Building the car takes about 45 minutes. After following these directions, you will have yourself some robot coolness that should look like this:
In the GoPiGo3 Base Kit box you should find the following:
You should have two small bags of hardware. One bag that contains:
You should have one large bag of hardware that contains:
The clear acrylic pieces of the GoPiGo3 may come in a protective covering. If yours shipped with this coating, you should be able to peel them off easily. Peel the protective coating away from the 2 large acrylic pieces. You may also want to peel the protective coating from the 2 small round acrylic spacers; they are in the large bag of hardware.
What you’ll need:
You’ll assemble the brackets on the bottom, because they will hold motors which attach to the wheels, all on the underside of the GoPiGo3 robot.
Find the 4 holes labeled “1” on the acrylic body as shown in the picture below. These are the holes you will use to assemble the metal motor brackets.
Place washers on all four screws.
Insert two short screws (on each side) into the “1” holes through the acrylic body. The holes are tight, so you may need to screw the screws through the acrylic.
Match the metal brackets labeled “L” and “R” up with the “1” holes on the corresponding “R” and “L” etchings on the acrylic body.
Slide the metal brackets onto the screws. The half-moon of the brackets should be pointing towards the back of the GoPiGo3 body. Place your fingers on the screws to hold them in place, and turn the body upside down.
The metal bracket should be sticking up at you with the “R” and “L” stickers facing out and the half circle cut outs facing the back end, as shown in the picture below.
Place the nuts on the screws.
Tighten the screws until the washers flatten.
In this step we will attach the short silver posts to the GoPiGo3 acrylic body.
What you’ll need:
Hardware from the small bag:
Attach the posts:
Find the 4 holes that make a square in the middle of the acrylic. Two of these holes are labeled “2” on the acrylic body.
Place screws up through the acrylic body and attach four short silver posts (so they are sticking up towards you). Hand tighten the posts.
What you’ll need:
What you’ll need:
To attach the motors:
Align the motors with the screws sticking through them up to the brackets with the motor wires in the middle. Slide the screws through the motors.
Attach the washers and then nuts to the screws, tighten until the washers flatten.
Slide the motor cable through the GoPiGo3 board in the rectangular slot (from the bottom up so they are coming out the top when you flip it over).
What you’ll need:
To attach the caster wheel:
Place a washer on each screw, and screw the two medium silver posts into the caster wheel. Tighten until the washers are flat.
There are two short oval holes in the back of the GoPiGo3 acrylic body. Screw the caster wheel into the GoPiGo3 acrylic body. Tighten the screws until the washers are flat.
What you’ll need:
Attach the wheels:
What you’ll need:
Prepare your Pi:
Turn the Raspberry Pi facing up.
What you’ll need:
To attach the Raspberry Pi to your robot:
Connect the camera ribbon to the Raspberry Pi.
Next, slide the ribbon into the camera port. The blue side of the ribbon should face towards the USB ports on the Pi, and the open metal strips should face towards the battery pack on the GoPiGo3.
Secure the ribbon by pushing down on the edges of the port to clamp the ribbon in place.
What you’ll need:
(B) 4 mini screws – These are found in the small hardware bag.
Prepare the GoPiGo3 Board: Take the Protective Foam Off the Pins
Be sure to take the foam off of the pins on the GoPiGo3. The GoPiGo3 is shipped with foam on the GPIO pins to prevent them from being bent. Be sure to remove the foam before proceeding to use your GoPiGo3!
Attaching the GoPiGo:
Line the black female port on the GoPiGo3 red board up to the Raspberry Pi pins sticking up, and slide the GoPiGo3 board onto the Raspberry Pi. Press down until the board slides on securely.
Use the 4 screws to secure the GoPiGo3 board to the Raspberry Pi (through the Pi board and screwed into the gold posts.
On the GoPiGo3 (red board), find the I2C port. There are two I2C ports on the GoPiGo3, and you can use either one.
Insert the sensor cable into the GoPiGo3 I2C port.
Insert the other end of the sensor cable into the port on the distance sensor.
What you’ll need:
Attach the top:
Place one washer on each screw.
Place the acrylic canopy on top of the four tall silver posts. There is a small slot cutout on the acrylic for a camera that should be towards the front of the GoPiGo, and the two battery pack slot cutouts should face towards the back.
Secure the acrylic canopy in place with the screws.
What you’ll need:
Connect the power:
There are two locations you can put the battery pack — either in the very back near the caster wheel, or on the top canopy. The top canopy location provides more traction for use on carpets or slippery floors.
Place the battery cable in the black power port of the GoPiGo3 Board (next to the power button).
Secure the battery pack to the GoPiGo3 with the velcro as shown.
Connect the battery pack to the battery cable
Power LED Details:
With batteries only (no USB):
*Regarding the color that indicates battery voltage, it will be red (low voltage), yellow (moderate voltage), or green (good voltage).
Leverage this video for guidance on assembling the grippers with these considerations:
Follow the directions below after you have assembled the Gripper by following the above video. This section uses a 3D printed part (link) to mount the camera and act as a spacer between the acrylic bottom plate and the gripper assembly.
by placing the camera mount on top of the gripper assembly mounting holes
Insert screws through the holes in the acrylic plate on the front of the kit.
Slide the camera mount and gripper onto the screws.
Flip the kit over and secure the screws using 2 small nuts.
Insert the ribbon cable into the camera with the colored band facing the front of the camera and the gold pins facing the camera board. Secure by gently pressing the clip down.
Insert the camera into the camera mount as shown.
Gently press the plastic back into place to cover the camera.
Here is a view of the completed assembly. Congratulations!