openbot

OpenBot is an open-source project that uses Android smartphones as the computational brain for inexpensive robots. The project supplies a small electric vehicle design costing roughly $50 to serve as the robot body, plus a software stack for Android phones that supports robotics workloads such as person following and real-time autonomous navigation. Getting started covers several components: reading the disclaimer, building the robot body, flashing the Arduino firmware, installing the Android apps, driving the robot with a controller, programming it in the Playground, and training a custom driving policy. Source code can be downloaded as a zip, cloned, or forked for contribution. The repository links to demonstration videos and showcases community projects, including tank, 2WD, cardboard, and themed variants. It also offers community contact through Slack and email, contribution guidelines, and a citation for the associated ICRA 2021 paper. The README is available in English, Simplified Chinese, German, French, Spanish, and Korean.