A robotic rover shaped like the iconic MSE-6 droid from Star Wars. It walks, avoids obstacles on its own and, when it feels like it, spins in place with flashing lights and music at full blast. It is Cass’s project, and under the shell there is an Arduino UNO Rev3.

The mechanical part is a 3D-printed shell that follows the lines of the screen droid. Inside fit the board, the motor driver, the audio module and the battery. So the rover is not just a styling exercise: it is a complete autonomous robot, with onboard power and sensors to move around without bumping into things.

Motors, ultrasonic sensor and L298N driver

Arduino drives a pair of motors through an L298N driver. The driver acts as a bridge between the board’s 5V logic and the current the motors need, so the UNO does not have to handle the load directly. To find its way, the rover relies on an ultrasonic sensor: it measures the distance to whatever is in front of it and, when the obstacle is too close, it changes direction.

The behaviour is simple but effective. Forward until the road is clear, then a turn to get around the obstacle and forward again. No map is needed, no GPS: the sensor mounted on the front is enough. For anyone who wants to rebuild the project, the ultrasonic module for measuring distance is the part to start from.

• Arduino UNO Rev3 as the rover’s brain
• L298N driver to control the pair of motors
• Ultrasonic sensor to detect obstacles
• DFPlayer Mini MP3 for the audio side
• 5mm red LEDs for the visual effect
• 7.4V lithium battery pack and 5V buck converter

7.4V power and a 5V buck converter

Power comes from a 7.4V lithium battery pack. The motors can run at that voltage, but the control electronics cannot: so a buck converter brings the voltage down to 5V for Arduino and the modules. This way the rover has a single energy source and two voltage levels, handled by one extra component but with clean wiring.

The logical heart is still the control board. In fact the Arduino Uno Rev3 board with Atmega328 is the one the project actually uses, and it is also the most convenient starting point for anyone who wants to change the firmware and add behaviours.

Rave mode: 5mm red LEDs and DFPlayer Mini

Besides normal driving, the droid has a rave mode. In that mode it spins in place, flashes the lights and plays music. The visual side is handled by arrays of 5mm red LEDs, while the audio goes through a DFPlayer Mini MP3 module; an equivalent is the UART-TTL MP3 module, which can be driven by Arduino over serial. So the rover does not just move around: it also becomes a bit of a showpiece.

To get the effect, the firmware alternates between two distinct behaviours: autonomous navigation with the ultrasonic sensor and spinning in place with lights and music. Switching between the two needs no extra hardware, just different handling of the motors and outputs. As a result the project stays simple to wire and to modify.

Anyone who wants to build it will find Cass’s step-by-step guide on Instructables a good reference to start from. There you will find the instructions to get to a working rover, from the shell to the electronics.

The nice thing about this project is that it comes from a prop. The MSE-6 droid was a small background robot in the Star Wars films, and here it becomes a custom maker rover, with autonomy, lights and a rave mode. An idea you can copy as it is or bend to your own taste, changing the shell, the colours or the light sequences.

Source: https://www.instructables.com/Autonomous-Mouse-Droid-With-Party-Mode

Related products

• Dual Full-Bridge Driver for DC and Stepper Motors
• Ultrasonic Distance Sensor
• Arduino Uno REV3 with Atmega328

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