Spiderino - A low-cost robot for swarm research and educational purposes

Abstract

This paper presents a design for a low-cost research robot based on the small size of the Hexbug Spider toy1. Our basic modification replaces the robot head with a 3D-printed adapter, consisting of two parts to provide space for sensors, a larger battery, and a printed circuit board (PCB) with Arduino microcontroller, Wi-Fi module, and motor controller. We address the assembling process of such a robot and the programming using Arduino studio. The presented prototype costs less than 70 Euro, and is suitable for swarm robotic experiments and educational purposes.