Botix

Open‑source educational mobile robot project

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Read this in Russian: README.ru.md

Overview

Designed for school robotics clubs, Olympiad preparation (All-Russian Olympiad, Moscow Olympiad, Russian Robotics Olympiad), and fast prototyping at hackathons. All parts are 3D‑printable, electronics are cheap and widely available.

• Two drive motors with encoders (JGA25 12V, 77-170 RPM).
• Optional two‑degree‑of‑freedom manipulator (arm + gripper).
• Chassis prints in ~5 hours on a standard FDM printer; flat parts, tongue‑and‑groove assembly with screws.

Variants

Basic		Advanced
For: Olympiad practice (VSOSH, MOSH, RRO), learning programming, control algorithms Features: Arduino UNO + any motor shield Classic competition‑ready setup Simple, reliable, well‑documented		For: Complex algorithms, research, hackathons Features: ESP32 as main controller (works standalone like Basic) Optional botix-esp32 firmware adds: Remote control & telemetry via WiFi or ESP‑NOW Integration with MAVLink (QGC, ROS) or custom raw protocol Persistent configuration & CLI for debugging LIDAR & encoder support
more_photos, assembly_guide		more_photos, assembly_guide, firmware_docs

View printable parts table

Hardware

Electronics	Mechanics
Controller - any Arduino‑compatible board (Arduino UNO, ESP32, etc.). See the assembly guide for specific models and wiring. Power board - custom design, powered by 3x14500 cells (3S). Three independent regulators: 2 x Mini560 Pro (5V) 1 x LM2596S module (adjustable) Variants (see gallery for photos): PCB manufacturing - production order DIY toner transfer (double‑sided) DIY toner transfer (single‑sided)	All 3D models are in mcad/. Main assembly: mcad/botix.fcstd. Off‑the‑shelf component models are in mcad/models/ (motors, servos, sensors, boards).
docs, bill_of_materials	docs, generate_printable_files

For visual references of different robot configurations and hardware revisions, see the project gallery.

Software

botix-esp32 firmware	pybotix – host Python API (coming soon)
The modular firmware for the Advanced variant is written in C++20 and built with PlatformIO. It provides: Interactive CLI for configuration and debugging MAVLink and RAW protocols ESP‑NOW and WiFi UDP transports Persistent configuration in NVS Units for motors, servos, encoders, and LIDAR	pybotix will be a Python package for the host computer (PC, Raspberry Pi). It will provide: Simple and safe robot control from Python Swarm support High‑level primitives for navigation and behaviors Eventually, block‑based code generation for education
firmware_docs

pybotix runs on the host, not on the robot. It communicates with the robot via MAVLink or RAW protocols over WiFi/ESP‑NOW.

Who Is This For?

• School students - prepare for practical rounds of robotics Olympiads (VSOSH, MOSH, RRO). The Arduino‑based option fully matches competition regulations.
• University students - learn mobile robotics, navigation algorithms.
• Hackathon participants - the ESP32 variant with firmware provides a ready‑made infrastructure so you can focus on high‑level logic.
• Teachers - quickly set up robotics clubs on a low budget.

Quick Start

1. Read the assembly guide.
2. Print parts from mcad/.
3. Refer to schematics in ecad/ to assemble the electronics.
4. • For Basic: write and upload your own Arduino sketch using the motor shield library.
   • For Advanced: go to botix-esp32/ and follow the firmware guide.

Before you start, make sure you have the following software installed:

Purpose	Software	Version
CAD (mechanics)	FreeCAD	1.1.x
CAD (electronics)	KiCad	10.x.x
Slicer	OrcaSlicer	2.4.x
Firmware build	PlatformIO	6.1.19
Scripts runtime	Python	3.14.x

All tools are free and open‑source.

Contributing

Found a bug? Have an idea? Open an Issue or submit a Pull Request.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Repository Structure & Licensing

Path	License	Description
Any Markdown file	CC BY-SA 4.0	Overview, documentation
docs/	CC BY-SA 4.0	Project documentation.
docs/assets/	CC BY-SA 4.0	Images, photos, and renders used in documentation.
ecad/	CERN-OHL-S-2.0	PCB sources in KiCad.
mcad/	CERN-OHL-S-2.0	3D models in FreeCAD.
botix-esp32/	GPL-3.0-or-later	Advanced ESP32 firmware source.
tools/	GPL-3.0-or-later	Automation scripts.

Full texts of all licenses are provided in the respective directories.

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