PickPartsby btstevens1984az · GitHub · cyberdeck
Hardware · build
PROBE LX-3, a 3D-printed Pi 5 rover
An open-source differential-drive robot with a Raspberry Pi 5, USB camera and distance sensor, built from seven printed parts with no supports. The dome twist-locks onto the base and leaves room for a lidar.
Build sheet
- Compute
- Raspberry Pi 5
- Drive
- 2× N20, diff. drive
- Sensors
- USB cam, VL53L1X
- Printed parts
- 7 core + 1 optional
Can I build this?Intermediate · AI 4/5 · $250–400
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- AI-buildability
- 4/5
- Time
- A weekend
- Cost
- $250–400
Mostly software on off-the-shelf Pi and motor boards, with a fair amount of mechanical assembly and wiring.
Parts
Tools
3D printersoldering ironscrewdriver setmultimeter
Starter prompt
Based on "PROBE LX-3, a 3D-printed Pi 5 rover" on Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/probe-lx-3-a-3d-printed-pi-5-rover
Write Python for a Raspberry Pi 5 that drives two N20 DC motors through an Adafruit DC and Stepper Motor HAT-style bonnet over I²C. Add a USB webcam stream and a VL53L1X time-of-flight distance reading, and stop the motors when the distance drops below 200 mm. Keep the motor and sensor code in separate modules so each can be tested alone.
Estimates based on the original write-up.
Story
PROBE LX-3 is a small robot built around a Ø245 mm dome on a Ø209 mm base. Two N20 gear motors sit at the rear, with a ball caster at the front. Inside the base is a Raspberry Pi 5 on a Geekworm X1200 UPS, an Adafruit motor bonnet, a USB camera and a VL53L1X distance sensor.
The dome twist-locks onto the base, so the electronics are a quarter-turn away. The design is meant to take a spinning lidar on top and a stereo speaker setup inside without reprinting parts. The seven core parts, including printed wheel hubs and TPU tyres, print with no supports on a 256 mm bed.
The repository is hardware only. It ships STL files, a Blender source model, a wiring guide listing I²C addresses, and a 13-step assembly manual. The software is left to the builder.
Resources · 3
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