Resources

3pi Robot Videos: Various videos of the Pololu 3pi robot in action.
Application Note: MLX90614ESF SMBus Communication with Orangutan Robot Controllers View this document as a printable PDF: mlx90614esf_smbus_orangutan.pdf: A guide for implementing the SMBus (I²C-compatible) protocol for the MLX90614ESF temperature sensor on the AVR-based Orangutan robot controller series. The guide includes sample code for taking temperature readings.
Application Note: Using the Motor Driver on the 3pi Robot and Orangutan Robot Controllers View this document as a printable PDF: motor_driver_application_note.pdf: Detailed information about the 3pi Robot, Orangutan SV-328/168 and LV-168, and Baby Orangutan B motor drivers, including truth tables and sample code.
Arduino Library for the Pololu QTR Reflectance Sensors View this document as a printable PDF: QTR_arduino_library.pdf: A guide to using the Pololu QTRSensors library with Arduinos and Arduino-compatible devices like the Pololu Orangutan robot controllers.
Basic LEGO Robot View this document as a printable PDF: basic_lego_robot.pdf
Building Line Following and Line Maze Courses View this document as a printable PDF: building_line_courses.pdf: Step-by-step instructions for building your own line-following courses.
Comparison of Solarbotics Gearmotors (GM Series): Table comparing specifications for the Solarbotics GM motors that we carry.
Controlling devices with the serial port and writing graphical interfaces View this document as a printable PDF: serial_port_and_graphical_interfaces.pdf: How to interface to the serial port and write GUIs for serial port programs.
CP2102 USB-to-Serial Bridge Driver Installation View this document as a printable PDF: cp2102_driver_installation.pdf: CP2102 Drivers and installation instructions for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The CP2102 is used on the Pololu USB-to-Serial Adapter, the Orangutan USB Programmer, the USB 16-Servo Controller, and the Orangutan X2.
Custom Laser Cutting Guide View this document as a printable PDF: custom_laser_cutting.pdf: Information about our custom laser cutting service, including the capabilities and limitations of laser cutting, how to prepare your files, and the quote submission process.
Customer Laser Cutting Gallery: Gallery of customer projects that incorporate parts made with our custom laser cutting service.
Developing for the ATmega328P under Linux: This document describes how to configure a Linux system for programming the Atmel AVR ATmega328P microcontroller under the Linux operating system, using the GNU C Compiler (GCC) and AVRDUDE. Includes AVRDUDE upgrade instructions for Windows.
Orangutan X2 Command Documentation v1.01 View this document as a printable PDF: Orangutan_X2_commands.pdf: Documentation of the low-level SPI commands used to control the Orangutan X2’s auxiliary ATmega168 microcontroller.
PIC-Based, Obstacle-Avoiding Robot View this document as a printable PDF: pic_based_obstacle_avoiding_robot.pdf: Sample robot project that shows how to use the Pololu micro dual serial motor controller with a PIC microcontroller.
Pololu 3pi Robot User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: 3pi.pdf: User’s guide for the Pololu 3pi Robot.
Pololu AVR C/C++ Library User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: pololu_avr_library.pdf: Information about installing and using the C/C++ libraries provided for use with Pololu products.
Pololu AVR Library Command Reference View this document as a printable PDF: avr_library_commands.pdf: A reference to commands provided in the Pololu C/C++ and Arduino libraries for the AVR.
Pololu Baby Orangutan B User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: baby_orangutan_b.pdf: User’s guide for the Pololu Baby Orangutan B-48, B-168, and B-328 robot controllers.
Pololu Jrk USB Motor Controller User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: jrk_motor_controller.pdf: The user’s guide for the Jrk 21v3 USB Motor Controller and the Jrk 12v12 USB Motor Controller.
Pololu Micro Maestro Servo Controller User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: maestro.pdf: User’s guide for the Pololu Micro Maestro Servo Controller.
Pololu Orangutan SV-xx8 and LV-xx8 User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: svxx8_lvxx8.pdf: User’s guide for the Pololu Orangutan SV-168, SV-328, and LV-168 robot controllers.
Pololu Orangutan SVP User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: orangutan_svp.pdf: User’s guide for the Pololu Orangutan SVP-324 and SVP-1284 robot controllers (both assembled and partial-kit versions).
Pololu Orangutan USB Programmer User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: usb_programmer.pdf: User’s guide for the Pololu Orangutan USB Programmer, including information about using AVR Studio and troubleshooting tips.
Pololu QTR Reflectance Sensor Application Note View this document as a printable PDF: QTR_application_note.pdf: Information about using the Pololu QTR-xA and QTR-xRC reflectance sensors, including sample oscilloscope screen captures of sensor outputs.
Pololu Serial Transmitter utility for Windows View this document as a printable PDF: pololu_serial_transmitter.pdf: A simple serial transmitter utility for Windows that lets you transmit sequences of bytes at a selectable baud rate to a selectable COM port. This program can be conveniently used to send commands to our serially controllable devices.
Pololu TReX Jr User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: TReX_Jr.pdf: User’s guide for the Pololu TReX Jr motor controller
Pololu TReX User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: TReX.pdf: User’s guide for the Pololu TReX motor controller
Pololu USB AVR Programmer User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: pololu_usb_avr_programmer.pdf: The complete guide to using the Pololu USB AVR programmer. This guide covers programming AVR microcontrollers, communicating via the USB-to-TTL-serial adapter, and measuring voltages using the SLO-scope.
Pololu USB Software Development Kit: The Pololu USB SDK contains the code you need for making your own applications that use native USB to control the USB AVR Programmer, Jrk Motor Controller, or the Maestro Servo Controller.
Programming Orangutans and the 3pi Robot from the Arduino Environment View this document as a printable PDF: orangutan_arduino.pdf: Guide to making the Arduino IDE compatible with the 3pi robot and the Orangutan SV-168, Orangutan LV-168, and Baby Orangutan B robot controllers, including Arduino libraries for interfacing with the all of their on-board hardware.
Qik 2s12v10 User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: qik_2s12v10.pdf: User’s guide for the Pololu Qik 2s12v10 Dual Serial Motor Controller.
Qik 2s9v1 User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: qik_2s9v1.pdf: User’s guide for the Pololu Qik 2s9v1 Dual Serial Motor Controller.
QTR-8A and QTR-8RC Reflectance Sensor Array User’s Guide View this document as a printable PDF: QTR-8x.pdf: User’s guide for the QTR-8A reflectance sensor array.
Sample C# Program for Communicating with the TReX and TReX Jr View this document as a printable PDF: trex_c_sharp.pdf: This sample C# program (written for Microsoft Visual C# 2008) shows how you can use your computer to send and receive data from the TReX and TReX Jr motor controllers.
Sample Project: 3pi Wall Follower View this document as a printable PDF: 3pi_wall_follower.pdf: Sample robot project for enhancing a 3pi robot to drive around objects on its left.
Sample Project: RC 3pi View this document as a printable PDF: rc_3pi.pdf: Sample robot project for making the 3pi radio controlled.
Sample Project: Simple Hexapod Walker View this document as a printable PDF: maestro_hexapod.pdf: This is a step-by-step tutorial showing you how to use the Pololu Micro Maestro to build a simple six-legged walking robot. The total parts cost is about $72.
Tamiya “Toy” Motor Testing by Adam Borrell (a.k.a nexisnet): Adam, who posts under the username nexisnet on the Pololu forums, has performed a detailed series of experiments to determine how operating voltage affects the lifetime of the Mabuchi FA-130 motor, which happens to be the motors used in the Tamiya 70168 Double Gearbox, 70167 Single Gearbox (4-Speed), 70097 Twin-Motor Gearbox, 70093 3-Speed Crank-Axle Gearbox, 70110 4-Speed Crank-Axle Gearbox, and 70103 Universal Gearbox.
Tamiya Gearbox Gear Ratio Comparison: Table comparing the gear ratios available in the many different Tamiya gearboxes we carry.
Understanding Destructive LC Voltage Spikes View this document as a printable PDF: destructive_LC_voltage_spikes.pdf: Introduction to potentially destructive voltage spikes caused by power lead inductance and low ESR capacitors.