Understanding the DIY mobile robot
The objective of this section is to introduce the basic components that are useful for building a tiny mobile robot. Let’s start by discussing the hardware of the robot, which must be properly connected to ensure the control of the wheels and the sensors. The main brain of the robot is the onboard computer, the Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi [1] is a widely popular board for prototyping and cost-effective system development. Its appeal lies not only in its affordability, compact size, and versatility but also in its general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins, which enable direct interaction with external devices such as sensors, motors, LEDs, and more.
By leveraging the Raspberry Pi’s built-in GPIO pins, there’s no need for an additional microcontroller (such as an Arduino) to manage the robot’s actuators. Numerous similar robotics platforms have been built using this approach, with many project examples available online...