--- date: 2022-03-22 title: kida: to make a quadruped desc: A post about a janky robotic insect I made. tags: robotics insect quadruped cats: rb gem img: ./kida.avif --- # Killer Insect Droid Automation, or KIDA ![robot insect side view](./kida.avif) I built a small (~~groundbreaking masterpiece~~) robot called KIDA. It's a quadruped with some fun inspiration from [Martedi's Walter Photovore](https://www.hackster.io/studikasus/walter-the-arduino-photovore-insect-708207) and [BEAM robotics](http://solarbotics.net). The base is a power bank, and it's powered by 5 MG90 servos - one for each leg and one to rotate the hip of the hind leg. I used an Arduino Nano and HC05 Bluetooth module mounted on a breadboard. The legs are made from cut-up coat hangers bent to shape, with hot glue as feet. Everything's held together with different types of glue - lots of hot glue, some MSeal to attach the legs to the motors, and even a phone holder for the hip (truly the finest of materials). It's not pretty, but I was happy to see it work with the gait I designed! For a sneak peek at the droid in action, please indulge in the video below. I promise, it's every bit as mesmerizing as you'd expect. Now that I have a 3d printer, I'm working on making another quadruped. A 12dof quadruped with servo actuators, inspired by the Petoi robots. Here's a preview of the protoboard I just soldered together for the power distribution and voltage regulation for the servos and microcontroller: ![proto board with soldered wires](./12dof-proto.avif) It might not look like much right now, but just wait till there's a hundred of v2 scuttling towards you. ;)