Chassis kits provide everything to build robots with most microcontroller boards. You'll use the following chassis kits to build projects.
The 3-Layer Mini Round Robot chassis Kit (Figure 1.12) includes the following things you need to build the shell of a two-wheel drive mobile platform robot:
- Two drive motors
- Two wheels
- One plastic caster ball
- Anodized aluminum frames and all mounting hardware for assembly
You can purchase a kit from Adafruit Industries (https://www.adafruit.com/product/3244) to work with projects that will be discussed in Chapter 2, Building a Mini Round Robot with Original ESP8266, Chapter 3, Using Encoders, and Chapter 4, Building a Mini Round Robot with the Feather HUZZAH ESP8266:
Figure 1.12: A Mini Round Robot Chassis Kit. Image courtesy of Adafruit Industries (https://www.adafruit.com)
The Zumo chassis kit (Figure 1.13) allows you to build tracked robots that run on continuous tracks instead of wheels. Tracked vehicles can be used for:
- Construction vehicles
- Military armored vehicles
- Unmanned ground vehicles
The Zumo chassis kit includes the following things:
- Zumo chassis main body
- 1/16" black acrylic mounting plate
- Two drive sprockets
- Two idler sprockets
- Two 22-tooth silicone tracks
- Two shoulder bolts with washers and M3 nuts
- Four 1/4" #2-56 screws and nuts
- Battery terminals
You can purchase a kit from Pololu (https://www.pololu.com/product/1418) to work with the project that will be discussed in Chapter 5, Line-Following Zumo Robot:
Figure 1.13: A Zumo chassis kit. Image courtesy of Pololu (https://www.pololu.com)
The Romi chassis kit (Figure 1.14) includes the following things you need to build a two-wheel drive robot:
- One black Romi chassis base plate
- Two mini plastic gearmotors (120:1 HP with offset output and extended motor shaft)
- A pair of black Romi chassis motor clips
- A pair of white 70 × 8 mm Pololu Wheels
- One black Romi chassis ball caster kit
- One Romi chassis battery contact set
You can purchase a kit from Pololu (https://www.pololu.com/category/202/romi-chassis-and-accessories) to build the project that will be discussed in Chapter 6, Building an ESP8266 Robot Controller:
Figure 1.14: A Romi chassis kit - Black. Image courtesy of Pololu (https://www.pololu.com)
The mini robot rover chassis kit (Figure 1.15) includes the following things needed to build the shell of a two-wheel drive robot:
- Two wheels
- Two DC motors in MicroServo shape
- One support wheel
- One metal chassis
- One top metal plate with mounting hardware
Figure 1.15: A mini robot rover chassis kit. Image courtesy of Adafruit Industries (https://www.adafruit.com)
You can purchase a kit from Adafruit industries (https://www.adafruit.com/product/2939) to build the project that will be discussed in Chapter 7, Building a Gripper Robot.
The Rover 5 robot platform (Figure 1.16) allows you to build a four-wheel drive tracked robot. The kit includes the following things:
- Adjustable gearbox angles
- 4 independent DC motors
- 4 independent Hall-effect encoders
- Thick rubber tank treads
- 6 x AA battery holder
- 10 Kg/cm stall torque per motor
Figure 1.16: A Rover 5 robot platform. Image courtesy of Pololu (https://www.pololu.com)
You can purchase a kit from Pololu (https://www.pololu.com/product/1551) to build a project that will be discussed in Chapter 8, Photo Rover Robot.
The wheel encoder kit (Figure 1.17) allows you to measure the speed or distance that the chassis travels. You'll learn how to connect the wheel encoder kit to any wheeled robot in Chapter 3, Using Encoders:
Figure 1.17: A wheel encoder kit. Image courtesy of SparkFun Electronics (https://www.sparkfun.com)
A gripper can be connected to a robot to allow grip objects. Figure 1.18 shows a Parallel Gripper Kit assembled. You will need any standard size Hitec or Futaba servo to integrate with the gripper kit. You can purchase one from SparkFun Electronics (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13178):
Figure 1.18: Parallel Gripper Kit A - Channel mount