ROB102 · Robot Components: Motors, Sensors and Controllers
About Course
Get to know the hardware inside robots: the motors that move them, the sensors that let them perceive themselves and their surroundings, and the controllers and power systems that tie everything together, with hands-on practice in a free circuit simulator.
Who it is for
Beginners who understand what robots do and now want to know how their parts work and how to choose them.
Prerequisites
ROB101 is recommended; no prior electronics experience is required.
What you will be able to do
- Compare DC, servo, stepper and brushless motors and select one for a given robot task using torque and speed.
- Distinguish proprioceptive and exteroceptive sensors and choose sensors for navigation and manipulation.
- Wire and program a motor driver, servo and ultrasonic sensor in Tinkercad Circuits.
- Draft a power budget and a controller architecture for a small mobile robot, including an emergency stop.
Lessons
- Lesson 1 · Motors and actuators
- Lesson 2 · Sensors: knowing yourself and your surroundings
- Lesson 3 · Controllers, power and safety architecture
- Lesson 4 · Lab and assignment
Lab: Drive a motor, a servo and a distance sensor
You build a simulated robot subsystem with an Arduino Uno: a DC gear motor controlled through an L293D H-bridge, a servo that sweeps a sensor mount and an HC-SR04 ultrasonic distance sensor. The motor slows and stops as an obstacle gets closer, and you log distance and speed to the serial monitor.
Free tools: Tinkercad Circuits (free, in the browser)
Assessed assignment
Submit your Tinkercad design and code with a short report. Include a component table (part, role, key specification, why it was chosen) and explain why the motor needs an H-bridge and a separate supply. Show serial-monitor evidence of the slowdown and stop behavior. Then draft a power budget and block diagram for a small warehouse cart robot with two drive motors, a lidar, a single-board computer and an emergency-stop button.
| Criterion | Weight | What excellent work looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Working circuit and code | 30% | Motor, servo and sensor work together and the slowdown and stop logic behaves as specified. |
| Component understanding | 25% | The component table is accurate and the H-bridge and separate supply are correctly explained. |
| Power budget and architecture | 30% | Currents, voltages and runtime are estimated sensibly; the block diagram includes an emergency stop that cuts motor power. |
| Documentation | 15% | Evidence is clear and the report is concise and well organized. |
Portfolio piece
A documented motor-sensor subsystem and a power budget template you can reuse for robot designs.
Next step
Continue with ROB103 · Programming Robots with Python · 6 hours · $42.00
Course Content
ROB102 · Robot Components: Motors, Sensors and Controllers (4 h)
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Lesson 1 · Motors and actuators
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Lesson 2 · Sensors: knowing yourself and your surroundings
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Lesson 3 · Controllers, power and safety architecture
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Lesson 4 · Lab and assignment
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ROB102 Assessment · Robot Components: Motors, Sensors and Controllers