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Intermediate build

How to build ReallyUsefulRobot

8-DoF mobile manipulator · Intermediate

ReallyUsefulRobot is an XRobots-style service robot with ODrive 6374 wheel motors, a Teensy 4.1, lidar and a Xavier NX on ROS Melodic, later adding an arm, lift and vision.

Start the buildProject files
Difficulty
Intermediate

Some soldering, calibration and Linux comfort needed.

Build time
2–4 weekends

Our estimate, part-time

Parts cost
Not published

No total is published

Degrees of freedom
8

MIT

What is ReallyUsefulRobot?

ReallyUsefulRobot is a mobile service robot based on James Bruton's design, published by Pranshu Tople. A tall 'utility stick' body rides on a differential base driven by two ODrive 6374 brushless motors through T5 belts.

A Teensy 4.1 handles the encoders, odometry and ODrive serial, and an NVIDIA Xavier NX runs ROS Melodic with lidar.

Later commits added an arm, a belt-driven vertical axis, an eye servo, and RealSense/Jetson vision. The repo is MIT.

ReallyUsefulRobot specifications

Drive
2× ODrive 6374 150 kV
Driver
ODrive 3.6 (56 V, on 24 V)
MCU
Teensy 4.1
Compute
Xavier NX
ROS
Melodic

Figures as published by the project. See Sources below.

Bill of materials

PartQtyNotes
ODrive 6374 150 kV motor2
ODrive 8192 CPR encoder2
ODrive 3.6 (56 V)1
Synchroflex T5 590 mm belt2
HTD 5M 1790 mm utility-stick belt1
Teensy 4.11
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 Not published as a ballpark. Start at the project repository.

Tools you'll need

  • FDM printer
  • Soldering iron
  • ODrive tool

Step-by-step build overview

Electronics & wiring overview

The Teensy talks to the ODrive over serial and to ROS over USB. The lidar connects to the Xavier.

Battery packpower sourceLaptop / PChigh-level control2D LiDAR + RealSense …sensingNVIDIA Jetsonreal-time controllerODrive motor controll…drivers / busbrushless motors8 joints / motors
PowerData / commandsSensor feedbackOverview only. Follow the project's own schematic for pinouts and voltages.

Software

Gazebo

ROS Melodic packages with URDF and Gazebo meshes (MIT).

Tips from the bench

  • ☕ ROS Melodic is end-of-life, so plan to port to ROS 2.

ReallyUsefulRobot FAQ

Which ROS version?

Melodic.

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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