What are the best and most advanced Arduino robotics projects we can do? 2022 list

Day by day, arduino is one of the most important free software and hardware development companies in the world. This, thanks to its printed circuit boards, its programming language and an extensive community that shares numerous projects. In this way, it is the maximum exponent of the maker movement that represents an extension of the DIY culture (“do it yourself”).

Thanks to that, nowadays, turning the wildest ideas into reality is not so difficult. Taking into account that, with Arduino, your imagination and your desire to learn are the main limit to carry out any type of project. In particular, those based on robotics that encompass everything that has to do with design, construction, operation, manufacture and application of robots or virtual entities.

As a consequence, in this post, we want to let you know what are the most advanced projects you can do with Arduino in what concerns or is linked to robotics and well, with various engineering of interest (mechanical, electronic, electrical, and biomedical). In addition to this, we will mention some of the best Arduino kits on the market for robotics.

List of the best robotics projects to do with Arduino from scratch

In this section of the post, basically, we will tell you what are the 10 best robotics projects that you can carry out with the help of an Arduino board in an advanced way, starting from scratch. Therefore, most of them are interesting, attractive and amazing.

So, without further ado, find out what they are:

BB8 life size

Is about a life-size BB8 robot which was built by a genius of the maker world with a variety of recycled materials that you can find from home. In this case, it is an educational robotics project with Arduino based on the Sphero BB8 edition that it is a robot with a warrior aspect which can be used as a remote control toy or even further program it.

Thus, to build it, you simply have to resort to materials such as roll-on deodorants to function as ball bearings, in addition to, Christmas balls to make up the eyes of the robot, tarps that resemble fiberglass, etc. Added to this, with the help of an Arduino board and bluetooth connectivity, users will be able to control this robot. through your own mobile device. As you will see, it is a great robotics project that does not require the use of many technological materials apparently.

A robot that maintains only its balance

Make reference to a little robot self balanced It measures 4 inches wide and 4 inches tall; which has the ability to avoid obstacles when moving thanks to an ultrasonic sensor that helps you keep your balance at all times. To build it, the base on which the robot will be created is an Arduino Pro Mini board with an MPU6050 accelerometer or gyroscope.

Apart from that, a 2 to 5V boost converter is required, a DRV8833 motor driver, a US-020 ultrasonic distance sensora pair of 42x19mm wheels, a pair of micro metal gearmotors, a NCR18650 battery and holder, 3 double-sided prototype PCBs, 4 nylon nuts, nylon standoffs at 8 to 25 cm, cables, on/off switch and berg connectors.

It should be noted that, in order to create it correctly, it is convenient to measure the angle of inclination with an accelerometer and with a gyroscope to combine the acquired results with a complementary filter. In such a way, the robot will manage to keep its balance based on the angular acceleration provided by the accelerometer and the angular velocity provided by the gyroscope.

Robotic arm

Basically, it consists of a robotic arm that shows the ability to grab any target with tweezers and, by doing so, it guarantees that it will not collide with any obstacle due to the ultrasonic sensor it contains. To create it, it is necessary to have an Arduino Nano R3 board at handa 6 DOF robotic arm, a generic HR-SR04 ultrasonic sensor, a 1Kohm resistor, a 15A DC power supply, a MG998 or MG995 servo and a button.

In this sense, the ultrasonic sensor is one of the most essential elements, which works by emitting a wave (Trigger) and receiving its echo (Echo). Thus, the wave travels at the speed of sound and the distance from the obstacle will have to be calculated computing the time difference between the trigger and the echo to multiply it by the speed of sound.

Assessing that, by default, the ultrasonic FSM has three states that are:

• State 1: Executes the trigger.
• State 2: Check if the echo was received.
• State 3: In case the echo has been received, the FSM changes to the third state automatically and it calculates the distance. Otherwise, the FSM will return to the initial state.

GorillaBot

This is a quadrupedal racing robot powered by Arduino which consists of a 10 meter autonomous sprint and its design is based on a five-bar coupling mechanism for each leg and 8 servos on them in total (two power servos on each leg). Which is controlled by an Arduino Nano. For its part, while in autonomous modethe robot maintains its heading or orientation from a magnetometer (or digital compass).

But, in case it gets lost, it can avoid being blocked by the help of an ultrasonic sensor that has a built-in. In addition, if for some reason it breaks, it will start hitting the wall at an angle of 90 degrees and it will only be necessary make use of a step counter in the code to tell it how many steps it needs to take in 10 meters to get back on track. On the other hand, it is worth noting that economic construction it is 3d printable and thanks to that, the GorillaBot is shown as a great competitor.

An exoskeleton for stress situations

with a plate arduino onepeople can undertake this project that It consists of an ideal exoskeleton to calm people in any situation of stress or anxiety. Thus, it is a wearable that values ​​the health of the user and, therefore, its objective is based on acting as an exoskeleton that shows the ability to relax by emitting vibrations at the pressure points you have on your body.

To achieve this, the exoskeleton keeps the vibration motor on and meanwhile, the photoplethysmal pulse sensor receives a high range of accelerated hard pulses during a specific time. Once the user has calmed down (when the frequency of pulsations decreases), the vibrations will stop automatically.

Now, in addition to an Arduino Uno, creators or designers they need other elements to build their own exoskeleton and are: vibration motor (analog output), photophysical pulse sensor (analog input), cardboard hand mannequin, wristband, electronic cable, needles, scissors, soldering iron, fabric, black dye and black thread.

Aster, a humanoid robot

This is a project that is based on a robot created and designed to simulate the shape and/or movements of a human beingso you can walk. Basically, building this open source robo via Arduino is a mix between the Poppy humanoid robot project with MG996R servo motors instead of dynamixel motors.

Which guarantees a great saving of money, since the entire robot It only costs approximately 200 euros and not thousands of euros. For its part, it refers to a robotics project that is controlled from an Arduino Uno board Along with a dedicated servo shield for the 16 servos and for his face shape, he employs a Samsung S4.

In addition, it requires 3D printing for each piece, depending on the measurements that the author wants to use; the following are recommended:

• Filling: 40%.
• layer height: 0.3mm.
• Walls: 4.
• Speed: Between 40 and 60mm/s.

parking attendant

It refers to an ideal assistant to park your car correctly, without fear of colliding with a wall, a column, any other target or even a vehicle. Since it has the ability to calculate the distance to prevent this from happening and displays them using green, blue, yellow and red LED lights. Which basically reveals if you can keep moving the car, if you need to slow down, if you need to stop or if you need to back up.

To build it, it is important to make use of an Arduino Nano with an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor. Additionally, a 100 Ohm resistor, a buzzer, a male and female housing, a connector pin header with wires, adapters, and a color-coded flat cable are also required. Thanks to that, the total price of the project does not exceed 25 euros.

An Arduino snake robot

As its name indicates, it is a robotics project that looks like a snake and it is able to move autonomously because it is built from different types of servos and mounts. East, works with the Arduino Mega microcontroller and in total, it contains 12 servos that facilitate their movement and control. Valuing that, can be managed through a mobile app on Android via a Bluetooth connection.

Now, to obtain it, the manufacturer provides three different kits that users can freely select, according to their abilities and their availability of time. For example, the self-build kit is priced at €515, while the ready-to-use kit costs €582 and the self-study kit It is the most expensive of all, for a price of €676.

A robot that paints the streets

Under the name of “Strettexter”, this writing robot that paints texts on the streets was created in order to make people aware of climate change as a global movement. Basically, it consists of a robotic machine that fills with a total of 8 spray cans placed in a wooden box and fixed on a skateboard to walk down the street. So that, it has to be activated by pulling the skateboard after being configured and connected to the electrical network.

For the robot to work correctly, it is appropriate to use a PWN/Servo display soldered to an Arduino Uno board that will have to be connected to 8 servomotors to be able to control each one of the paint cans in a sprayed way. In addition, the project includes a table that convert each character to 5×8 bit fonts in order to match the size of the spray module. Added to that, has an encoder to measure the distance traveled with a safety switch.

The mini quadruped robot Baby Cheetah

It is a smaller version of the MIT mini Cheetah that has a dimension of 23 cm x 9 cm x 9 cm. Said robot is powered by an Arduino Nano and is equipped with a total of eight SG90 servos that manage to operate each set of leg linkages. previously 3D printed. To run it, you need to control a custom app thanks to a Bluetooth module HC-05 that manages to connect the mini robot to a smartphone.

Now to build your own Baby Cheetah, You will need the following items: An Arduino Nano microcontroller, an MG90S servo with 8 numbers, an Arduino HC-05 bluetooth module, a smooth double-sided PCB. Like, an old SMPS computer (12V taken from yellow and black wire, 5V for servo taken from red and black wire) and female and male header pins.

The best Arduino kits to do robotics that you should know

While it’s true, to get the most out of any board Arduino in order to build the projects you want, other electrical components are valuable to have on hand that are provided through famous arduino kits.

Through them, both the most novice and the most advanced users, they will be able to experience better and above all, when it comes to doing robotics. That is why, so that you can discover all the potential that an Arduino board hides to build robots or similar virtual entities, It is valuable that you make use of an optimal pack of this type.

Therefore, here we present three of the most complete Arduino kits that exist in the market for it:

Adafruit ARDX

It is estimated as “the kit of the kings of electronics” and is characterized by being one of the most optimal for Arduino to learn robotics, thanks to the fact that it offers from basic projects in what concerns this engineer, to servo-based projects and the less common or more amazing. Thanks to the fact that it has all the electronic components necessary to build a quality virtual entity.

In this sense, provides an Arduino Uno R3, as well as 13 circuits to explore the basics of the microcontroller, integrated circuits, LED housing, motors, transistors, photo resistors, variable resistors, relays, temperature sensors, and the USB interface chip. In addition to, an Arduino Uno prototyping package that offers really interesting future projects.

Makeblock Explorer Kit

This consists of an educational robot that implements the development of robotics skills in people over 14 years of age. In this sense, it refers to a kit consisting of a motorized block with an Arduino One board that offers various programmable sensors, such as: push button, ultrasound sensor, light sensor, infrared receiver, infrared emitter, receiver, RGB LED and a guide-line.

In this way, it is cataloged as the ideal tool for learn to program the robot after assembling it to perform different actions or movements. It should also be noted that it is based on STEAM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and its programming software is suitable for both Windows and Mac, in addition to supports Arduino IDE. Thus, for example, with this kit it is possible create a race car, seesaw or tank.

ELEGOO ONE R3 Kit

It is a very complete kit that reveals a very simple assembly and It is a car-shaped robot that hides countless functions ready to use. Although it has one of the highest prices on the market, the truth is that it is one of the most recommended for both children and adults in favor of encourage their learning of programming and robotics.

which, of course, it is compatible with Arduino IDE and with line follower module. Among other details, we highlight that, offers an IR remote sensor built into the board, plus three line tracking modules on one board. Added to that, supports 4 modes of operation (IR remote control, Bluetooth control via app for Android and iOS, line following and obstacle avoidance) and it is easy to assemble.

For more benefits, it’s fun to program and usehas some codes ready to use and allows you to add new ones, also, thanks to the fact that it is an ELEGOO brand characterized by being of high quality.