Welcome to ScuttleTechGuide! An open door to building and developing with the SCUTTLE multidisciplinary ecosystem. For several years we hosted all of the documentation for SCUTTLE Robotics on our website, scuttlerobot.org. But, since mid 2024 we found new ways to make the documentation more flexible & easily updated. This repository will feature items such as wiring diagrams so that customers can view while contributors can edit. Also, students can download source files for our diagrams and use them to kickstart documentation for their project. This repo will expand until we have a solid, fully open, set of docs for the standard SCUTTLE robot and we will trim back the website (scuttlerobot.org) to focus on business interactionss such as ordering robots.
short URL: qr.net/scuttleproject
Robot Diagram Every robot is made of the same components: [actuators, sensors, computer, drivers, power supply] The actuators are controlled by a driver, the sensors report information to the computer, and the computer makes decisions for the actuators to be driven. The power supply activates all the components. Our robot lays out the components clearly as in the diagram below (left).
Actuators SCUTTLE is designed as an architecture for developers to easily automate actuators. One example is the spraymaster shown below (middle) that features a spraying mechanism with a cleaning product. If a designer wanted a robot that performs cleaning, the job is simply to add an actuator and a driver for that actuator. This project shows a linear actuator and a relay with a 3D printed assembly that holds the spray can. In this project, the existing computer and power supply are connected to the new actuator system to give power and computing. The hardware modules and software modules are pre-built so you can copy and paste most of the engineering effort to support brand new projects. You can download spraymaster design freely.
The standard configuration of the robot includes the a 3-cell lithium ion battery, and has the following specifications:
- Exterior Dimensions: 365 x 440 x 100 (mm)
- Ground Clearance: 58mm
- Weight: 4.1kg
- Payload Rating: 40 kg
- Full Speed: 0.45 m/s
- Diameter, drive wheels: 83 mm
- Diameter, casters: 49 mm
The battery uses the top-of-the-line panasonic cells with 3200mAh or higher, and it's modular so you can easily swap the cells or add features. One student team in 2022 created a communication module to transmit battery voltage to the CPU. It includes two pairs of anderson connectors so you can charge the robot and operate it at the same time.
The wheel module is ready for upgrading for offroad projects, or changing motors for higher speeds. Our gearmotor standard is 300 RPM and 12v but you can find many variations with 600rpm and the motor driver will handle it just fine. Online you can find users' wheel mods with larger wheels, which is easily accepted by this wheel layout.
The power distribution system is expandable, mounted on ever-popular industrial (steel) 35mm DIN rail, with the class-leading Dinkle DK2.5N screw terminals that accept up to 12awg wires. All of the power wires are 18awg, paired and colored red & black for easy identification. The battery has available current for over 4x what the standard setup uses, and plenty of energy to accomodate added loads.
Sensor Communication is done over ordinary i2c protocol, ready with plenty of spare addresses in the MCU to add your own off-the-shelf sensors. Plus, our sample software is arranged in modules so you can discover how to add devices without breaking down the robot routines. We designed a simple and easy-to-use i2c bus board, with four extra sensor positions so you can plug-in loads of new sensing options without creating a special wire harness.
Driving can be performed with a wireless bluetooth controller, such as our included gamepad. Or, perform autonomous driving with your own routine (and use our software if you want). Lastly, we have tested out online-based remote "telepresence" style of driving with the video and audio feed transmitted over WiFi (included on all the popular CPU boards).
Telemetry starts with the two military-grade encoders with insane 12 bit resolution that can detect wheel movements at 0.2 degrees, but expect 2 degrees in practical use with geartrain and wheel slip, etc. We have tested out and published data for multiple Lidar integrations like RPLidar and YDlidar, and even one from SICK industrial sensors manufacturer. You can find free printable CAD models for lidar brackets.
| SCUTTLE Resources | CAD Models | Videos | | Applications Guide |
| Abbreviation or Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| LH, RH | left-hand, right-hand |
| OTS | off-the-shelf |
| DFM | design for manufacturing |
| SBC | single-board computer |
If you learn about these standards, you can benefit in your project. A) you may find affordable off-the-shelf solutions to integrate. B) you may find a cluster of design knowledge to dive deeper in your favorite area as a maker C) you can invent a project that segways into commercialization more smoothly.
Learn Why Standards are your best friend
A quick list of standards we integrate:
- 18650 battery cells specifications
- MQTT protocol for IoT
- USB-PD, or Power delivery (integration in progress)
- DIN rail, 35mm, mechanical geometry
- Aluminum Extrusion, 30-series or 30x30mm.
- Camera fastener thread, 1/4-20 (integration in progress)
- Toyota's 5S methods
- Toyota's Lean Manufacturing practices
- Toyota's Kaizen practices
- Toyota's 5-why root cause analysis
- Wheel bearings, 608 spec, the ABEC scale (used worldwide from skateboards to fidget spinners)
- Metric System of Units
- Markdown programming language for documentation (in progress)
- Embedded Linux Shell scripting
- Creative Commons Open Source License CC BY-SA 4.0
- Water & dust intrusion IP rating scale
Resources for Documenting
- Docs, simplified with Docsify-This
- Emoji - in markdown with Github Emoji Picker ► Use this for markdown compatibility.
- Markdown Cheat Sheet
- Diagrams, with draw.io also known as Diagrams.net
- Altcodes, from AltcodeUnicode ► use these for compatibility with all word processors.
GET LATEST
- Draw.io Library version 06.29
- Draw.io Diagram draft version 06.29
- Become the first multidisciplinary open project that addresses the 2020-era pain points for the community:
- Mechanical designs are locked into specific CAD software.
- Manufacturing methods span broadly with poor repeatability by open community.
- Documentation for high-fidelity designs does not address novice experience level.
- Highly professional projects are scarce. Designs that are robust enough to be repeated are usually expensive.
- It is hard to get help. Well designed components don't have engineering-level customer service.
- Robot designs are tied to one embedded controller - availability and costs are limiting.
- Designs do not offer a curriculum to accompany them.
- Prerequisites for materials, knowledge, components, are not clear from the beginning.
- As a robot develops, it's software becomes specific to only that robot - unlike open 3D printing software, for example.
- Leverage the community for documentation
- Build standards to clearly outline documentation needs
- Offer training resources on how to document
- Make documentation friendly to each respective discipline & their typical applications
- Only use methods that have been shown successful by other communities.
- Keep documents and source files open & free as much as possible, and their tools thereof
Okay, hear us out: diagrams may be the most important part of a multidisciplinary design. Electrical circuits have established standards, hardware designs have them, but the crossover gets messy. We are implementing new libraries starting in 2023 to help get your projects planned & documented for repeatability & collaboration.
Starting with Draw.io, here's some technology magic:
| Click a library component | Drop it in your Diagram | Edit Connection Points |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
As we build a library of the most common components, we will release open draw.io libraries so you can grab preconfigured, labeled images with connection points already set. The images are high quality, lightweight, and easily pulled into other softwares like Visio and Powerpoint.
As an open source community, we aim to gather best practices from leading open projects. The multidisciplinary nature of SCUTTLE means no existing model fits us, but many elements have been resolved by great communities with an ongoing development and outcomes.
The organizations in this table have influenced SCUTTLE organization heavily and we continue seeking out best practices from groups like them
| Team | Site | Feature to Aspire to: | Team No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voron 3D Printer | Voron Docs | well-made multidisciplinary documentation | 1 |
| Thingiverse | Thingiverse Library | attracted millions - easy to sign up, easy to use | 2 |
| GrabCAD | GrabCAD Library | in-browser Visualization - great permalinks - great tagging | 3 |
| OpenBuilds | openbuilds | attracted high-effort contributions - peak modularity | 4 |
| Leo Rover | Leo Dev Resources | Use github for software development | 5 |
| Printables | Printables Library | Helps designers post designs with clear licensing | 6 |
| Hackaday | Hackaday.io | Curating well-engineered designs | 7 |
| Hackster.io | Hackster Contests | Attracts all types of designers with nice contests | 8 |
| Leo Rover | Leo 3D Models | Convenient in-browser viewing of 3D models | 9 |
| Viam | Viam Discord | Refined Discord channel for asking questions | 10 |
| Texas Instruments | TI Robotics Academy | Research-grade tasks taught in Edge AI | 11 |
| uStepper Arm | Build Guide | Build Guide with detailed graphics | 12 |
| Moveo Arm | BCN3D Moveo | Remaining 3D Printable post-commercialization | 13 |
| Instructables | Instructables Library | Access to PDF version of every project writeup | 14 |
| Open Dynamic | Open Dynamic Robot Initiative | Computations for Dynamics at Academic Level | 15 |
| Arxive | Free Academic Pub - Cornell | Free distribution & open access to scholarly articles | 16 |
Wish List from Community Stars
Table ► Wish List
Elements that would enhance these offerings - based on our experience, community, feedback, needs, and dreams.
| Team No. | Wish |
|---|---|
| 1 | Give more clear metrics on performance - why should you build it? |
| 2 | Better support for native CAD files |
| 3 | Allow users to implement a license with each post, like printables.org |
| 4 | Create a segway into robotic control, instead of only CNC control |
| 5 | Reduce the custom parts & replace with OTS parts. Make designs more print-friendly |
| 6 | Dial back the Printables Branding and help posts link to full projects. |
| 7 | Grade submissions by an open standard, help projects recruit team members in some form |
| 8 | Offer PDF downloads for instruction - enhance tools for professional level developers. Better classification of disciplines behind posts (mechanical, electronic, software). |
| 9 | Become more inviting to community contributions - make a library of addons or changes. |
| 10 | Publish goals & core values that speak to community - help broader disciplines outside software answer "how will Viam enhance open robotics" in more disciplines. Better express what is needed from community vs in-company. |
| 11 | Improve navigation of content - help users (of various backgrounds) find answers ► students, researchers, makers, businesses, academic partners |
| 12 | Build a community of some sort. Explain why the robot is open source. |
| 13 | Better explanation of where to buy parts |
| 14 | Better categorize projects by discipline, by key component, and/or others. Make easier to find relevant projects for users. |
| 15 | Publish the source files for the robot components - particularly 3D printed parts. |
| 16 | Offer a category for mechanical engineering along with CS, EE, PHYS, etc. |
Figure: Table of Wishes from Community Stars
- Linux is the largest open source project in history, and it's founders created TheOpenSourceWay.org to guide other communities. Their publication called The Open Source Way offers insights to how it all works.
- The Open Source Hardware Association pushes to engage hardware development teams in open source. They have regular releases of their State of Open Source Hardware, and this one is from 2021.
More open-source designs:
Project Link Purpose OpenAir qr.net/openairproject take control of air, pressure, & flow with open elements OpenArm qr.net/openarmproject revolutionize robotic arms, a 10-year goal OpenBox qr.net/openboxproject array of open designs beginning with a steel box OpenGrow qr.net/opengrowproject open designs for hydroponics & aquaponics systems OpenJar qr.net/openjarproject array of designs for standard jars, threads, & seals OpenLab qr.net/openlabproject build a laboratory to design & fabricate anything. openME qr.net/openmeproject a Mechanical Engineering degree, comprehensive & free, in-progress OpenSpin qr.net/openspinproject array of designs based on parametric bearings SCUTTLE_Nigeria qr.net/scuttleafrica university-level robotics lab in Lagos, Nigeria SCUTTLE_tech qr.net/scuttleproject engineering design guide for scuttle robot SCUTTLE_Mini qr.net/scuttlemini miniature mobile robot, 10kg payload, designs