Reference / Component library

The parts that make a robot work

Every project leans on the same handful of building blocks. These guides explain what each component does, how it works, and when to reach for it—so a wiring diagram stops being a mystery.

Controller

8051 Microcontroller

The chip your syllabus teaches, with nothing between you and the hardware.

Component guide

Controller

Arduino Uno

The forgiving 8-bit board most people meet robotics through.

Component guide

Controller

ESP32

A dual-core microcontroller with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth—the wireless step up from an Uno.

Component guide

Controller

Raspberry Pi

A full Linux computer the size of a card—the brain for vision and ROS robots.

Component guide

Sensor

HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor

A sonar ping in a two-dollar package—how a robot feels for obstacles.

Component guide

Sensor

IR Reflectance Sensor Array

A row of infrared eyes that tells a robot where the line is.

Component guide

Sensor

Lever Microswitch

The one bit of sensing that tells a robot it has already hit something.

Component guide

Sensor

MPU-6050 IMU

A six-axis motion sensor—how a robot feels its own tilt, turn, and acceleration.

Component guide

Sensor

NEO-6M GPS Module

Absolute position anywhere outdoors, once a minute of sky has been paid for.

Component guide

Sensor

Raspberry Pi Camera

A camera on its own data lane, so vision doesn't fight the USB bus.

Component guide

Sensor

VL53L0X ToF Sensor

Laser time-of-flight ranging—a tight, millimetre beam where sonar is too coarse.

Component guide

Actuator

DC Gearmotor (TT Motor)

The yellow gearbox motor that turns a bare chassis into a moving robot car.

Component guide

Actuator

N20 Encoder Gearmotor

A metal-gearbox micro motor with an encoder on the back, so the robot knows how far it has actually gone.

Component guide

Actuator

NEMA 17 Stepper Motor

Open-loop position without an encoder, as long as you never ask for more torque than it has.

Component guide

Actuator

Servo Gripper

One servo, two fingers, and the one number nobody on the listing tells you.

Component guide

Actuator

SG90 Servo Motor

The nine-gram servo behind most robot arms, grippers, and steering.

Component guide

Driver

A4988 Stepper Driver

A current regulator with a trim pot — set that one number right and everything else works.

Component guide

Driver

L298N Motor Driver

The dual H-bridge that turns weak logic pins into motor power.

Component guide

Driver

PCA9685 Servo Driver

Drive 16 servos over two I²C pins—the board behind most robot arms and hexapods.

Component guide

Driver

TB6612FNG Motor Driver

A MOSFET H-bridge that keeps the volts you actually paid for.

Component guide

Power

Robot Battery & Power Pack

The difference between a robot that runs and one that keeps resetting.

Component guide

Chassis

2WD Robot Chassis

The deck two motors, a free caster, and your electronics all bolt onto.

Component guide

Chassis

4-DOF Robot Arm Kit

The acrylic or metal frame that turns four servos into a base-shoulder-elbow-gripper manipulator.

Component guide

Chassis

Mecanum Wheel Set

Free rollers at 45° turn four ordinary motors into a robot that can move sideways.

Component guide

Comms

HC-05 Bluetooth Module

Wireless serial over Bluetooth—drive a robot from your phone with two pins.

Component guide