Hardware · build

A LeKiwi omni-base robot, driven by a Rubik Pi 3

A self-driving mobile robot that pairs a Qualcomm Rubik Pi 3 brain with LiDAR, a depth camera, and live sensor streaming to Rerun.

Can I build this?Intermediate · AI 4/5 · $500–800

Difficulty: Intermediate
AI-buildability: 4/5
Time: A few weeks
Cost: $500–800

Parts

Qualcomm Rubik Pi 3 LeKiwi omni-base RPLIDAR A1M8

Tools

soldering iron3D printermultimeter

Starter prompt

Based on "A LeKiwi omni-base robot, driven by a Rubik Pi 3" on Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/a-lekiwi-omni-base-robot-driven-by-a-rubik-pi-3

Write Python code for a Qualcomm Rubik Pi 3 that reads scans from an RPLIDAR A1M8 and frames from a USB depth camera. Stream the sensor data live to Rerun for visualization. Add a simple obstacle-avoidance loop that sends velocity commands to a mecanum or omni-wheel base over serial.

Estimates based on the original write-up. How AI-buildability is scored. Building with an AI assistant? Connect it to Afterware (free MCP server).

Story

George Igwegbe built a self-driving mobile robot on the LeKiwi omni-base, with the Qualcomm Rubik Pi 3 handling the computing. The robot carries LiDAR and a depth camera and streams live sensor data.

The write-up is short on specifics beyond the hardware stack, but the combination is the point: a single-board computer running perception and navigation on a three-wheel omni platform, with telemetry sent to Rerun for visualization. If you want to build something similar, that pairing of a LiDAR scanner and a live visualizer is the part worth copying.