If you’re a maker, then you’ve probably at least considered building yourself a robot. But, if you haven’t built one yet, it’s likely because you feel overwhelmed by the difficulty and cost. Fortunately, a simple RC-controlled robot isn’t as difficult as you’d think — debates about whether that counts as a “real” robot not withstanding. In YouTuber Ivan Miranda’s most recent video, he demonstrates how you can build such a robot with just a few inexpensive parts and a couple of hours of work.

Miranda’s focus tends to be on 3D-printed RC vehicles, and you may remember him from his RC tanks that we’ve featured in the past. His newest RC robot is similar, but on a much smaller scale. It’s the kind of design you could replicate fairly easily in order to build your first robot. All of the mechanical parts are 3D-printed, and are small enough to fabricate on just about any printer. The electronic components are all inexpensive, and should only cost about $30 (plus the cost of the RC transmitter and camera).

Those components are: five small hobby servos, an RC receiver, a battery, and a voltage regulator. The four servos that drive the wheels are modified for continuous rotation, and the fifth servo pans the camera. In this case, that camera is an inexpensive GoPro knockoff. As Miranda shows, the wiring for this little robot is simple enough that anyone could handle it. And, controlling it is as easy as driving an RC car. While this project may not be cutting edge, it does a great job of illustrating that anyone can build their own robot.