Ryan Mitchell

Flashing firmware to a robot controller sounds intimidating the first time, but it follows a predictable pattern once you understand the moving parts. I have flashed industrial arms, FTC control hubs, and a handful of custom robotic joints, and the workflow almost always boils down to: prep, connect, write, verify. In this guide I will … Read more

If you have ever watched a self-driving car glide through traffic or seen a robot vacuum map your living room, you have already witnessed LiDAR in action. Light Detection and Ranging is the technology that gives machines a precise sense of depth, and understanding how does LiDAR work has become essential for anyone serious about … Read more

Current draw is the amount of electrical current a robot or its components pull from the power source during operation, and understanding it is the difference between a robot that runs for hours and one that dies in minutes. I learned this the hard way when my first differential drive robot kept browning out during … Read more

You build a robot, wire everything up, test it on the bench, and it runs perfectly. Then you put it on the ground, add some weight, and the motors freeze. If you have ever asked yourself why does my robot motor stall under load, you are dealing with one of the most common and frustrating … Read more

Learning how to solder connections for robot electronics is the single most important skill you can develop as a robot builder. A beautifully designed robot with perfectly tuned code will still fail on the competition floor if a single solder joint goes cold or a motor wire shakes loose after 200 rounds of combat. I … Read more

Figuring out what gauge wire should you use in a robot is one of the first questions every builder faces, whether you are soldering your first Arduino rover or wiring up a 30-pound combat bot. The short answer: most hobby robots use 18 to 22 AWG for power lines, 22 to 30 AWG for signal … Read more