By Andy Yeh
Otto DIY is an open source, easy to build, remix and share robot. It has become a global community with fast growing members world-wide contributing to many remixed Otto bots. During the 2019 Christmas holidays, I built two Basic Otto robots, loaded with all moves (with last move "Fail"). I cannot wait to video them and show their cute movements.
The built-in movements as seen in the codes include walk, turn, bend, shake leg, moon walk, crusaito?, flap, swing, tip toe swing, jitter, up and down, ascending turn and jump etc. It also has a lot built-in gestures (including sound) such as happy, super happy, sad, victory, angry, sleeping, fretful?, love, confused, fart, wave, magic and fail). All these can be programmed using Arduino IDE or its own blockly app.
The video was taken before I calibrated the legs and feet. The one with white head also had its sound pin dropped inside, and therefore acted a bit strange. The codes provided from Ottodiy are comprehensive, including servo calibration, sensor controls such as follow, avoid, alarm etc. A lot of remixed otto bots utilised LED matrix, wheels, added hands, touch sensor, sound sensor etc. to make the otto bots smarter and versatile. Thanks to the many contributed projects. They really show the maker culture, the creativity and encourage everyone to create.
The DIY making is not difficult but requires preparation of parts. For each Basic Otto, I 3D printed the head, glasses, body, 2 x leg and 2 x foot. I also have had most parts required, and below are what I used.
1 x Nano ATmega328
1 x Nano I/O shield
1 x USB-A to Mini-USB Cable
1 x Ultrasound sensor HC-SR04
4 x Micro servo SG90 9g
1 x Piezo Buzzer
6 x Female/Female Dupont Wires
1 x AA battery holder (for 2 batteries)
2 x AA size 14500 3.7v rechargeable batteries. (This is what I preferred for Arduino projects).
1 x Micro Switch Self lock On/Off 8x8mm
If DIY, these parts would cost for less than AUD$20. Alternatively, a kit (Otto Basic Kit) can be purchased from Ottodiy for €49.99 + shipping.
Otto bots are good maker projects for schools. Students can learn about coding and develop STEM/STEAM integrated problem solving and creativity. Do you want to build one? Join us or leave a comment below so we can help.
By Andy Yeh (2020)