For the third year in a row I have been building and programming a robot. I am on my seventh version now, I started with a simple three wheeled robot that was part Lego and part cardboard. The first version of the robot couldn’t move and could only turn it’s front wheels. Here is an image of the version 1 robot.

Then, once I identified the issues I started working on the next version. The next version was version 2, version 2 was also part Lego but It was mostly 3D printed. This new version had the same Lego design for the front axis but the rear axis was improved by the addition of 2 high torque dc motors. This new version also featured a 5000mAh power bank to power the motors and the Arduino. Here is an image of the version 2 robot.

The problem with version 2 robot is that it was slow and it needed a lot of space to turn. So I started working on version 3. Version 3 used the same components as version 2, but it was redesigned to fix the turning issue and an arm was added. But there were still a few problems like the robot was slow and didn’t have enough torque, so it would often get stuck, it also couldn’t move backwards. This and many other issues were caused by NPN transistors that are used for controlling the motors, NPN transistors decreased the output voltage making the motors rotate slower. It also used IR remote control to operate the robot which is not ideal for this type of robot since it has low operating range and poor connection. In this version Lego was no longer used. Here is an image of the version 3 robot.

The next image is version 4. The design of the v4 was the best design yet since it fixed all the major issues. Instead of NPN transistors, L293D logic bridges were used for controlling the motors. This enabled the robot to move backwards and control speed. But of course this version is not perfect either, it has it’s own issues too. For example, after adding L293D logic bridges there is now even less space inside the robot and now it doesn’t have enough power to work properly. Here is an image.

Next is version 5 robot. It looks similar to the previous versions but it’s quite different on the inside. It also uses L293D logic bridges to control the speed and direction of the robot which still limits the voltage but not by as much and it can also move backwards. The wiring was improved to save power and direct more power to the motors. Unfortunately it still used IR control. After seeing that this version was going to have all of these issues I decided to not make it. So I got to work on the next version. Version 5 was never printed but here is a render.

Version 6 is a special one. Version 6 was the biggest jump in quality, pricing and function. Version 3 was $250.29 version 6 is $95.60. Version 6 is faster has more torque it could charge from a regular wall outlet and it used Bluetooth for operating the robot. It also has a fully enclosed shell design that protects the robot’s internal components, the shell is so strong that when robot was dropped from one and a half meters there was no damage. Still has it’s own issues though. L293D are now limiting the power to the motors (new 12v DC 20,000 RPM motors). This is happening because I increased the operating voltage from 5-10 volts to ~20 volts (new high power battery was added). Also the components barely fit inside the robot. I was also in a hurry to finish this version before the STEAM fair so I couldn’t get the arm to work and the wheel broke. Here is an image of the version 6.     (This was the hardest version to build)

At the end of June 2023 I started designing and planning the next version. I finished planning and designing at the end of September 2023. This version is supposed to be an even bigger jump in quality, function and pricing. As of the writing of this description the robot version 7 is still a work in progress. If you want to see more detailed and up to date description navigate to Robot V7 2023-2024. Here is the latest render of the version 7 robot.

NAVIGATE TO SPECIFIC VERSION TO SEE MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION.