I set myself a small challenge: build a working Arduino robot car in a single day, using only electronics parts I already had around the flat.

I decided to build it because I had found a TB6612FNG motor driver lying around, along with an Arduino Mini, a battery pack, and a couple of small wheels with DC motors. For the body, I used a little wooden board I had spare and fixed the motors and other parts to it with some metal joinery pieces.

While I was working on it, I also discovered an open-source project called “OpenBot”, which supports integrating old smartphones into small electronic cars to improve autonomous navigation. I may extend my car design with that kind of functionality later. I would be interested in turning it into a little electronic pet that can move around my home on its own.