SunFounder PiDog | Review
This is the PiDog from SunFounder. It’s a kit that you can build to create a 4 legged walking robot using a Raspberry Pi. Let’s take a look
Intro
The kit comes with all the components needed to build, just add a Raspberry Pi and a USB-C charger.
There are a few interesting modules that come with example scripts, so you can jump straight in and demo the functionality, or use them as a basis to build your own.
The kit has a camera that connects to the Raspberry Pi’s CSI port, an inertial measurement unit that can be used to balance the robot on gradients, an ultrasonic sensor for measuring distance, and an RGB LED strip.
There is also a directional sound sensor and speaker for audio input and output.
The kit comes with an integrated battery that can be charged directly from the USB-C port on the board.
In the above video I walk you through the entire build process and then take a look at some of the example scripts.
I found the process to be extremely straightforward. The documentation was mostly clear, and although I made a couple of mistakes along the way, like attaching the wrong camera cable, they were easy to rectify.
The biggest challenge was making sure I was using the right screws or rivets, as there were quite a few packets to search through for each step, so I’d definitely recommend organising them before you start the build, which I didn’t do.
Besides that, the installation of the software and zeroing of the servos is something that I neglected but having that in place at the start of the process would definitely have made testing and build process easier.
Overall I was impressed with the quality of the kit. With the exception of a few rivets breaking as I was assembling the robot, everything worked as expected and there were no issues as long as I followed the instructions exactly.
I’m excited to use this kit for future development as it offers a lot of functionality out of the box that would make the creation of a prototype very simple and straightforward.
Thanks to SunFounder for providing the kit and giving me the opportunity to create this video.
If you’re interested in purchasing the kit, the link is in the description below. Also feel free to join our discord community if you have any questions or want to share your build.
Thanks for watching!