OpenBot is a robotics platform that turns smartphones into robot brains for low-cost autonomous vehicles.
The platform addresses the barrier to robotics education and research by repurposing smartphones as the computational core of a small electric robot body that can be assembled for minimal cost. The approach combines an Arduino-based firmware layer that controls motors and sensors with an Android software stack running on the smartphone. This architecture enables the device to perform advanced tasks including person following and real-time autonomous navigation by leveraging the smartphone's processing power, camera, and sensors.
The project suits educators, hobbyists, and researchers who want to experiment with robotics without significant hardware investment. It works well for learning autonomous navigation, computer vision, and robot control, or as a platform for prototyping new robotics algorithms. The modular design allows users to build the robot body from the provided specifications, flash custom firmware, and either drive it manually via a controller or train custom driving policies using the included tools.
Development activity shows consistent engagement with pull requests and issues being actively addressed. The project maintains a build pipeline that validates changes automatically. The codebase spans multiple components including Android applications, Arduino firmware, and policy training tools, indicating sustained work across the full stack. Documentation is available in multiple languages, reflecting effort to make the platform accessible to a broad audience.
