Affordable Modular ARC Robotics Kit
Is it time for a new ARC compatible Robotics Kit? Most of us came across ARC back in the days of EZ-Robot. These are great robotic kits for schools and summer camps to teach kids robotics. The problem is the cost and availability. ARC now works with ESP32-CAM and PCA9685 controllers. Together these provide a lot of the functions of an EZ-B for around $5. So now using low cost servos like MG90S or other 9g servos you can build a bipod robot that works with ARC for under $50. Using a modular design the pieces could also be used to build other robots like Hexapods, Robotic Dogs, Rovers etc. ARC has all the functions built in to support a new robotics kit all we need to do is design the connectable servo casings, servo horns. body and other components for 3D printing. We could then provide the free 3D printable models and even make kits available for sale. ARC makes it easy to program, build and configure the robot and this would make robotics a low cost barrier of entry for students and still teach all the skills needed to learn basic robotics with all the features that now come with AI integration.
There are a bunch of opensource ESP / PCA based robots available that you can make work with ARC today, but I think a modular design that allows you to build a range of different robots that have pre programmed projects, scripts and build instructions available for ARC would be the best approach.
Anyone interested in working on something like this ?
Quick update. I’ve begun assembly of the Freenove ESP32 Robot Dog, but the software experience is a cautionary tale in technical debt. The Freenove firmware was built on ESP32 Core 1.0, and in the three years since its last GitHub update, the libraries have become entirely deprecated.
I spent two hours chasing compatibility bugs (specifically RMT peripheral conflicts and header mismatches) trying to bridge the gap to the latest ESP32 3.0 Core, but the original code is simply too far behind. For a standard consumer, this would be a bricked product. To even use their native app for calibration, I’d have to downgrade my entire development environment to an "ancient" version of the Arduino IDE and ESP32 drivers. This confirms that the Freenove software stack is effectively abandoned.
For now I have given up on trying to fix their code (I just wanted to see how it runs) and will try and hack DJ's code to get it to work with the on board sensors. The servo's and camera work but camera quality is terrible. They took a really bad camera and then added a 1 foot ribbon cable and 3 connectors so now its extremely bad and noisy.
It will take me a while to finish assembly as it is lots of small components and fiddly screws but the controller board is solid. I wrote freenove and asked if they will do an S3 board / Price and Specs. They came back with only ESP32 Wrover today but will circle back. I think we need an S3 board as I can't use a decent OV5640 Autofocus camera on this ESP and unfortunately they are not pin compatible with the ESP32S3-Cam boards.
Finally finished assembling this thing. Now for some wire management and make a Movement Panel so he can walk but for now all he can do is turn his camera on and stand and lay down.
With a bit of cable management it’s actually not a bad looking bot and will keep you entertained building it. I am probably going to fire up an old laptop and try and install the official firmware to take a look at its stance, gate, calibration position and some of his pre programmed scripts.
It’s going to be hard to beat the price point for an ARC comparable robot dog.
@nink
very nice looking cat . are these also from same factory/shop like the humanoid robot in your first picture ?
Hi @nomad. The robots in the first picture are just AI. They exist only in a prompt I gave ChatGPT.
I did hear back from freenove. They are prepared to sell me boards for around $20 USD. This is a lot cheaper than an EZB but we need to add a wrover ESP32-CAM, batteries and a charger. We could then design custom robots around this module.
pros more PWM ports than an IoTiny and a lot cheaper than an EZB. Cons are you can’t run it on a bench without batteries although they do last a long time and you can charge one set while using another.
I may order a couple and mod a JD and six to accept this module (just modify the existing 3D printed JD and six body component). I have a several ez-robots that don’t have an EZB as they are quite expensive so I usually just plug an EZB into them when I want to use them. I also have several robots I have built over the years that need EZB to operate that this could replace.
@nink
allot more ports sounds allreddy great . the servo's look allot like the lewansoul LX-16A I do think all these components allreddy excist .
Well todays Update. With a lot of help from AI (Stack Overflow is so dead) and working with Arduino firmware. I can now make the WS2812 LEDS go on or off (no colour) from ARC now when you do a digital write, The on board buzzer go beep with digital write. Still can't read anything so no joy with battery monitor, Distance sensor and Touch Sensor (that should be the easy one)
sounds like you're having fun programming haha. when you're done with the firmware, i can take a peek at it if you'd like. i mean, done as in you're happy it works not "dj finish this for me" hahaha.
i would like to add the ezb broadcast still into the esp32 firmware someday. right now we're all hands on deck fighting windows 11 fires. i'd like to say the "fixes" for windows 11 are fixes... but they're actually hacks because win11 is that broken