Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can we get support with robot building? Come visit the Danny Staple Robotics discord server.
Q: What do you do with robots? Many things - I (Danny Staple) like to build them and tinker with them. I like to write about other robots seen in the news, and we have previously sold them.
Q: Where can I buy the Explorer 1 Robot kit? Currently, those kits are no longer for sale. For a great experience with this, I currently recommend the Trilobot from Pimoroni.
Q: Do you still run the Orionrobots Club? The Orionrobots club has not run since 2005. However, I bring robots to various events including Emfcamp, PyCon Uk, London Arduino Day, London Maker Faires and perhaps other events. I will announce when I run workshops.
Q: What do you currently build robots with? I have built a number of robots with the Raspberry Pi models (and the Learn Robotics Programming book is based on the Raspberry Pi). I am using a Raspberry Pi Pico at the moment, but have also done stuff with the ESP8266 too. I then use a variety of other boards - motor controllers, sensors with it.
I make chassis in a number of ways: buying simple laser cut chassis, cutting them from plastics, or 3D printing parts of them.
Q: Do you use Lego? I used to prototype and use Lego in some of my robot experiments. I own quite a collection - with both the RCX and NXT mindstorms kits featuring, alongside many of the powered kits - Power Functions, classic motors, pneumatics, Manas, Spybotics and so on.
I now occasionally use Lego technic parts in my robot builds.