Dirt Cheap Robot
A simple low-cost robot built on the ESP32 and assembled from cardboard and hot glue, driven by a Bluetooth game controller.
- Wheeled
- Open source
- arduino
Suggested by Robotheca, created by @paulemccabe1 (opens in a new tab), from github.com/paulemccabe1/DirtCheapRobot (opens in a new tab). Pinned to commit 4c59dcb (opens in a new tab).
- Hardware license
- Apache-2.0 (opens in a new tab)
- Software license
- Apache-2.0 (opens in a new tab)
- Commercial use
- Allowed
Photo
What it can do
Written by Robotheca from the project's documents.
- A small two-wheeled cardboard robot driven by two DC gearbox motors
- Motors are driven through a DRV8833 motor driver board
- Controlled by an ESP32 running Arduino code, with a Bluetooth wireless game controller listed in the parts
Bill of materials
9 parts9 of 9 parts shown
| # | Component | Quantity | Est. price | Supplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ESP32-DevKitC-32 Development Board module - 38 Pins | 1 | $4.66 total≈ €4 | – |
| 2 | DRV8833 DC Motor Drive Board 2-Channel 1.5A Motor Drive Module | 1 | $1.20≈ €1 | – |
| 3 | TT Motor with Leads, DC 3-6V Gearbox Motor Dual Shaft 200RPM Ratio | 2 | $2.16≈ €2 | – |
| 4 | Small 400 Point Solderless Breadboard | 1 | $1.20≈ €1 | – |
| 5 | Solderless Flexible Breadboard Jumper Wires Male to Male | 6 | $0.05≈ €0 | – |
| 6 | 5/8 in. Roller Ball Bearing | 1 | $0.99≈ €1 | – |
| 7 | Kesguar Portable Charger with Built-in USB-C Cable, Power Bank 5000mAh with Fast Charging, Black | 1 | $6.99≈ €6 | – |
| 8 | Micro USB Cable 1FT Short USB to Micro USB Cable Fast Charging USB 2.0 Data Sync | 1 | $2.50≈ €2 | – |
| 9 | Cardboard | 1 | $0≈ €0 | – |
≈ € amounts use the ECB reference rate of 20 Oct 2026, for comparison only.
Parts total: $22.15. Read from DirtCheapRobot_BOM.csv at the pinned commit.
Build guide
The guide appears here as you scroll.
Guide by @paulemccabe1 (README.md), under Apache-2.0.
Wiring and electronics
Notes written by Robotheca from the project's documents.
Main parts
- ESP32-WROOM (narrow board) microcontroller
- DRV8833 dual-channel DC motor driver board
- Two TT DC gearbox motors with leads, 3-6V, 200RPM
- 400-point solderless breadboard
- Mini USB battery bank as power source
- Wireless game controller that supports Bluetooth
- 5/8 inch roller ball bearing as a caster
Connections
- Wiring is shown in the schematic files included in the repository (PDF and PNG), which were not readable here
- Parts are joined with male-to-male jumper wires on the breadboard, with no soldering
Cables and connectors
From the parts list.
- Solderless Flexible Breadboard Jumper Wires Male to Male × 6
- Kesguar Portable Charger with Built-in USB-C Cable, Power Bank 5000mAh with Fast Charging, Black × 1
- Micro USB Cable 1FT Short USB to Micro USB Cable Fast Charging USB 2.0 Data Sync × 1
