Personal robotics / 12 DOF

S.O.L.A.R. quadruped

A walking prototype with a printed chassis, integrated electronics, and solar charging. I designed the structure and component interfaces, assembled the hardware, and verified walking and charging.

Built, wired, and bench-tested

Repository and documentation
SOL-01Browser-controlled walking on the assembled 12-DOF prototype.
01

Mechanical design

Chassis and component layout

I designed the chassis and component interfaces in Fusion around the servo geometry and the space needed for the battery, electronics, camera, and twin solar panels. PLA-CF frame components carry the hardware; TPU feet add grip and compliance.

Fusion CAD assembly of the S.O.L.A.R. quadruped showing its 12 servo joints, controller, battery enclosure, and two solar panels.
SOL-02Fusion assembly showing the 12-servo mechanism and integrated electronics beneath two solar panels.
02

Physical integration

Twelve servos, camera, power, and charging

I assembled and wired the controller, sensing, servo, and charging hardware. A close-up of the build shows how these components fit around the printed structure.

Actuation

The PCA9685 drives 12 servo channels, with three MG90S metal-gear servos per leg.

Control

The ESP32-CAM handles the camera and connects to the servo driver and MPU-6050 over I2C.

Power

Two 5 V 1 W panels feed a 2S solar charger and 7.4 V LiPo battery; a 5 V 5 A BEC supplies the controller and servo rail.

S.O.L.A.R. hardware close-up showing the ESP32-CAM, printed component interfaces, servo wiring, battery enclosure, connectors, and solar panels.
SOL-03Integrated ESP32-CAM, printed interfaces, servo wiring, battery enclosure, connectors, and solar panels.
03

Bench testing

Walking and solar charging

I verified each servo channel and its calibration mapping, demonstrated browser-controlled walking, and confirmed solar-panel charging with a multimeter.

S.O.L.A.R. prototype beside a multimeter during solar power testing.
SOL-04Solar and wiring validation with a multimeter.