In recent weeks in the Hackers group, we have been refining our plans for Project SABRE (Small Autonomous Battling Robotic Entities).

Our mission for Project SABRE is to build “battlebots” that include some autonomous features. While there are many kits available for purchase, our two teams of hackers are designing and building their bots from scratch, identifying and sourcing all components ourselves, 3D printing bodies of their own designs, and programming everything themselves. Even the mentors are hands-off, helping mainly with project planning and purchasing, but not designing or making.

The main components required are:

• 2 or 4 motors with wheels or tracks
• Battery packs and chargers (salvaged from old toys)
• An Arduino
• A motor driver board or chip — these work just like the transistor circuit that we experimented with previously, but can control up to 4 motors and drive each one forwards or backwards: https://coderdojoathenry.org/2017/11/22/hackers-a-joule-thief-and-controlling-motors/
• A servo motor if needed for a flipper arm
• A 2.4 GHz radio transmitter and receiver

Stay tuned as the work continues in the coming weeks!