Have you heard about the Mini-Wheelie self-balancing robot from Elektor? You may have seen it in the March/April edition of Elektor Magazine. This robot kit provides a practical introduction to building and programming a self-balancing robot. Watch the video below and discover the complete assembly process, software installation, and calibration steps necessary to get the robot operational!

The kit includes an ESP32-S3-based controller, motors, wheels, an ultrasonic sensor, a TFT display, LiPo battery, along with all the required screws and hardware. The ESP32 brings Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ESP-NOW possibilities for remote control. The software is open-source and uses the Arduino platform, allowing for modifications and further experimentation.

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The assembly begins with installing the motors and wheels, followed by mounting the controller board and display. The video explains how to wire the components neatly and attach the battery. After assembly, the focus shifts to programming, detailing the installation of required libraries and uploading the provided firmware using the Arduino IDE. You’ll be able to proceed to IMU calibration and try the robot using the Dabble smartphone app as remote control. Of course, the Mini-Wheelie is an experiment platform; we highly recommend that you study the source code and modify it as you wish, to improve the robot’s performance or make it perform specific tasks! If you’re curious about how self-balancing robots work, this video is a great place to start. Watch the video below and check out the robot in the Elektor Store.
 
 

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