25+ Innovative DIY Robotics Projects Ideas for Engineers and Students

We compiled this list of innovative and interesting Robotics projects Ideas and robotics research topics for Beginners and Enthusiasts so that they can Explore the World of Robotics with these DIY Projects.

Robotics has seen remarkable growth and is no longer just a hobby. Many engineering colleges now offer dedicated programs in robotics engineering. Events such as college competitions, robotic festivals, and tech contests attract a large number of enthusiastic robot enthusiasts.

The increased interest in robotics reflects the expanding opportunities and advancements in this field. Aspiring engineers and robot enthusiasts have the chance to showcase their skills and passion for robotics at these events. The world of robotics continues to evolve, providing exciting prospects for those interested in this rapidly developing field.

1. Smart Robot For Face Recognition

This article describes how you can design a smart robot that can recognize your face and of other regular visitors. If you go in front of the camera, the robot will recognize your face. It will call out your name and also display your name on the computer screen.

This project is available at Smart Robot for Face Recognition

2. Line Follower Robot Using PID Algorithm

A line follower is a simple robot that follows a thick line drawn on the floor using infrared (IR) or some other optical sensors. This line follower robot uses two motors with wheels on the rear and a castor wheel as support on the front.

Check the complete tutorial to make this Line Follower Robot.

3. HMI-Based Robotic Arm

Certain jobs require high precision for which a human hand is needed along with the autonomous robot. In this project, we have developed an HMI type of robotic arm, using which robots can follow and copy the movements of human action.

Complete details are available here HMI-Based Robotic Arm.

4. Hector Slam Mapping and Indoor Positioning ROBOT

In this project, we will be devising a low-cost system for creating real-time maps of indoor environments. This will allow a robot to operate without collisions and navigate by avoiding any obstacles.

 This project is available at Hector Slam Mapping and Indoor Positioning ROBOT.

5. Radar and ROS Powered Indoor Home Mapping and Positioning Robot

The indoor mapping and positioning feature of a Robot Operating System (ROS) controlled robot is essential in navigating through a hall, warehouse, room, or any other environment.

This project is available at Home Mapping and Positioning Robotics projects.

6. Artificial Intelligence-Based Chatbot for Appliance Control

Robotics Projects with Artificial intelligence are high in demand. This project presents artificial intelligence (AI) based chatbot for controlling electrical home appliances using ESP8266-12E NodeMCU and the Facebook Messenger platform.

The platform for creating an AI chatbot for Facebook is Chatfuel. The project also uses IFTTT and Adafruit IO for back-end support. The project is great for integrating AI with the Internet of Things (IoT).

Full Project details are available at Artificial Intelligence-Based Chatbot for Appliance Control.

7. Virtual Telepresence Robot Using Raspberry Pi

This robot with a camera is placed in a remote location to capture the environment in visual form using Raspberry Pi (RPi). The captured visuals are displayed on the user’s virtual reality (VR) headset.

An added feature allows the camera to move in the direction of the user’s head movements. This gives the user a real-time experience as if he is present where the robot is located.

The full project is available at Virtual Telepresence Robot Using Raspberry Pi.

8. DIY Remote Control Robot

To control a robot, the signal is usually sent through a wireless system using radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR). To send an IR signal, you need a transmitter and a receiver with an encoding and decoding system. Presented here is a simple remote-controlled robot that can be controlled using an IR remote that is used for a TV or DVD player, or an equivalent IR remote.

This project is available at Make Your Own Remote Controlled Robot.

9. Arduino based Smartphone Controlled Robot Car

Nowadays smartphones can be used to control a host of electrical and electronic devices including motors, music systems, and lights. Here we present an Arduino-based robot car, which can be controlled using an Android smartphone with an Arduino RC application installed in it. This bot receives commands from your smartphone with the help of a Bluetooth module.

This Arduino-based robotic project is available at Smartphone Controlled Robot Car using Arduino.

10. Colour Sensing Robot with MATLAB

Presented here is a MATLAB-based project where images taken by the camera are processed for colors and the position of a red-colored object is extracted out of the image. Based on the position of the red-colored object in the image, different data are sent via the COM port.

The serial data are received by the robot and the corresponding movement is done. You can change the code for any color that you find suitable.

This project is just an example and you can use this for various industrial applications such as controlling heavy load-lifting machines with some object of a specific color in your hand.

This project is available at Colour Sensing Robot with MATLAB.

11. RF-Controlled Robotics Projects

We staff with a simple Arduino board-based robot. It can be driven remotely using an RF remote control. This robot can be built very quickly on a small budget. The RF remote control provides the advantage of a good controlling range (up to 100 meters with proper antennae) besides being omnidirectional. The heart of the robot is the Arduino UNO board.

Check the step-by-step guide to make a DIY RF Controlled Robot.

12. Android Phone Controlled Robotics Projects

Android smartphones are undoubtedly the most popular gadgets these days. You will find various apps on the Internet that exploit inbuilt hardware in these mobile phones, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, to control other devices.

This project presents a robot that can be controlled using an app running on an Android phone.

This project is available on Android Phone-Controlled Robot.

13. Fire-Extinguishing Robot

Many major accidents are averted by extinguishing the fire at an early stage. This next project aims to build a robot that can detect and extinguish fire.

This fire-extinguishing robot is a prototype of the actual one. The sensors used here are simple infrared (IR) photodiodes that detect IR rays coming out of the fire.

This project is available at Fire Extinguishing Robot.

14. Wireless Gesture-Controlled Robotics Projects

In this project, we are going to control a robot wirelessly using hand gestures. This is an easy, user-friendly way to interact with robotic systems and robots. An accelerometer detects the tilting position.

A microcontroller gets different analog values and generates command signals to control the robot. Robotic arms used for welding or handling hazardous materials are other implementations of this concept.

Complete project details are available at Gesture-Controlled Robot.

15. Soccer Robot

This soccer robot can move forward, reverse, forward-left, forward-right, reverse-left, and reverse-right with the help of an Android phone. The angle of rotation of the phone controls its speed of movement. The robot also kicks a ball on shaking the phone.

The Arduino UNO board is the heart of the circuit. Other components include a servo motor, Bluetooth module JY MCU BT, motor driver L293D, and two DC motors.

This project is available at Soccer Robot

16. Namaste Greeting Robot

This fun project called ‘Namaste Robot’ uses an Arduino Uno board at its heart. The Arduino controls several motors simultaneously. The robot turns its head by 180° and scans people in its range using an ultrasonic module.

If it finds anyone nearby, it greets the person with ‘namaste’ with both hands pressing together, which is the traditional Indian way of wishing people.

This project is available at Namaste Greeting Robot.

17. Line Following Robot

Manufacturing plants employ line-following robots with pick-and-placement capabilities. These move on a specified path to pick the components from specified locations and place them in desired locations.

Microcontroller AT89C51 does the controls of the robot. Other components include motor driver L293D, operational amplifier LM324, phototransistor, and a few discrete components.

This project is available at Line Following Robot.

18. Robocar With Wireless Steering

This next project describes a wireless steered robot. Wireless steering senses the motion and transmits corresponding instructions to control the robot through RF communication. The robot also has an obstacle detection and avoidance system implemented.

The accelerometer senses the movement of the steering. Arduino Uno board processes this data and corresponding instructions are transmitted through the RF transmitter to control the robot.

This project is available at Robocar With Wireless Steering.

19. Cellphone-Operated Land Rover

The control of a robot involves three distinct phases: perception, processing, and action. Generally, the preceptors are sensors mounted on the robot, the processing is done by the onboard microcontroller or processor, and the task (action) is performed using motors or with some other actuators.

In this project, the robot is controlled by a mobile phone that makes a call to the mobile phone attached to the robot. The tone corresponding to a button is heard at the processing end. The robot perceives this DTMF tone with the help of the phone stacked in the robot.

Project details are available at Cellphone-Operated Land Rover.

20. RF-based Dual-mode Robot

This next dual-mode robot is operated manually using an RF-based remote control. The robot has some inbuilt intelligence to avoid obstacles by changing its path. Further modifications for applications like automatic vacuum cleaners are also available.

In such an application the vacuum cleaner will automatically clean the floor, or you can direct it using the RF remote while sitting relaxed on your sofa.

This project is available at RF-based Dual-mode Robot.

21. Whisker for Robots

Whiskers for robots are simple switch-type sensors that work like an animal’s whiskers detecting nearby objects in the environment. When disturbed, the sensor sends a pulse to the robot to indicate that an obstacle is present.

Sensitive but inexpensive general-purpose whiskers can be made using commonly available steel guitar strings. These strings are very flexible, conductive, and easy to use.

This project is available at Whisker for Robots.

22. Remote Operated Spy Robot Circuit

This next robotics project explains designing a spy robot that can be controlled by the remote. The remote has four switches to control the robot in four directions. The robot senses the surroundings through the charge-coupled device (CCD) camera and sends it to the receiver through Radio Frequency (RF) wireless communication.

We have already studied how to establish RF communication in RF Remote Control Circuits for Home Appliances post. This circuit is also designed using such kind of technology.

This project is available at Remote Operated Spy Robot Circuit.

23. Human Detection Robot

This next project presents a simple human detection robot that is operated manually using RF technology. The main principle of the circuit is to detect the human using a human detection sensor. The wireless robot is operated manually using a PC.

The wireless technology used here is Radio Frequency technology. The data is transmitted to the receiver through RF. The robot is operated and controlled using the received data.

This project is available at Human Detection Robot.

24. Metal Detector Robot

This next project explains the metal detection robot that uses RF technology. The proposed system consists of a transmitter and receiver circuit. The transmitter circuit transmits the commands required to operate the robot.

The receiver circuit receives these commands through RF and moves the robot according to the received commands. A metal detector is interfaced with the controller on the receiver side. The robot stops and the buzzer starts ringing to find any metal.

The full project details are available at Metal Detector Robot.

25. Fruit-Picking Robot

For a fruit gardener, it is extremely important to harvest fruit in time. It is a time-consuming process and if not done in time would cause waste and money loss. This robotic project idea is about a fruit-picking robot that not only works as a fruit picker but is smart enough to pick only those fruits that are ripened enough.

This project is available at Fruit Picking Robot.

26. Stair Climbing Robot

Small, tracked mobile robots designed for general urban mobility have been developed for reconnaissance and/or search and rescue missions in buildings and cities. Autonomous stair climbing is a significant capability required for many of these missions.

In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a new set of estimation and control algorithms that increase the speed and effectiveness of stair climbing.

This project is available at Stair Climbing Robot.

27. Maze-Solving Robot

This next project builds a robot that can find its way in a line maze from the start point to the endpoint. Maze has some start and end points including many dead ends. To solve this puzzle we need to find the right path in the fastest possible way.

This project requires a line maze which is a black line on a white background. The basic requirements for the project would be two motors and 5 IR sensors.

This project is available at Maze Solving Robotics Project.

28. Window Washing Robot

This project demonstrates the feasibility of creating a window-washing robot, especially for use by the handicapped in cleaning residential double-hung sash windows. Under strict weight and size limits, it is required to be placed on a window and either autonomously or via remote control clean the outside of a window with no other human intervention.

This particular robot moves over the window as if cleaning it, wipes off a series of 12 mm-diameter dry-erase dots, and carries 50 ml of water to simulate the cleaning fluid used in the final device.

This project is available at RF-based Dual-mode Robot.

29. Hospital Sanitizing Robotics Projects

The UV sanitization robot uses the power of UV rays to kill germs and bacteria. The robot can also give a live video stream of its surroundings. With the help of WiFi, we can control the robot and its GUI allows us to drive the robot inside a hospital room without physically being there.

Complete project details are available at Hospital Sanitizing Robot.

This list of robotics projects ends here…

However, new DIY Electronics Projects keep coming up from time to time. Also, ideas are always welcome in the comments below as well.

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This list of robotics projects was first published on 26 September 2016 and recently updated on August 2023.