World Robot Olympiad
The world's first fully custom robot platform in the competition, engineered from ESP32 and Teensy 4.1 microcontrollers, dead-wheel odometry with encoders, LiPo battery voltage regulation, camera-based object detection and pneumatics. The robot qualified for the WRO National Championship in Montreal, then the WRO Americas Championship in California.
- Timeline
- 2026
- Status
- Completed
- Team
- PiThons
- Role
- Mechanical designElectrical integrationEmbedded programming (ESP32 / Teensy 4.1)Odometry system design
Technologies
Recognition
- 2026
Qualified — WRO National Championship
World Robot Olympiad, Montreal
- 2026
Qualified — WRO Americas Championship
World Robot Olympiad, California
Advanced after the WRO National Championship in Montreal.
01
Overview
A fully custom mobile robot for the World Robot Olympiad, engineered from the ground up rather than built from a LEGO kit. An ESP32 and Teensy 4.1 handle the real-time and embedded work, and inertial measurement units and camera-based object detection provide the sensing — with pneumatics for actuation.
A key part of the build is a one-axis deadwheel odometry system: an unpowered tracking wheel that measures how far the robot has actually travelled, so its position and orientation can be estimated from its own motion rather than from wheel slip.
02
Electronics
Off-the-shelf parts, custom integration.
- Microcontrollers
- ESP32 + Teensy 4.1
- Inertial sensing
- Inertial measurement units (IMU)
- Vision
- Camera-based object detection
- Odometry
- One-axis dead wheel (with IMU)
- Actuators
- 4 motors, 1 compressor, 3 pistons
- Power
- 4S LiPo with voltage regulation
03
Deadwheel Odometry
The robot calculates its x and y position and heading angle using a combination of one unpowered tracking wheel and an inertial measurement unit (IMU).
04
Mechanical Design
Parts were 3D printed in the best orientations to ensure rigidity. Parts were assembled using a combination of super glue and heat-set inserts.
05
Testing
06