To build this robot, I closely followed  the tutorial on the Jetbot website. Below, I give advice on problems I ran into while working on this version. I did not complete my maze solver for this version yet and have only worked on the tutorials listen on the Jetbot website.

Bill of Materials

To find a complete bill of materials with different options for components, click here. Below, I list the options I chose.

To be purchased

Components

Wired Connectors

Jetson Nano 2GBThe brains of the robot. Mircoprocessor that takes in input from the camera  decides what to tell the motors to do. Analyzes the video feed to build neural networks and learn environment.

FeatherWing Motor Driver: Takes input from the Nano to control speed and direction of each motor

IMX219-160 Camera: Sends real time video feed to Nano for processing

DC Motors and Wheels: Take input from the motor driver to know what speed and direction to run. Can go forwards or backwards and in different directions from each other

Caster Ball: Provides robot a third point of contact with the ground for stability. Free spinning and allows robot to turn with ease

PiOLED displayDisplays information about program Nano is running as well as IP address needed for online control.

Female to Female Jumper Wires: Come with motor diver. Connect pins of motor driver to Nano

USB to Exposed WireConnects battery to motor driver to power motors

USB to USBCConnects battery to Nano for power

To be printed

Chasis: Body of the car where all other components are mounted

Caster housing: Keeps caster ball in place horizontally while inducing minimal friction

Caster shroud: Not visible once in place. Creates low friction surface for caster ball to freely move around while maintaining vertical distance from bottom of car

Camera mount: Screws onto top of chasis. Camera then screws onto mount. Angled down so camera points towards ground in front of car.

Chasis and caster shroud design by engineers at NVIDIA, creators of the jetbot

Assembly

Follow the assembly instructions on the jetbot website. Below I list important notes on select steps.

Step 6 – Mount Wifi Antenna:

  • Skip this step if using the 2GB model. Instead, plug in the wifi usb dongle that came with nano

Step 8 – Attach Wifi Module to Developer Kit:

  • Skip this step if using the 2GB model. 

Step 10 – Solder Header Pin to PiOLED Display:

  • You only need to solder the easy to reach pins to secure display in place. Do not worry about soldering the back pins. There is still an electrical connection.

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Tutorials

Follow the list of examples tutorials listed on jetbot website to get a feel for how programming the robot works.

Made by Juliet O'Riordan

Updated April 2021