OPEN-SOURCE ROBOTICS
A buyer’s guide
Written by Sean Michael Ragan
THE PHRASE “OPEN SOURCE” DESCRIBES A PRODUCT WHOSE DESIGN is published with the understanding that anyone is legally free to modify, distribute, make, or even sell their own version of it. In the case of hardware like robots, the same design will often be available for sale — perhaps with various modifications and in various stages of completion, from parts to kits to fully-built — from unaffiliated manufacturers. Some of these may seem pricey, but remember you’re free to make, mod, or even manufacture as much (or as little) of the finished product as you want.
DARWIN-OP
$12,000 trossenrobotics.com The Dynamic Anthropomorphic Robot with Intelligence — Open Platform is a cutting-edge research humanoid created by Virginia Tech’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, Purdue, and Robotis. Hobbyist Michael Overstreet has built his own working DARwIn-OP, (“How I Printed a Humanoid,” MAKE Volume 34, page 66), using the open-source files, for about half the sticker price.
BUDDY 4000
$45 (frame) robotgrrl.com
One of several low-cost platforms designed by Erin “RobotGrrl” Kennedy, Buddy 4000 features a stylish 3D-printed body with an Arduino Pro Mini for a brain, independent arm and neck servos, and 6 LED headers. Download and print the frame for free, or purchase a preprinted kit from RobotGrrl herself.
UARM
$300 ufactory.cc
Billed as “a miniature industrial robot arm on your desk,” the uArm is based on ABB’s IRB 460 high-speed “palletizer.” The design concentrates mass in the base, allowing the arm to move quickly. Spectacularly overfunded on Kickstarter in March, uArm can be preordered now and is expected to ship in June.
3DR PIXHAWK
$280 3drobotics.com
The successor to 3DRobotics’ flagship ArduPilot Mega flight microcontroller, the Pixhawk offers all the capabilities of the original APM, plus an advanced ARM Cortex M4 processor, built-in MicroSD drive, and much more. Pixhawk ships with all 3DR’s “one-box” multicopter drones including the IRIS, the Y6, and the X8 (shown here).
OPENROV 2.6
$850 openrov.com
The latest version of Eric Stackpole and David Lang’s OpenROV project features water-clear, water-tight acrylic frame construction, a custom microcontroller and interface board, an HD webcam, high-intensity LED lights, dual laser emitters, and more. Power is supplied by on-board rechargeable batteries, and control via a lightweight 2-wire tether cable.
TURTLEBOT 2
$1,400 iheartengineering.com
TurtleBot cleverly combines several off-the-shelf systems to create a powerful, relatively low-cost platform with minimal assembly. There’s a Kobuki wheeled base for mobility, a Kinect sensor for 3D vision, and a netbook running ROS (Robot Operating System) for processing and control. The TurtleBot software stack enjoys a very active volunteer developer community.
HEXY THE HEXAPOD
$250 makershed.com
Arcbotics’ Hexy platform balances cost and performance brilliantly, offering functionality otherwise unheard of in hexapods at this price point. The kit includes 20 servos, laser-cut acrylic frame parts, brain board, bluetooth module, battery pack, ultrasonic range sensor, and all the screws, nuts, and other hardware you need to build a working ‘bot.