Robium Desktop Car — Arduino C Version

Robium Desktop Car is a 2-hour hands-on robotics and programming workshop for students aged 11+ who are ready to work with text-based code and real embedded electronics. The robot is built around an ESP8266 microcontroller, two DC motors controlled by a DRV8833 dual H-bridge driver, and an HC-SR04 ultrasonic distance sensor. Students assemble the complete system and program it using the Arduino IDE and Arduino C/C++. They write functions for moving forwards and backwards, turning left and right, stopping the motors and reading distance from the ultrasonic sensor. These functions are then combined into a simple autonomous navigation algorithm. When the car detects an obstacle, it stops, reverses, randomly selects a new direction and continues moving. The workshop introduces important robotics concepts such as digital inputs and outputs, sensor readings, timing, functions, conditional statements, random behaviour and H-bridge motor control. Students also see how software commands are translated into electrical signals that directly control the motors. By the end of the session, students have built and programmed a complete autonomous robot and can take their working Robium Desktop Car home with them.

Over a series of lessons, students will:

• Assemble a complete Robium Desktop Car
• Work with the ESP8266 microcontroller
• Program using Arduino IDE and Arduino C/C++
• Control DC motors through a DRV8833 H-bridge
• Read data from an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor
• Write reusable movement functions
• Use conditional statements and timing
• Implement random robot behaviour
• Build an autonomous obstacle-avoidance algorithm
• Understand how software controls real electronic hardware