BeagleBone Black MiniSumo Bot: Chassis

In this tutorial you'll learn how to build the Fingertech Robotics Cobra Minisumo. The kit from Fingertech Robotics comes with a board with the motors, wheels, a top plate, screws to mount, standoffs and a front scoop.

For more details on voltage output and information on sensors go to the reference sheet.

When you get the board and wheels out of the box, you'll notice the wheels are super grippy. You should have four. If you don't, you should look harder. Because you have four.

The motors have a notch in them that line up with a notch in the wheels.This will make it easy to put the wheels on. If you have trouble putting the wheels on, the set screw in the wheels themselves may be tightened too far. Peel back a little portion of the rubber surface of the wheels until you find where the set screw it seated. Loosen it until you manage to get the wheels all the way on the axle of the motor and then tighten them down once they the wheels are on.

The bot comes with four aluminum risers and a steel plate. From the bottom, screw the risers into place and tighten with the hex key provided. The plate can be placed either on top for mounting peripherals or below the board to provide weight closer to the ground.

For this build we used small LiPo batteries. Connect them into the input on the back of the bot and flip the switch right next to the battery input.

A blue and red light should both illuminate when you turn it on. Hit the PWM button on the board of the bot to test the motors and they should run smoothly.

The last thing to add is the scoop to the bot. It screws in to the front between the risers and the board itself.

Now your bot is ready to sumo!