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How to build Leo Rover

4-DoF four-wheel field rover · Advanced

Leo Rover is a 4WD outdoor research robot with a LeoCore STM32 board, a Raspberry Pi 5 running LeoOS on ROS 2, and CC BY-NC-SA hardware. The dev kit is €4,799.

Start the buildProject files
Difficulty
Advanced

Many actuators, custom wiring and real tuning work.

Build time
1–3 months

Our estimate, part-time

Parts cost
€4,799

€4,799 for Fictionlab's developer kit

Degrees of freedom
4

CC BY-NC-SA (version not stated) · non-commercial

What is Leo Rover?

Leo Rover from Fictionlab is a rugged four-wheel outdoor robot for research and teaching. The LeoCore STM32F401 board handles power, motors and IMU, and a Raspberry Pi 5 runs LeoOS on ROS 2.

The CAD, STL print files and assembly docs are on Fictionlab's documentation portal under CC BY-NC-SA. The software is MIT.

Most people buy the developer kit and assemble it from the docs.

Leo Rover specifications

Drive
4× 12 V DC wheel modules with encoders
Controller
LeoCore (STM32F401)
Compute
Raspberry Pi 5 (4 GB)
OS
LeoOS / ROS 2

Figures as published by the project. See Sources below.

Bill of materials

PartQtyNotes
Leo Rover 1.9 Developer Kit1
LeoCore controller1
Wheel module4
Tyre + PET-G rim4
Alfa AWUS036ACS Wi-Fi adapter1
Where's the full bill of materials?

The full BOM, with exact quantities and vendors, lives in the project's own files. Prices change often, so treat €4,799 as a ballpark from the project. Start at the project repository.

Tools you'll need

  • Hex drivers
  • A laptop

Step-by-step build overview

Electronics & wiring overview

LeoCore drives the four wheel modules and connects to the Pi. The external Wi-Fi adapter extends range.

Battery packpower sourceLaptop / PChigh-level controlcamera + encoderssensingRaspberry Pireal-time controllerMotor driverdrivers / busMotors4 joints / motors
PowerData / commandsSensor feedbackOverview only. Follow the project's own schematic for pinouts and voltages.

Software

ROS 2

LeoOS and leo_robot-ros2 (MIT).

Tips from the bench

  • ☕ The hardware license is non-commercial.

Leo Rover FAQ

Can I print my own Leo Rover?

STLs are published, but most parts come from the kit.

Sources

Written by Bots n' Beans from the project's own documentation. Check the sources for the latest revision before you buy parts.

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