Complete Build Guide
Build Your FirstRobot
A step-by-step journey from concept to a fully functional robot. No prior experience needed — just curiosity and determination.
Build Phases
Detailed Steps
Hours of Building
Your Build Journey
15 phases, 64 detailed steps, one incredible robot.
0 of 64 steps completed
Planning & Design
Define your robot's purpose, sketch designs, and plan the build.
Gathering Components
Acquire and understand all the electronic and mechanical parts you need.
Building the Chassis
Construct the physical body of your robot and mount all components.
Wiring & Electronics
Connect all electronic components with proper wiring and power management.
Programming
Write the code that brings your robot to life and gives it intelligence.
Testing & Refinement
Test, debug, and perfect your robot's performance through iteration.
Quadruped Chassis & Legs
Build a four-legged body — a central frame with four 3-DOF legs — and select the 12 servos that drive every joint.
Quadruped Gait & Locomotion
Teach your four-legged robot to walk using stable gaits — crawl, trot, and turning — by calibrating servos and solving leg kinematics.
Quadruped Perception & Vision
Give your quadruped eyes — mount a camera, run computer vision, and detect obstacles, objects, and drop-offs on the ground.
Quadruped Autonomous Behavior
Make your four-legged robot think for itself — explore, plan paths, follow voice commands, and recover from falls.
Humanoid Chassis & Actuators
Build a bipedal humanoid body — torso, two legs, arms, and head — and select the servos that drive every joint.
Gait & Balance Programming
Teach your humanoid to stand and walk on two legs by calibrating servos, solving leg kinematics, and stabilizing dynamic balance.
AI Vision & Perception
Give your robot the ability to see — mount a camera, run computer vision, and detect objects in its environment.
Autonomous Intelligence
Make your robot think for itself — plan paths, make decisions, learn from experience, and respond to voice.
Humanlike Skin & Appearance
Add realistic skin, face, and finishing details to your humanoid so it looks and moves like a real human.
What You'll Need
A complete checklist of components and tools for your robot build.
Standard Wheeled Robot
BeginnerEverything for your first build — a simple chassis, motors, and sensors to get rolling.
What you'll learn: Learn to build and program a wheeled robot that avoids obstacles and follows lines.
Microcontroller
Arduino Uno / Raspberry Pi / ESP32
Motor Driver
L298N / L293D Shield
DC Motors (x2)
6V-12V Geared DC Motors
Wheels (x2)
65mm Rubber Wheels
Caster Wheel
Ball Caster or Swivel Caster
Battery
7.4V Li-Po or 6×AA Pack
Chassis
Acrylic / 3D Printed / Wood
Ultrasonic Sensor
HC-SR04
IR Sensors (x2)
TCRT5000 / QRE1113
Breadboard
Half-size Breadboard
Jumper Wires
Male-to-Male & Male-to-Female
Switch
SPST Toggle Switch
USB Cable
USB-A to USB-B (for Arduino)
Soldering Iron
Temperature-controlled Station
Multimeter
Basic Digital Multimeter
Screwdriver Set
Phillips & Flathead
Quadruped Robot
IntermediateA four-legged walker with 12 servos, terrain sensing, and autonomous navigation.
What you'll learn: Learn to build a four-legged robot that walks, climbs terrain, and navigates on its own.
Microcontroller
Arduino Uno / Raspberry Pi / ESP32
Battery
7.4V Li-Po or 6×AA Pack
Serial Servos (x17+)
LX-224 / Dynamixel (6 per leg, 4 per arm, 1-2 head)
Servo Driver (16ch)
PCA9685 PWM Driver / Serial Servo Controller
IMU Sensor
MPU6050 Gyroscope/Accelerometer
Camera Module
Raspberry Pi Camera V3 / ESP32-CAM
Pan/Tilt Bracket
Servo Pan-Tilt Camera Mount
ToF Distance Sensor
VL53L0X Time-of-Flight
LiDAR Sensor
RPLIDAR A1 (for SLAM mapping)
3D Printer Filament
PETG / ABS for body & limbs
Servo Brackets (U-Bracket Set)
Multi-servo brackets & frames for joints
Ball Bearings (x8+)
For hip & knee side-load reduction
Breadboard
Half-size Breadboard
Jumper Wires
Male-to-Male & Male-to-Female
Switch
SPST Toggle Switch
USB Cable
USB-A to USB-B (for Arduino)
Soldering Iron
Temperature-controlled Station
Multimeter
Basic Digital Multimeter
Screwdriver Set
Phillips & Flathead
USB Microphone
for voice commands
Mini Speaker
for text-to-speech responses
AI Accelerator
Coral USB Accelerator (optional ML)
Humanoid Robot
AdvancedA bipedal build with 17+ servos, balance sensors, AI vision, and voice interaction.
What you'll learn: Learn to build a bipedal humanoid that walks, balances, sees, and responds to voice.
Microcontroller
Arduino Uno / Raspberry Pi / ESP32
Battery
7.4V Li-Po or 6×AA Pack
Serial Servos (x17+)
LX-224 / Dynamixel (6 per leg, 4 per arm, 1-2 head)
Servo Driver (16ch)
PCA9685 PWM Driver / Serial Servo Controller
IMU Sensor
MPU6050 Gyroscope/Accelerometer
Camera Module
Raspberry Pi Camera V3 / ESP32-CAM
Pan/Tilt Bracket
Servo Pan-Tilt Camera Mount
ToF Distance Sensor
VL53L0X Time-of-Flight
LiDAR Sensor
RPLIDAR A1 (for SLAM mapping)
3D Printer Filament
PETG / ABS for body & limbs
Humanoid Torso Frame
Pre-cut torso plate / 3D-printed torso housing
Pelvis Plate
Mounts both hip joints to the torso
Leg Linkage Set (x2)
Thigh + shin linkages per leg
Foot Plates (x2)
Wide flat feet with rubber soles
Arm Linkage Set (x2)
Upper-arm + forearm links per arm
Head & Neck Mount
Pan/tilt bracket for the camera head
Servo Brackets (U-Bracket Set)
Multi-servo brackets & frames for joints
Ball Bearings (x8+)
For hip & knee side-load reduction
Breadboard
Half-size Breadboard
Jumper Wires
Male-to-Male & Male-to-Female
Switch
SPST Toggle Switch
USB Cable
USB-A to USB-B (for Arduino)
Soldering Iron
Temperature-controlled Station
Multimeter
Basic Digital Multimeter
Screwdriver Set
Phillips & Flathead
USB Microphone
for voice commands
Mini Speaker
for text-to-speech responses
AI Accelerator
Coral USB Accelerator (optional ML)
Build real robots. Step by step.
Start free, then unlock tracks as you progress. Every project is tested end-to-end — follow the build, get a working robot. Pay once per track, no subscription required.
Start Free
IntroPlanning phase + introductory robotics lessons.
1 free phaseStandard Robot
BeginnerWheeled robot fundamentals — components, assembly, wiring, programming & testing.
5 stages · £12 / stageQuadruped Robot
IntermediateFour-legged walking robot — chassis, gaits, vision & autonomous behavior.
4 stages · £120 / stageHumanoid AI Robot
AdvancedBipedal humanoid — chassis & actuators, gait & balance, AI vision, autonomy & a final humanlike skin appearance stage.
5 stages · £160 / stageNot sure which robot to build?
Compare parts, difficulty, cost, and build time for any two robot models side-by-side.
Ready to Build?
Your robot is waiting to be brought to life. Let's start with Phase 1.