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9 Dec 2012 : PiBot2 parts #
I've been really quite shocked (in a good way) at the interest that PiBot has generated. Apparently the world needs more Raspberry flavoured Lego robots, so to help anyone aspiring to own their own robot army, here's the list of parts that was used for PiBot2.

Pretty much everything came from Amazon, so most of the links are to the UK Amazon site. Apologies if you're from outside the UK or are currently boycotting Amazon for their dubious tax practices, but all of these should be readily available from lots of other places too.

The table is split into two parts. The first part covers just those bits and pieces that you're likely to need to get a Raspberry Pi up and running. If you've already got a Raspberry Pi, you probably already have all of these things. The second part covers the materials needed to get the robot working.


Parts needed for the Pi
PartPurposeBuy
Raspberry PiThe computer.£25.92
Logitech K340 Wireless KeyboardKeyboard works well with Pi.£34.95
Logitech M505 Wireless MouseMouse works well with Pi. The Logitech unifying receiver takes one USB port for both keyboard and mouse.£30.98
HDMI cableTo connect the Pi to a screen.£1.03
Micro USB Mains ChargerTo power the Pi when it's not attached to the battery.£2.75
16GB Micro SDHC cardTo run the OS from.£8.22
Parts needed for the Robot
PartPurposeBuy
LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0The actual robot. This includes the motors and ultrasonic sensor needed for control.£234.99
TeckNet iEP387 7000mAh 2.1Amp Output USB BatteryFor powering the Pi when it's on the move. I tried cheaper less powerful chargers (including AA batteries), but they couldn't provide enough juice to keep the Pi running.£23.97
USB 2.0 A/b Cable - 1mFor connecting the Pi to the Mindstorm control Brick.£1.69
USB A to Micro B Cable - 6 inchFor connecting the Pi to the battery.£2.13

The total bill for this lot was around £370. However, £235 of this is the LEGO Mindstorm and £65 is for the wireless keyboard and mouse, so if you've already got these I'd say the rest is pretty reasonable. I had to try a number of wireless keyboards before finding one which didn't cause the Raspberry Pi to reset randomly though. If anyone knows of a cheaper keyboard/mouse combo that works well with the Pi, let me know and I can alter the list.

If you're building a PiBot, I hope this helps to get things underway. I'd be really interested to know how other people get on; it'd be fantastic to feature some other PiBot designs on the site!

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