ElectronBot open-source 6-DoF upper-body humanoid robot, 3D render from ElectronBot.step

Dormant. No upstream changes for two years or more. It may still build, but parts, firmware and docs may have drifted.

Lifecycle source

ElectronBot

EVE-inspired mini desktop robot: 6 DoF, round USB display face, STM32 and feedback servos.

Start the build

What it is

ElectronBot is Peng Zhihui's mini desktop robot, styled after EVE from WALL-E, that shows images streamed over USB on its round screen. It has 6 DoF (roll and pitch on each arm, plus neck and waist), driven by small hobby servos rebuilt with a custom STM32F0 ServoDrive board for I2C control and angle feedback, with the GC9A01 screen and a USB3300 USB-HS PHY on an STM32F405 head board, a gesture sensor, an MPU6050 and a USB camera. The repo contains the STEP assembly (the Fusion 360 source is shared off-repo), Altium Designer schematics and PCBs with Gerbers for five boards, STM32 firmware, a Windows SDK and the Unity ElectronBot-Studio app, all under the root GPL-3.0 LICENSE. No BOM or kit total is published; the README only names some bearings and screws and recommends HP nylon printing. Development is dormant: no upstream hardware or firmware changes since 2022 (last design change 2022-08-13); the 2025 pushes only edited a README link.

Licenses

Hardware
GPL-3.0
Software
GPL-3.0
Docs
Not published

Degrees of freedom

6 DoF arms 4neck 1waist 1

Breakdown source

Humanoid upper bodyDesktop companionsource

Auto-assembled, not yet reviewed

Source record

Source
9.5k stars, last push 2025-02-08
HW license
GPL-3.0
Cost
not published
Lifecycle
Dormant
Engine
v3.1.1
Checked
not recorded
Model
ElectronBot.step@8199270rendered 2026-10-02
Envelope
70 × 113 × 60 mmas modelled, default pose

Maintain ElectronBot? Claim this page to correct it.

Parts and cost

8 rows

Cost to build

The sources do not publish a cost total. The rows below are what they list, without a sum.

ElectronBot parts, as the source lists them. Prices are the source's, not checked against vendors.

ElectronBot bill of materials
PartQtySpecSourceConfidence
Modified hobby servo with angle feedbackOne per joint: roll and pitch on each arm, the neck and the waist; each is rebuilt with a ServoDrive board. Upstream names no servo model; the small 3 g servo loses its cover and needs M1x10 mm screws.
6RC servo rebuilt for I2C control and potentiometer angle feedback
not named upstreamprice not listedElectronBot README.md lines 25, 47 and 178
high
ServoDrive servo driver boardReplaces each modified servo's own driver board and talks I2C to the SensorBoard and head board, so one per servo; a ServoDrive-DK variant with connectors is for debugging.
6STM32F042P6 MCU and FM116B motor driver; Altium sources and Gerbers in 1.Hardware
PCB fab of choiceprice not listedElectronBot README.md lines 72, 74, 167 and 176
med
ElectronBot head boardMain controller in the head; drives the round screen and the servos over USB-CDC and I2C.
1STM32F405RGT6, GC9A01 round screen, USB3300 USB-HS PHY, SD card
PCB fab of choiceprice not listedElectronBot README.md line 68
high
SensorBoardSensor board in the body; the USB camera is soldered to it.
1Gesture sensor, 1-to-4 USB hub chip, MPU6050, five I2C servo ports
PCB fab of choiceprice not listedElectronBot README.md lines 69 and 188 to 190
high
BaseConnector boardUSB Type-C socket in the base, joined to the SensorBoard by an 8-pin flexible flat cable because the body rotates.
1USB Type-C, 8-pin FFC
PCB fab of choiceprice not listedElectronBot README.md line 71
high
USB cameraUpstream links the small USB camera it used on Taobao; any USB camera that fits can be taken apart and soldered to the SensorBoard.
1Small USB camera module
Taobao listing linked in the READMEprice not listedElectronBot README.md lines 182 to 188
med
Watch crystal for the faceThe clear face cover is a watch crystal (upstream searched Taobao for one).
131.5 mm diameter
any watch-crystal sellerprice not listedElectronBot README.md line 145
high
3D-printed structural partsUpstream printed them and recommends HP nylon (MJF) because the parts include fine gears; FDM may lack precision and LCD resin parts lack strength.
1Printed body set from 4.CAD-Model/ElectronBot.step
Print service of choice (upstream suggests JLC 3D)about CNY 200 to 300 for the set, the project's estimateElectronBot README.md line 128
med

Rows from the source's own parts list 9

README.md@8199270markdown

Source rowQtyPrice and vendorLine
Modified servos: 6 degrees of freedom (arm roll and pitch, neck, waist)
6
vendor not listedno price listed
L25
6 servos
6
vendor not listedno price listed
L47
ServoDrive board, replaces each modified servo's driver board
vendor not listedno price listed
L72
ElectronBot head board
1
vendor not listedno price listed
L68
SensorBoard
1
vendor not listedno price listed
L69
BaseConnector board
1
vendor not listedno price listed
L71
USB camera
1
item.taobao.comno price listed
L182
Watch crystal, 31.5 mm
1
Taobaono price listed
L145

1 more rows in README.md

How to build

6 steps

Upstream step marks a step taken from the linked guide.

  1. Print the structure

    Upstream 3D-printed the structure and recommends HP nylon (for example through JLC's 3D printing service), because FDM may lack the precision the gears need and LCD resin parts may be too weak. The storage box can be FDM-printed at 5% infill.

    Upstream stepgithub.com/peng-zhihui/ElectronBot/blob/819927015323181a9a10...

  2. Fabricate the boards

    Order the ElectronBot head board, SensorBoard, BaseConnector and ServoDrive boards from the Gerber files (Altium Designer sources included); ServoDrive-DK is a connectorized ServoDrive for debugging.

    Upstream stepgithub.com/peng-zhihui/ElectronBot/blob/819927015323181a9a10...

  3. Modify the servos

    Replace each servo's driver board with a ServoDrive board, which reads the potentiometer by ADC for angle feedback. Swap the motor leads if the loop does not close; the small 3 g servos lose their back cover and are held with M1x10 mm screws.

    Upstream stepgithub.com/peng-zhihui/ElectronBot/blob/819927015323181a9a10...

  4. Flash firmware and set up the servos

    Flash ServoDrive-fw (or the smaller LL build) through the board's three SH1.0 contacts with a J-Link or ST-Link, and ElectronBot-fw to the STM32F405 head board. A freshly flashed servo only answers I2C broadcast address 0 until it has an ID; debug the six servos one at a time before running them together.

    Upstream stepgithub.com/peng-zhihui/ElectronBot/blob/819927015323181a9a10...

  5. Assemble

    Upstream does not publish a step-by-step guide; the README points to community Bilibili assembly videos. Its notes: some servo mounting brackets must be trimmed to fit, hot glue can hold parts if screws do not bite, and the arm pushrods run smoother sanded and greased.

    Upstream stepgithub.com/peng-zhihui/ElectronBot/blob/819927015323181a9a10...

  6. Install the driver and SDK

    Install the BotDriver USB driver on Windows (driver signature enforcement must be disabled), then drive the robot from the SDK sample or the Unity ElectronBot-Studio app.

    Upstream stepgithub.com/peng-zhihui/ElectronBot/blob/819927015323181a9a10...
Print timenot published
Assembly timenot published

Wiring, power and firmware are safety-relevant and shown for reference only. Check them against the source before building.

How reproducible

How confidently this design builds into a working robot, from what its sources publish: each criterion's points, quality tier and evidence.

63/100Partial source coverage, unverified

Engine v3.1.1 at 8199270

  • The engine found no joint model or stated figure to count degrees of freedom from.
  • The engine could not tell what kind of robot this is from its sources.
How this score is computed

Files and sim

14 files

Files stay in the upstream repository under their own licenses; these links open them there. The 3D model on this page is Motari's conversion of the file named under Simulation.

Simulation

Robot description files a simulator or CAD tool can load, linked at the commit they were found.

No URDF, MJCF, SDF, USD or Onshape model has been found in the sources.

The 3D specimen on this page is converted from 4.CAD-Model/ElectronBot.step at 8199270.

Builds

0 reviewed

No reviewed builds of ElectronBot yet.

A build log records the evidence (photos, a video, your repository), what the build cost, how long it took and what you changed. Each one is checked by Motari (until a maintainer claims this page) before it shows here, and reviewed builds count toward the reproducibility score.

Sources

Where the facts come from

Last push to peng-zhihui/ElectronBot: 2025-02-08 (checked 2026-10-02)

Related links

How this page was made

Assembled from public sources on 2026-09-30, not yet reviewed by the maintainer. Each figure links to where it is stated; a value the sources do not state reads "not published". Last source review: 2026-09-30 peng-zhihui/ElectronBot@8199270 README, LICENSE, tree.

Original files stay intact and separately licensed; Motari adds only the summary on this page. Maintainer? Request a correction or removal.

Badge for the README

Maintain ElectronBot? Show its reproducibility score in the project's README. The badge links back to this page and updates with the score.

Badge: reproducibility 63/100

Markdown
[![Motari reproducibility score for ElectronBot](https://motari.io/api/v1/badge/electronbot)](https://motari.io/r/electronbot)
HTML
<a href="https://motari.io/r/electronbot"><img src="https://motari.io/api/v1/badge/electronbot" alt="Motari reproducibility score for ElectronBot" height="20"></a>

Not fully met yet: bom evidence, build instructions (partial). The score is read from the project's own sources, so publishing what is missing is what raises it. A score of 90 or more needs a reviewed build. How the score is computed