Parts, CAD and Code

I started using the MD03 motor driver for the main drive motor. This is an ok motor driver but I swapped it out for the BTS7960 based controller as they are much cheaper and I wanted to try them out.

The BTS7960 driver was used for both driving the main motor and driving the head back and forth. Total: 2

L298 based motor drivers are used to spin the head, and for each flywheel motor. Total: 3

The main drive motor is a windscreen wiper motor. This is running at 24v even though it is only a 12v motor. Total: 1

I used Comodrills 918D gear head motor for spinning the flywheel and also turning the head. The ones I had were 30:1 ratio, although I’d probably say that was too fast for the head sp 100:1 might be better. Total: 3

The main control electronics in the Droid are based on an Arduino Mega 2650. Total: 1

The transmitter used an Arduino Uno. Total: 1

I used a a pair of Bluetooth shields for the comms. These are Linksprite shields from Maplin in the UK, but you can use anything that will send serial data. Total: 2

5V for everything is supplied by an adjustable 2A regulator board. Total: 1

The Droid is powered by 4x 11.1v 2Ah LiPo batteries, but it eats the main drive batteries like cookies, so I’d recommend 5Ah. Two of them are in series to make 24V for the main drive and the flywheel. One powers the head control arm, and the other powers the electronics, lights & sounds.

The head is driven back and forth by a 300rpm gear head motor I found on eBay. Total: 1

The head is driven side-to-side by a pair of 15Kg/cm servos. Total: 2

I used the Adafruit BNO055 IMUs for stability.Total: 2

Both IMUs are used on the same i2c bus by using the Adafruit TCA9548A multiplexer. Total: 1

I also used:

• lots of screws, nuts and bolts

• speakers for the sound

• an Adafruit SoundFX board and a 3W stereo amp

• Servos for the ball panels

• Adafruit Neopixel RGB LEDs

• An Adafruit Arduino Gemma in the head etc

• lots of wire

• Probably a few other things.