AUBO - an Open Source Autonomous Bot With Arduino

AUBO is an open source life-size robot that roams around your house, office or anywhere you want. AUBO is fully autonomous meaning you don’t need to control it at all! AUBO is Arduino at heart meaning you can add whatever you want to it. From making it a giant fighter bot to a motion-controlled bot with hands. The only limit is your Imagination. AUBO is perfect for giving out pamphlets and even learning Arduino. AUBO can be easily coded to suit your needs and to add any games you wish AUBO to play with you.

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Step 1: Materials,Cost and Tools

I'm working on designing a PCB for this project to make it cheaper. (check the last step for updates)

The prices that I have stated are all approximated and as per my country. They might be different in your country. Refer to the picture for prices and details. Here is a list of the materials -

Motors 60RPM High Tourqe
L293D Motor Driver Module
Ultrasonic Sensor HC-SR04
Arduino Uno + Serial - USB wire
Caster Wheels
Battery Pack
12v Bike Battery - Lead Acid
12v Battery Charger
MDF Board
Jumper Wires (Male to Female)
Plastic tub/drum
Paints

For Mounting of Motors -

Bracket for motors
Screws
Nuts

TOOLS

Soldering Iron
Assorted collection of screwdrivers
Wire cutters
Glue Gun
Hacksaw, table saw or something to cut the wood (Check the Structure Step)
Multimeter (Not required but VERY handy. Saves lives)
Drill

Step 2: Setting Up the Structure

The bot requires a good structure as the 12v battery is quite heavy. To cut up the wooden plank -

1) Put the tubs bottom side on the wooden plank.

2) Take a marker and trace the tubs bottom.

3) Cut the traced side of the plank with a table saw or hand saw etc. (I went to my local makerspace. They helped me with cutting the plank in a circular shape)

4) Use sandpaper to smoothen it.

This makes a good structure with good support for the weight of the battery.

I used a 4mm MDF board. Its light compared to other woods. You can get it at your local hardware store or Amazon.

Step 3: Motors and the Driver

I was having problems selecting the right motor for this project as it would become very heavy.

These are the exact specs of the motor (from https://robokits.co.in/motors/60rpm-12v-dc-motor-w...)

60RPM 12V DC motors with Gearbox
125gm weight
2kgcm torque
No-load current = 60 mA(Max), Load current = 300 mA(Max)

To be honest, if you ask for a high torque 60 RPM motor you should get what you need.

Take wires and solder one of their ends to each terminal of the motor. Repeat this for the second motor.

Now for the motor driver, I used a simple L293d driver shown in the picture above. You can pick any L293d based motor driver you wish ( Shield not recommended). My driver looked like the picture shown above.

CONNECTIONS :

First, connect the motor wires to the M1 and M2 terminals of the driver shown above.

Motor Driver | Arduino

GND --> GND

VCC --> 5v

VCC for Motor --> Battery Postive terminal (don't do it as of yet. Wait for the Battery step)

PWM Controls --> Nothing yet

VCC --> 5v

C1A (left) --> D5

C1B (left) --> D6

C2A (right) --> D9

C2B (right) --> D10

Step 4: Battery

WARNING: BE CAUTIOUS WITH THE BATTERY. IT IS A VERY STRONG BATTERY

The battery that I chose was a 12v Lead-Acid battery most commonly used for motorbikes. I went to the shop and took the smallest one I found. This one has about 3.0 Ah of capacity. It is the SF Sonic Mobiker MK1440-TZ4 Battery.

To connect it to the Motor driver and Arduino take a wire and twist its head on the connection port of the battery. Solder a header pin to the other end of the wire and connect to the motor driver. If its loose use a crocodile clipped wire instead.

CONNECTIONS :

Battery | Arduino / Motor Driver

+ (VCC) --> Motor Driver 9v/12v area

- (GND) --> GND

Step 5: Drilling the Board

Before everything is complete in AUBO you need to complete one of the hardest processes in the project. That is drilling and mounting.

Motors: You need to take one of your motors and place it in an ideal location. Take one of the brackets and place it above the motor. Make sure it is tight. Take a marker to mark the location of the drilled hole required to stick the bracket to the structure. Repeat this for the other motor.

Caster Wheels: Place a caster wheel on the two other sides (Refer to Picture). Put the screws for the caster wheels on them (they should be long). Now mark the points for the screws and drill away. Repeat this for the other caster wheel

REMEMBER TO MAKE HOLES NEAR THE MOTORS FOR THE WIRES TO PASS THROUGH

Step 6: Mounting

Yay, you are almost done!

Place the motor where the holes for the bracket is. Firmly tighten the bracket on the motor and screw in the screws and the nuts. Tighten your motor and bring out the glue gun. Glue gun as much you can to keep the motor stuck on the board. Repeat this for the next motor.

Now for the casters, take them and insert long screws in them. Put spacers between the screws to adjust the height of the caster wheel. Screw it in and secure it with a nut.

P.S Touching a glue gun is far better than touching a soldering iron by mistake.