudy for his help with the battery management and general circuitry.
- Ryan from Aecert Robotics for inspiration.
You're free to use everything here to make your own robot or a variant - but not for commercial use.