3,262 stars on GitHub. OpenBot turns your smartphone into the brain of a low-cost robot, democratizing autonomous robotics for anyone with a ~$50 budget. Developed at Intel Labs and the Technical University of Munich, OpenBot is an MIT-licensed platform designed to make AI-powered robotics accessible to researchers, students, and hobbyists worldwide. Source: https://github.com/isl-org/OpenBot The robot body is a 3D-printed differential-drive chassis that holds two gear motors, a speed controller, and a custom PCB — all controlled by an Arduino Nano. The Android or iOS smartphone docks on top, providing the camera, CPU, and network stack. The pairing eliminates the need for a dedicated compute board: your phone's neural engine runs person-following, autonomous navigation, and custom AI policies trained using the companion mobile app. Four body variants are included: the standard regular_body (two-part top/bottom), the block_body designed for a PCB stack, the glue_body for simpler assembly without screws, and the slim_body for narrower builds. A universal phone_mount adapter fits any of the variants. The 12-part printable set covers body_bottom and body_top for the regular variant, block_body_bottom and block_body_top, glue_body_bottom_A/B and glue_body_top_A/B with glue connector halves, slim_body_bottom and slim_body_top, and the phone_mount_bottom/top. The project also supports a tank variant, an MTV off-road variant, and an RTR (ready-to-run) version based on an RC chassis. License: MIT. --- ## Install Notes OpenBot's intelligence lives in the **Android app** — vision, navigation, data collection, and AI inference all run on the phone. The orobot device code only bridges the Arduino Nano motor controller layer (forward/backward/turn via serial JSON). Higher-level behaviors (person following, autopilot, data recording) require the OpenBot Android or iOS app connected to the Arduino via USB OTG cable. The orobot integration is useful for basic motor testing and manual drive, but does not replicate the full OpenBot feature set.
Category: Mobile Robots
| Item | Qty | Unit Cost | Notes | |------|-----|-----------|-------| | Arduino Nano | 1 | ~$8 | Microcontroller | | TT motors with tires | 4 | ~$3 | Yellow gearmotors w/ wheels | | 18650 battery cell | 3 | ~$5 | Li-ion 3.7V | | 3-cell 18650 battery holder | 1 | ~$5 | Series holder for 11.1V pack | | USB OTG cable | 1 | ~$5 | Phone-to-Arduino link | | Spring or rubber band | 1 | ~$3 | Phone holder | | M3x25 screw | 16 | ~$0.10 | Frame fasteners | | M3 nut | 16 | ~$0.05 | Frame fasteners | | M3x5 screw | 6 | ~$0.10 | Frame fasteners | | Dupont cables (assorted) | 1 set | ~$7 | Wiring | | L298N Motor Driver | 1 | ~$8 | DIY assembly option | | Speed Sensor | 2 | ~$5 | (optional) Wheel encoders | | HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor | 1 | ~$3 | (optional) Obstacle detection | | On/Off Switch | 1 | ~$3 | (optional) | | Orange LED 5mm | 2 | ~$0.20 | (optional) Indicators | | 0.96" OLED display | 1 | ~$8 | (optional) Status | | Android smartphone | 1 | reuse | User-supplied; runs OpenBot app |