The 3DoT Board is the brain, power, and controller of any robot - all on a 35 x 70 mm PCB. Plug your motors and servos directly into the board, and a smart, current-limited power circuit allows it to drive everything from the on-board rechargeable battery. Bluetooth connectivity even allows you control your robot directly and/or make your phone part of the robot.
3DoT Board will get your robots up and running with less hassle and cost than any other platform.
No need to purchase a separate battery charger. The 3DoT Board automatically charges the on-board battery to a safe level through USB.
The on-board battery can power most small robots continuously running for about 30 minutes. Since the battery is charged while USB is plugged in for programming, we find we never have to worry about battery life while developing. Combined with being able to send debug messages over Bluetooth, this really makes the development process a much more pleasant experience.
As soon as you receive the board, you can start driving robots from your phone using the open-source iOS/Android app developed specifically for 3DoT.
The mobile app also contains some really cool features such as Community Mode and custom control widgets. In Community Mode, your phone is attached to the robot, and by utilizing the phone’s cameras and Bluetooth connection to the 3DoT Board, you can control your robot from a computer anywhere in the world.
To go further, you can program the board using the popular Arduino IDE using the 3DoT Arduino library to help you get started. The library also allows you to write code to interface with controls on the mobile app.
Advanced users can, of course, also use any AVR tool of their choosing.
We have built many robots using the 3DoT Board ourselves, and it has been used at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) Electrical Engineering classes for two semesters. In the process, we have been able to refine our design to be reliable and suitable for every level of maker.
The board is OSHWA certified open source hardware and all software is open source with GPL licensing. We encourage you to check out the schematics to build your own shields or other add-ons! Share your hacks in our Discord channel.
The 3DoT Board is difficult to compare, as there are not many boards specifically designed for robots. The most common solution is to use a Raspberry Pi or an Arduino wired to breakout boards. If you need a ton of processing power or other specialized features, this may be the way to go, but we don’t think most robots need this.
Below is a comparison chart:
| The 3DoT Board | Raspberry Pi 4 | Arduino Nano 33 BLE | DFRobot Romeo BLE Mini | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microcontroller | ATmega32U4 | Broadcom BCM2711 | nRF52840 | ATmega328P |
| Operating Voltage | 5.5 V, 3.3 V | 5 V | 3.3 V | 5 V |
| Flash Memory | 32 KB | SD card | 1 MB | 32 KB |
| SPI, I²C, UART | Yes | Yes | Yes | I²C, UART, no SPI |
| IO Available | 9 digital, 5 analog | 40 digital | 14 digital, 8 analog | 8 digital, 4 analog |
| Dual Motor Driver | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Servo Connectors | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Bluetooth | BLE 5.0 | BLE 5.0 | BLE 5.0 | BLE 4.0 |
| Battery Charging | Yes | No | No | No |
| Battery Power Management | Yes | No | No | No |
| Extra Parts Needed to Match Functionality | Motor shield, 3 jumper cables for servo, battery management, USB cable, LiPo battery | Headers, connectors, motor driver shield, battery charger, battery boost, LiPo battery, wiring, soldering | Battery management, LiPo battery, wiring | |
| Size | 70 x 35 x 14 mm | 85 x 56 x 16 mm + motor shield + battery breakout + battery | 45 x 18 x 11 mm + connector shield + motor breakout + battery charger + battery boost + battery | 45 × 38.5 mm + battery breakout + battery |
| Total Configured Cost | $49 (US shipping included) | $105 | $65 | $51 |
Here is a gallery of robots made with the 3DoT board to help inspire you to greatness.
You can see more robots built with 3DoT in action here:
https://www.humansforrobots.com/robots/
Includes:
Our collection of must-have accessories for small robots. Includes:
Get all of our favorite shields. Shields plug into the top or front headers on the board to add features to your robot. Includes:
The chassis is designed for 3DoT and its accessories and shields. Includes:
Upon receiving your 3DoT, scan the QR Code on the board to open up the 3DoT Documentation Site.
Here, you can find a simple "Getting Started" guide, all the 3DoT info you need, and the source files.
We are also always hanging out in our Discord channel, which is a great place to get quick answers to any questions you may have and discuss your robot projects with other members.
"Specifically built for robot projects the 3DoT Board has been created to provide your robot with brain, power, and the controller in one small board measuring just 35 x 70 mm in size."
"A kind of amazing little board!"
Produced by Humans For Robots in Huntington Beach, CA.
Sold and shipped by Crowd Supply.
Includes 600 mAh rechargeable battery.
Our collection of must-have accessories for small robots. Includes 2x micro metal gearmotors, 200 RPM, 2x mini wheels, 2x micro servos, 2x 3DoT Protoboard shields. 3DoT board NOT included.
A pack of all of our favorite shields. Includes: 1x servo expansion shield, 1x infrared sensor shield, 1x inductive sensing shield, 1x GPIO expansion shield, 1x 128 x 64 OLED, 1x 64 x 32 OLED. 3DoT board NOT included.
Get up and running immediately with a full chassis kit! Includes: 1x laser-cut wood chassis designed for 3DoT, 3D-printed gears, wheels, and flexible tires, 1x 3D-printed ball caster holder, and all the nuts, bolts, and other hardware required for assembly. 3DoT board NOT included.
At Humans for Robots, we love building robots, and we have many many years of collective experience in doing so. We aim to build a community of people building their own robots in new and creative ways.
An open source FT2232H-based, multi-protocol, multi-voltage tool for hardware hacking
A fully open source dual-channel SDR Raspberry Pi HAT with a tuning range up to 6 GHz
An MCU + eFPGA dev kit with 100% vendor-supported open source tools that fits inside your USB port
