Arduino® programmers and hobbyists have created an array of inventions, including robots, that can be found on the Internet. There are many different kinds of Arduino® robots that can be built and assembled using Arduino® technology and parts. Many websites, including the Arduino® website, show how a robot may be assembled and which parts are needed. To operate this kind of robot, an Arduino® interface is needed, and as is some open source software. Arduino® kits can also be purchased for building Arduino® robots.
One kind of Arduino® robot is an Asuro® robot, and assembling this kind of robot requires accessing the main PCB, or the large board of the robot, and removing the IR transmitter. Its oscillator does not have polarity and can be put in the robot any way. The ATmega8 is removed from the Asuro® board and replaced with an ATmega8 from an Arduino® board. This allows Arduino® software to be uploaded to the board; the ATmega8 from Asuro® must be removed because it has protocols set up which will not allow Arduino® software to be uploaded. An Asuro® robot must also have its file preferences configured so that it will run at Arduino® speeds to keep consistency between the hardware and the software.
Extra soldering of wires to the Asuro® robot is required for these kinds of Arduino® robots. The wires that are soldered to nearby pins go on to the TX and RX of this Arduino® board, which are also labeled pins 1 and 0. With the wires connected to the correct pins, the robot’s USB cable connects to the board as well as the computer. This connecting and soldering allows programs to be uploaded directly from the Arduino® environment. Starting up the robot requires the on button to be pushed right before an Arduino® environment upload button is pushed.
Another of the Arduino® robots is an open source microcontroller robot. Building this robot has several advantages. One is that there is no need to solder parts; the robot has durable acrylic pieces for the body. Other advantages are that it has a fully programmable microcontroller that uses Arduino® open source software, it is modifiable, and it has a run time between 1 and 2 hours. This robot can also be built by purchasing a kit online.
One of the other kinds of Arduino® robots is a BlinkM cylon. It uses a long cable to wire multiple BlinkMs and is good practice for programmers and inventors. The circuit used in this robot has effects that create colors of the full RGB, as well as gradual fading. This can be assembled by a purchased kit as well.