Open-Source Autonomous Mobile Robot

Affordable (~$1,200) autonomous mobile robotics — sensors, navigation, agent communication, and computer vision on one platform.

Project Overview

The MattBot is an open-source mobile robot built at Stanford to make advanced robotics accessible to students, researchers, and hobbyists. It integrates LiDAR mapping, RGB-D vision, voice interaction, and decentralized agent communication in a single affordable platform.

~$1,200 total build cost
ROS Noetic software stack
Jetson Orin Nano onboard compute
Fully open source CAD + code

Demo video:

Get Started

Follow the guides in order: build the hardware, configure software, then operate the robot.

1. Construction

Electrical, MCU firmware, and mechanical assembly from GitHub CAD and BOM files.

Build guide →

2. Setup

Jetson imaging, DDS/GUI configuration, and first movement test.

Setup guide →

3. Operation

Power-on, GUI control, mapping, navigation, and launch files.

Operation guide →

Robot Components

Computing

NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano (8GB) runs ROS and coordinates all subsystems.

Vision

Orbbec Astra Pro Plus RGB-D for object detection; Arducam USB for face recognition.

LiDAR

RPLIDAR A2M12 360° 2D LiDAR for mapping and localization.

Drive

Differential drive with encoders and custom motor driver board.

IMU

6-axis inertial measurement for orientation tracking.

Audio

MEMS microphone array for voice recognition and interaction.

Display

Onboard touchscreen for local UI and status.

GitHub Repositories

CAD, electrical design, and software for building and operating the robot.

Robot

Mechanical design, electrical design, and MCU software.

View repo

DDS Robot Platform

User GUI and communications.

View repo

Decentralized Camera Sensor

Smart camera object detection with Raspberry Pi.

View repo

Mattbot Bringup

Bringup and MCU communication.

View repo

Mattbot DDS

Agent-agent DDS communication.

View repo

Mattbot Image Detection

Computer vision and object detection.

View repo

Mattbot Navigation

Path planning and obstacle avoidance.

View repo

Mattbot Record

Audio signal processing.

View repo

Mattbot Display

Onboard touchscreen display.

View repo