Hack-E-Bot is a low price and open source robot that hopes to encourage children to learn about engineering, electronics, and programming.

Hack-E-Bot started as a challenge to see if it was possible to create a scalable robotics platform for under $50. This challenge also required that no special tools would be required and that it would be easy of people to build. As the project progressed, it was quickly apparent that making a cheap, scalable, and easy to understand robotics kit would make for a good educational tool. RaaSIO is an organisation the is already advancing the delivery and implementation of STEM path education through their many established programs including educational robotics. Working with them, Hack-E-Bot quickly became focused on providing an inspirational tool for education with the idea that every child should be able to have their own robot to hack any time, not just while they are at school.

The low price and ease of use of the Hack-E-Bot fit right in with the clear and easy to implement tools that RaaSIO is already using to empower educators who want to get onboard with STEM path. Together we have run workshops, participated in hackathons, and taken every opportunity to see how people learn with Hack-E-Bot. The result of our work has been a robotics platform that sparks the imagination of children and an easy to follow and relevant curriculum to get educators started.

While all Hack-E-Bots are the same, you can always add more sensors and functions to your Hack-E-Bot as you go along.

The Robot

The basic Hack-E-Bot comes with a Sonar sensor to get you started by making a robot that can avoid objects. This is called obstetrical avoidance and your robot will use the included Sonar Rangefinder to “see” objects that are in its way.

Add-on Sensors

Get an extra Sonar sensor to let your robot see twice as much as it did before. This sensor can also be used to see the edge of a table as well as a wall.

Watch Hack-E-Bot’s sonar sensor detect walls

The Line Trace sensor is the first step to making a robot that will follow the path of a line. The robot can see your black line by using some Light Sensors that can tell the difference between something that is black or white. You can also use this sensor to detect the edge of a table or follow light from above.

Watch Hack-E-Bot’s with line sensors at work!

both of these sensors can be added-on to your Hack-E-Bot pledge by using the drop down menus on the right.

Other add-ons that are coming soon

Bump Sensors can let your Hack-E-Bot know if it has hit an object so that it can back up and turn around.

With a Buzzer, your Hack-E-Bot can make a sound to let you know what it is doing.

Colored Lights will only really add a bit of fabulousness to your Hack-E-Bot, but it is still kinda cool.

The Claw can allow your robot to hold onto object and move them around.

A Servo Scanner kit will attach to the front of your robot so it can look around while moving.

Magnetic compass can be used to help your robot drive straight and make more accurate turns.

The Rechargeable battery pack replaces the 4 AA batteries with a Lithium Ion power pack.

The Hack-E-Bot kit

Hardware-only DIY Kit

Included parts:

Two FS90R continuous rotation micro servos

One 4 AA battery box with on/off switch

One 270-point breadboard

One ball caster with 1/2" metal ball

Six color-coded wires with pre-crimped terminals

Six male crimp pins for 0.1" (2.54mm) housings

Twelve 1x1-pin 0.1" (2.54mm) crimp connector housings

One 1x4-pin 0.1" (2.54mm) crimp connector housings

One 1" piece of 1/8" heat shrink tubing

One 1" piece of 1/4" heat shrink tubing

Two machine screws: #2-56, 5/16" length, Phillips head

Two machine hex nuts: #2-56

Two black zip ties

Two black rubber tire tubes

One HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor

Hardware + Controller DIY Kit

Included parts:

Everything in the Hardware-only DIY Kit

One micro USB cable

One Adafruit Trinket Pro 5V Arduino

Hardware + Controller + Chassis DIY Kit

Included parts:

Everything in the Hardware + Controller DIY Kit

One full chassis cut from 1/8" thick Acrylic

The Basic Hack-E-Bot colors. A wider variety of colors are available for the Special Hack-E-Bots.

More about the ‘Get One, Give One Hack-E-Bot’ pledge

We want to make it easy for all kids to learn about robotics and one way you can really help us is by donating a robot to a child. When you pledge to the Get a Bot, Give a Bot reword level, we will give a Hack-E-Bot to a student enrolled in one of RaaSIO’s robotics education programs. RaaSIO is already working with many groups like the Seattle Public Library, and United Way to provide robotics education using the Lego Mindstorm platform. The Hack-E-Bots that are donated will go to a group of students that will be part of our pilot program for Arduino based robotics. As part of this program, each child will post progress reports on the Hack-E-Bot website to let others know how much they are learning. You can keep up to date on how you have helped with weekly or monthly newsletters that can be sent via email.

Product Specifications

The Hack-E-Bot chassis is typically made of laser cut Acrylic, but we do plan to move to ABS plastic as soon as possible.

A set of 360 full rotation servos are included and wired to common power and ground wires.

Power is supplied by 4 AA batteries in a holder with a power switch.

The lower part of the chassis has a small trackball wheel attached to keep the robot level while moving forward.

Two wheels attach to the servos and are secured with two small screws, the only screws needed for the basic kit.

Traction tires are installed on each wheel of the robot.

Zip-ties are included to secure the servos to the chassis base.

Vertical spacers snap into place with no screws needed.

The top chassis plate is pre-wired for a Sonar sensor and has a breadboard ready to accommodate any microcontroller you choose for the robot’s brain.

An Arduino based microcontroller is included to get you started.

All wires are color coded and have header pins installed so that they can be easily plugged into the breadboard.

The Hack-E-Bot website provides detailed instructions on how to build the robot and get you started with programming the bot using the Arduino IDE.

One thing that was very important to the design of Hack-E-Bot was to use parts that can be made at any makerspace as well as purchased in small numbers at most electronic supplies like Adafruit, SparkFun, or Pololu. This means that anyone can build a Hack-E-Bot from scratch if they want to. All of the parts that make up the chassis are open source and available in formats suitable for laser cutting, 3D printing, and for most CNC machines. The only request that we make of people who wish to modify the chassis is that the expansion cutouts be left so that any Hack-E-Bot sensor would be able to still work on a variant design.

The Hack-E-Bot chassis parts are cut from colored Acrylic on a laser cutter. This allows us to manufacture the kits at a low price for the quantities that we are doing now. Ideally we will be manufacturing the parts in ABS Plastics and we are already working with some companies that can help us with this, but it will mean placing bulk orders in the tens of thousands or more to do this without driving the price up. Before that happens, we will be working with a prototyping CNC Mill and see about other low run manufacturing methods. As for the electronics, we already have a relationship established with suppliers to provide the components at bulk discounts.

The primary chip set that we are focusing on for the educational curriculum is Arduino. With such a supportive community and dedication to education, the Arduino platform is really a perfect match for this platform.

Each Hack-E-Bot Kit includes the following:

All parts needed to assemble the chassis.

2 Zip-ties to secure the servos and 2 more for spares.

One set of pre-wired FeeTech FS90R continuous rotation servos (Data Sheet).

Battery box with a power switch for 4 AA batteries.

One HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor (Data Sheet).

The Adafruit Pro Trinket with 5v logic (Data Sheets).

Micro USB cable for programming.

Information on accessing the information website.

Watch the special edition S.T.E.A.M. bot in motion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is this a robot I can use in a robotics competition?

A:The Hack-E-Bot bot is designed more to be an easy to build 1st robot so has no real means of accurately tracking its wheel rotation. Tracking wheel rotation is a critical task that allows competition robots to perform so well.

Q: What do I get in a $45 kit?

A: This is a complete robot and it includes the chassis, wheels, servos, battery box, batteries, wires, small Arduino compatible micro-controller, USB cable, and a sonar sensor.

Q: What type of control chip does the Hack-E-Bot use?

A: Each kit comes with a breadboard friendly Adafruit Pro Trinket that uses the Attiny328P Arduino chip with built-in USB programming.

Q: Can I get a Hack-E-Bot with a bigger chip?

A: The Hack-E-Bot has no integrated parts, so you can put any chip you want on it. It does help if it fits the breadboard though.