Looking for project ideas or inspiration? Checkout the following projects/tutorials list!
103. Robotic Arm
Inspired by this robotic arm tutorial,
geekswithblogs.net/kobush/archive/2012/04/09/149258.aspx
Andrew Hoover recently posted on our forum about a robotic arm he made for the Nashville Mini Maker Faire. The arm is constructed from laser-cut acrylic and actuated by hobby RC servos. The servos are controlled by a 12-Channel Mini Maestro, which reads the signals from joysticks and converts them to target positions using a Maestro script.
For more information on the project, you can check out Andy’s blog post for his robotic arm project, which includes a parts list, instructions, and code.
102. Graphic LCD Quickstart Guide
Step-up from character LCDs, make your project pop with a graphic LCD! Here we teach you the basics of our low-cost SPI LCD to get you up and running quick.
101. Color LCD Shield Quickstart Guide
Add some zest to your Arduino with the Color LCD Shield. This tutorial goes over basic assembly, and shows how to use the shield with the ColorLCDShield Arduino library.
100. IOIO-OTG Beginners Guide
The beginners guide for the IOIO-OTG shows you how to setup your development environment for Android and how to start writing code for your first app.
99. RFID USB Starter Kit Quick Start Guide
How to get started with your RFID Starter Kit.
98. microSD Shield Quickstart Guide
This Quickstart Guide will help you get started with your microSD Shield. What is the microSD shield? How do I assemble it and get it working? And finally, how do one make it do something cool? You will learn how to create, open, read and write to files. Quickstart guides give you complete example code you can use to get started quickly.
97. XBee Shield and Explorer USB Quickstart Guide
Welcome to the wonderful world of XBee wireless communications. This page serves as a starting point for everything you need to get up and running with your XBee Explorer USB and XBee Shield for Arduino.
96. Birdbuggy
This crafty robot uses Wild Thumper wheels, 25D mm motors, and a TB6612FNG dual motor driver carrier to develop a mobile platform that a parrot can use for self transportation. By viron11111, December 2012.
95. Raspberry Pi – Real Time Control via Android HTML5
Demo code to do web-based real time control of the Pololu Micro Maestro 6 channel servo controller using the RPi and the Tornado web server. By MartinSant, November 2012.
94. Wixel-controlled robot
This robot uses a Wixel as the controller and is driven by stepper motors. The Wixel source code is available. By Perrotti, October 2012.
93. Twitch – 3-servo, Wixel-controlled hexapod
This 3-servo hexapod has a Wixel for its brains and is controlled remotely by an Arbotix Commander modified to use a Wixel. By Gertlex, October 2012.
92. Remote-controlled balancing robot
This laser-cut, remote-controlled balancing robot uses a dual VNH5019 motor driver and a pair of Pololu wheels. By wilywampa, September 2012.
91. Modified Gaucho Superpower
This modified Gaucho Superpower taps directly into the jrk 21v3 that powers the Torxis servo used to steer with remote control. By Jornum1, September 2012. Disclaimer: our products are not recommended for applications where the malfunction of the product could cause injury or damage.
90. MinIMU-9 v2 connected to 3ds Max in real time
A MinIMU-9 v2 is connected to an Arduino Uno to interact in real time with 3ds Max. This 3ds Max MinIMU-9 tutorial (5MB zip) includes source code, 3ds Max files, and step-by-step instructions. By Nippur, August 2012.
89. Wireless programming of a Baby Orangutan
The 3pi robot contains a Baby Orangutan that is wirelessly programmed using a pair of Wixels. By oldtom, August 2012.
88. Pi Trak
projects.drogon.net/adafruit-protoplate-for-the-rasbperry-pi/
This Raspberry Pi-based robot’s motors are driven with a TB6612FNG motor driver carrier. By Gordo, August 2012.
87. HeadlMU Tracking
This head tracking project uses a MinIMU-9 v2 and an Arduino to mimic the movement of a person in a computer-generated model. By Nippurius, August 2012.
86. Self-balancing Robot
This self-balancing robot uses a 37D metal gearmotor with encoder and a pair of Pololu 90×10mm wheels. By Sebastian Nilsson, July 2012.
85. Heatsinking an A4988/A4983 stepper motor driver carrier
arduinodabbler.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/…4983-stepper-driver/
A4988 stepper motor driver heatsinking experiments. By Arduinodabbler, July 2012.
84. PsychoRowRow
This group of robots features a Maestro 24 controlling 22 servos to create a rendition of Row Row Row Your Boat. By MultiRobodude, July 2012.
83. Wixel used with Arbotix Commander V2
forums.trossenrobotics.com/showthread.ph…Arbotix-Commander-V2
A pair of Wixels are added to an Arbotix Commander V2 remote control, allowing it to send its signals to a computer. By Gertlex, July 2012.
82. LightRobot
The LightRobot is a 3pi Robot that has been modified with RGB LEDs, an RN-41 Bluetooth module, and a sonar range finder that is controlled with voice commands and the accelerometer from an Android phone. The source code for the robot and the Android app are also available.
81. Dalek Robot
This autonomous, obstacle-avoiding robot is controlled by an Arduino and uses two 25D metal gearmototrs, which are attached to a dual VNH2SP30 motor driver carrier. By andygrove, June 2012.
80. Robocam face tracking with Kinect SDK
A Micro Maestro is used to control and position the webcam in response to facial-tracking data from a Kinect sensor. By bkbrowncom, June 2012.
79. Maestro controlled tank
This tank is controlled by a Mini Maestro. The code used to program it for joystick control is included, along with the system schematics. By swcorb1, June 2012.
78. Iron Man helmet with motorized faceplate and light up eyes
A Micro Maestro controls the faceplate on this Iron Man helmet and the spare channels will eventually be configured to turn the lights on in the eyes. By jamesbruton, May 2012.
77. Tabletop Robotics 3pi Projects
A series of interesting, customer-created open source projects for the 3pi robot, including barcode reading, grid navigation, and remote control.
Power off from within an Arduino sketch using the Pololu power switch
This Instructables lesson demonstrates how to cut power to an Arduino from within a sketch using the Pololu pushbutton power switch. By Kev_MacD, April 2012.
76. Textspresso
blog.zipwhip.com/2012/04/30/textspresso-…-texting-technology/
This text-enabled espresso machine uses the Zipwhip app to receive a text message for an order of espresso. An A4988 stepper motor driver carrier and servo are then used to rotate the cup up to the nozzles where the espresso is dispensed. By Zipwhip, April 2012.
75. Robotic Arm
This laser-cut robotic arm is controlled by a Mini Maestro servo controller. By Szymon Kobalczyk, April 2012.
74. Micro Maestro Delta Robot
A Micro Maestro and three servos power this well-constructed delta robot. By Steve, April 2012.
73. Monitoring power consumption with the ACS715
arduinotronics.blogspot.com/2012/04/moni…onsumption-with.html
A blog post about using an ACS715 to monitor the current consumption of a ham radio when in emergency communication mode. By Steve Spence, April 2012.
72. Wixel as Wireless USB for Propeller Chip
Using a Wixel to wirelessly program a Parallax Propeller microcontroller. (Forum thread). By Martin H, April 2012.
71. Balancing Robot
This robot uses two 37D metal gearmotors with encoders that are mounted with gearmotor brackets and driven with a dual VNH2SP30 motor driver carrier . By Kristian Lauszus, March 2012.
70. Prometheus a CNC Router Project
www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-cnc_router_ta…_out_my_2nd_cnc.html
This CNC router features four A4988 stepper motor driver carriers. By bg_blea, March 2012.
69. Garden Bot
Garden Bot uses a Maestro Servo Controller to help it track the orange bucket (Video). By maleche, March 2012.
68. W.A.V.E art performance uses Maestro Servo Controllers
An Arduino Uno and five Mini Maestro 24-Channel USB Servo Controller are used to control an extensive installation for an art performance. By Fancy Yeh, March 2012.
67. DIY fully-automatic book scanner
Do-it-yourself fully-automatic book scanner uses a Maestro servo controller to control the page-turning, and picture-taking servos. It was able to scan 468-page book in about 12 minutes with zero page-turning errors. For more information, see the related DIY Book Scanner forum thread. By jck57, February 2012.
66. Solar Tracker
This solar tracking robot uses RC servos, light sensors, and a Mini Maestro to find the sun and point a solar panel directly at it. By ScienceOnline, Jan 2012.
65. Rover 5 chassis with Wild Thumper wheels
This Arduino-controlled robot commands the Rover 5 chassis and uses a LSM303DLH 3D Compass and Accelerometer Carrier with Voltage Regulators to determine which direction to go. The caterpillar treads were replaced with the Wild Thumper wheels. By cyberteque, Jan 2012.
64. Trackduino P1213 Arduino shield
This Arduino shield mounts a Pololu dual MC33926 motor driver carrier for easy control with an Arduino. Build log: page 1, page 2, page 3. By Craig Hollabaugh, January 2012.
63. Popular Mechanics Build Your First Robot
www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engi…ild-your-first-robot
Popular Mechanics guide to building your first robot. The parts that Pololu offers are in this wish list. January 2012.
62. Display for compass and accelerometer readings
Charlie uses a Baby Orangutan to read the accelerometer and compass readings from an LSM303 and display them nicely on a 1.8″ TFT LCD display. January 2012.
61. Controlling the Pololu 3pi Robot using a Joystick
This project controls a 3pi robot by directly connecting two joystick outputs to two of its analog inputs. By Wilfredo, January 2012.
60. Pololu round robot chassis kit assembly videos
www.meanpc.com/2012/01/pololu-round-robot-chassis-kit-25.html
A series of assembly videos for a Pololu Chassis Completion Kit for RRC01A and a Pololu RRC01A robot chassis. By MeanPC.com, January 2012.
59. Dead Things Vlog 3-axis witch head
Pat from the Dead Things Vlog has a two part video about programming the Micro Maestro 6-Channel USB Servo Controller to control a 3-axis witch head. January 2012.
58. Paper Robots
Mike Estee has three blog posts about crafting hexapod chassis out of paper. The beasts are controlled by Mini Maestro USB Servo Controllers. January 2012.
57. Remote Controlled Arduino Robot using Wixel Transceivers
www.instructables.com/id/Remote-Controll…-using-Wixel-Transc/
Instructions for making a robot controlled wirelessly via a pair of Wixels. By techbitar, January 2012.
56. Disco Dance Floor with Lights
This disco dance floor with ShiftBrite RGB lights is controlled by a Micro Maestro 6-Channel USB Servo Controller. By Greg, December 2011.
55. Android-controlled Mini Sumo Robot
A parts list and video of a Android-controlled mini sumo robot called “Karafatma.” By Mert Öztoprak, December 2011.
54. Carambola Rover Platform
The Carambola rover platform uses wheels, motors, brackets, and a motor controller from Pololu, to make a platform for the Carambola. 8devices’s Carambola is a open-source and Linux-friendly embeddable module. November 2011.
53. Rocky the Robot
www.patrickmccabemakes.com/PatrickMccabe…s/RockyTheRobot.html
Rocky the Robot’s body is contained within the profile of his Pololu Wheels. He also uses our gearmotors, distance sensors and battery holder. By Patrick Mccabe, October 2011.
52. Simple 3pi Projects for the Arduino IDE
stefan.co/netduino/pololu-serial-servo-c…ite/3piprojects/home
These customer-written projects are intended to introduce the novice user to all the components on the 3pi robot and how they can be used while programming with the Arduino IDE. Each project builds on the one before it and comments within the programs are used to provide background information when new items are introduced. By Daniel J. Sullivan, August 2011.
51. Pololu Micro Serial Servo Controller Netduino driver
This customer-written Netduino driver supports both the MiniSSC2 and the Pololu protocol for controlling a Pololu Micro Serial Servo Controller. By Stefan Thoolen, July 2011.
50. Mr. Twitchy
Mr. Twitchy uses two Wixels to wirelessly control an electrical stimulation device. By Sparkfun, July 2011.
49. Blackbeard’s Chest
Blackbeard’s Chest uses two jrk motor controllers with feedback to control linear actuators as part of a spooky animatronic display. By Skulltronix, July 2011.
48. Low-Cost Hexapod
forums.trossenrobotics.com/showthread.ph…howthread.php?t=4102
A Mini Maestro 24-channel USB servo controller controls three servos in each of this insectoid robot’s six legs. By Chench, June 2011.
47. Rotating monitor for arcade cabinet
This rotating monitor for an arcade cabinet uses a Simple Motor Controller, a gearmotor with encoders and a Pololu wheel to control the rotation. By TopJimmyCooks, June 2011.
46. DIY telescope remote project
A well-documented project for building a telescope remote based on the Micro Maestro 6-Channel USB servo controller. By Kevin, May 2011.
45. Instructable: Introducing the Wixel USB Wireless Module
www.instructables.com/id/Introducing-the…USB-Wireless-Module/
A customer-written Instructable that introduces the reader to the Wixel through a series of basic projects. By Michael Oz, May 2011.
44. Learning PID values using simulated annealing
Video of a robot based off of the Pololu 5″ robot chassis that automatically improves its PID constants over time. By PageFault, April 2011.
43. Motion simulator chairs
Jrk 12v12s are used as part of two-degree-of-freedom motion-simulator chairs (sim chairs). (Video). By eaorobbie, April 2011.
42. Homemade Segway-like personal transport
High-Power Motor Drivers are used to drive the motors in this homemade Segway-like personal transport. By Hans Michael Steiner, April 2011.
41. Waiter Robot
Waiter Robot can make a “Robot Bar” for your next exhibition, show, private event, or sales promotion. They use Pololu 3pi Robots to deliver food and drinks in an remarkable way. March 2011. Update: The original site for this project is no longer accessible, so this now links to the youtube promo video.
40. BrewMon: Orangutan SVP beer-brewing monitor
A temperature probe, a battery pack, and a Pololu Orangutan SVP-324 Robot Controller are used to make BrewMon, a beer-brewing monitor. By Michael Buckley, March 2011.
39. Micromouse 3pi Robot Video
Video of a heavily-modified 3pi that uses distance sensors and encoders along with a flood-fill algorithm to find the shortest path through a walled Micromouse maze. The robot is described in more detail in this forum post. By lufamseed, March 2011.
38. Build Yourself a Bluetooth Controlled Six-Legged Robot
blog.sigfpe.com/2011/02/build-yourself-b…-controlled-six.html
A small hexapod using the Micro Maestro that is controlled remotely using a Bluetooth module. By sigfpe, February 2011.
37. Only5 – general-purpose, high-performance robot
www.roboticsindia.com/entry.php/169-Comp…h-performance-robot-(Part-2)
Only5 is designed to be a general-purpose, high-performance robot. It uses many Pololu parts including the Pololu 5″ Robot Chassis RRC04A and the Baby Orangutan robot controller. By ngcoders, Feb 2011.
36. Instructable Groovin’ Grover: a microcontroller-based marionette
www.instructables.com/id/Groovin-Grover-…ler-based-Marionett/
Groovin’ Grover is a marionette manipulated by four hobby servos and a Pololu Maestro servo controller. You can control each of Grover’s limbs independently and make him walk, wave, and most entertaining – make him dance. Groovin’ Grover is easy to assemble and wire up. The Maestro servo controller is easy to program using free software from Pololu. This Instructable explains how to build your own Groovin’ Grover. By talk2bruce, Feb 2011
35. Robot Zero: a fast line follower for beginners
A guide to building a fast (> 2 m/s) line-following robot from scratch. By C.I.r.E., February 2011.
34. Snow-BoArduino
Robot made with a TReX, a 4WD Wild Thumper and a BoArduino driving in the snow. By arduwino, February 2011.
33. Coke Can Robot
This autonomous robot can also be controlled by an RC-5 remote to choose different actions. It uses our compact Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S8V3A. By oberallgeier, Jan 2011.
32. One-Million-Color Flashlight
Two Mini-Maestro-controlled ShiftBrites power a flashlight capable of displaying one million colors with many interesting modes of operation (video). By Reed Kimble, January 2011.
31. Home-made m3pi robot controlled by Bluetooth keyboard
An mbed notebook (in Japanese) showing a 3pi robot with an ARM mbed controlled by Bluetooth keyboard. By Kazuhiro Ouchi, December 2010.
30. Baby Orangutan Useless Machine
A Useless Machine controlled by a Baby Orangutan. It counts how many times the button is pressed and then the arm comes out and presses the button the same number of times. Video, source code, and schematics included. By Jumbleview, December 2010.
29. Otimização Do Algoritmo De Maze Solver Para O Robô Pololu 3pi
www.pololu.com/file/download/Artigo-form…10.doc?file_id=0J426
A paper (in Portuguese) describing the Pololu 3pi robot in general, and, specifically, how to write optimized maze solving code. By Ana Paula, December 2010.
28. Jrk 12v12 TV Lift
A news report about a custom TV lift using a Pololu Jrk 12v12 made by Francisco Estrada III, November 2010.
27. mbed.org m3pi cookbook
This mbed.org cookbook page will help you get started using your m3pi robot with an mbed development board as your high-level robot controller.
26. 3pi PCB skeleton
An open-source template for custom 3pi expansion boards in the Eagle format by Alex Louden. An example expansion with an mbed microcontroller, Xbee, and accelerometers is shown. By Alex Louden, September 2010.
25. iPhone-controlled 3pi Robot
A WiFi module is connected to a 3pi robot allowing it to be controlled by an iPhone. YouTube Video. By drock221, July 2010.
24. Baby Orangutan Hand-Held Tic-Tac-Toe
Hand-held Tic-Tac-Toe powered by a Pololu adjustable boost regulator and controlled with a Pololu Baby Orangutan B-328. By Jumbleview, June 2010.
23. Obstacle Avoider
A simple obstacle-avoiding robot based on the Maestro, using continuous-rotation servos and distance sensors. The robot is programmed using the Maestro’s internal scripting language, without the need for an additional microcontroller. By TomatoWire, June 2010.
22. Estrella Intersects the Plane
itp.nyu.edu/shows/spring2010/2010/04/07/…intersects-the-plane
An art project at New York University using 10 OctoBrite DEFILIPPI modules, 80 RGB LEDs, 40 servos, 7 servo controllers, and 1 Arduino. A video is also available. By Matthew Richard, April 2010.
21. AIRbot
AIRbot is a robot that can be controlled by a cellphone and can send images back to the cellphone. It uses a yellow RP5 tracked chassis, a transparent clear RP5 expansion plate, and a qik 2s9v1 dual serial motor controller along with the AIRcable S.D.K. and the AIRcable OptiEyes. The source code (both AIRcable and Nokia) and circuit diagrams are freely available.
20. Automatic Infrared Light Source Tracking HD Camcorder
An HD camcorder on a pan/tilt mount controlled by servos actuated by a Micro Maestro 6-Channel USB Servo Controller next to a Wiimote used to track an IR light source. Here is a video taken from the mounted camcorder. Posted February 2010.
19. R2D2 dome position control
astromech.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/addin…control-to-r2s-dome/
A replica of the famous Star Wars droid R2D2 that uses the Jrk USB Motor Controller for position control. See the video which shows the Jrk Configuration Utility in action, or read the blog post which has more information. By ggpipe, February 2010.
18. Paparazzi Autopilot for Linux
Patrick Hickey and Bradley Lord use a Pololu Micro Maestro for servo output and a Pololu 4 servo multiplexer to support manual control override in their model aircraft autopilot project. Published February, 2010.
17. Active Magnetic Bearing: Tripod Floater v2.0
Meindert Norg from Norg Consulting (www.NorgConsulting.com) demonstrates his active magnetic bearing, Tripod Floater. The closed-loop system uses three Pololu 18v15 high-power motor drivers as PWM amplifiers to power the magnetic coils that keep the module floating beneath the metal plate. By Meindert Norg, August, 2009. February, 2010 update: the Tripod Floater is now wireless! Version 2.2 video
16. Beacon Locating Robot – Powered by Arduino and IR Transceiver
www.robotishappy.com/2009/12/beacon-loca…-and-ir-transceiver/
A beacon-chasing robot built with our IR Beacon, an RP5 Tracked Chassis, and an Arduino. By Christopher Hazlett, December 2009.
15. Using the Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch
www.instructables.com/id/Using-the-Polol…button-Power-Switch/
An tutorial showing how to power an Arduino through the Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch and use the self-shutoff feature, by Instructables member youeveolve. Published November, 2009.
14. The Haunted Organist
A spooky animatronic skeleton using the Jrk USB Motor Controller. See the final result or more pictures and information. By Mark Goodson, October 2009.
13. Robockey
Robockey uses various motors, hardware, and wheels to design, build, and program teams of fully-autonomous robots to play hockey. By Jonathan Fiene, 2008.
12. 3pi Robot Videos
Various videos of the Pololu 3pi robot in action. A detailed presentation on teaching a robot to solve a non-looped line maze written by customer (and robotics professor) R. Vannoy. This can help you to better understand how to solve a line maze with your 3pi or custom maze-solving robot.
11. Arduino Muscle Car
A DIY article for Popular Science showing how to use our Orangutan LV-168 robot controller to make an autonomous, obstacle-avoiding 1:32-scale Hummer. The Arduino sketch used to control the car makes use of our Arduino Orangutan libraries and is available for download on the second page of his article. By Dave Prochnow.
10. Rich’s Melty B Antweight Combat Robots
Spinning antweight combat robots by Rich Olson / SpamButcher, using the Pololu Baby Orangutan robot controller and VNH3SP30 Motor Driver Carrier. These award-winning designs spin their entire body around at high speed while slightly varying the motor speeds to translate around the playing field.
9. Probotics America – Home of the Safety Education Bikebot
David Jannke from Probotics America is using our TReX motor controller in his safety education robots. He also sent us a short video demonstration (2MB avi).
8. Tutorial: Using the Pololu Servo Controller in .NET
Customer Colin Karpfinger has written a tutorial complete with sample C# program that demonstrates how to interface with Pololu servo controllers using .NET.
7. Tutorial: AVR Programming on the Mac
bot-thoughts.blogspot.com/2008/02/avr-programming-on-mac.html
Customer Michael Shimniok has written a guide to programming AVRs (the Orangutan LV-168, specifically) using the Mac.
6. Configuring the Mac to Program AVRs with XCode
macbots.blogspot.com/2009/04/configure-your-mac-to-program.html
A customer-written tutorial that shows how to program Orangutans with XCode.
5. SMC03A controlled by LabVIEW
A demo showing how to control our SMC03A motor controller using LabVIEW.
4. Automated Weapons Turret – ColinKarpfinger.com
Colin Karpfinger’s entry in the Defcon Bots competition, “The First Law”, using the Pololu Serial 8-Servo Controller.
3. 3kg Sumo by Tom Saxton
The Pololu Orangutan X2 robot controller is the brains of this 3kg sumo robot.
2. iRobot Create Personal Home Robot
A Robot by Danh Trinh using our 8-Servo Controller, the iRobot Create platform and a Mini-ITX computer system.
1. Motorsteuerung mit H-Brücke (338k pdf)
An article (in German) about H-bridges and Pololu dual serial motor controllers that describes how to use our dual serial motor controllers with their BASIC-TigerTM computer module. The application note explains some of the theory behind H-bridges in general and then details the use of the Pololu motor controllers. The article and accompanying code are also available at www.wilke.de (see application note 59 on the “Applikationen” page). By Wilke Technology.
