Auto-assembled, not yet reviewed

ReallyUsefulRobot

James Bruton's ROS-driven mobile manipulator: differential base, vertical linear axis and a 4-servo arm.

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

Last push to XRobots/ReallyUsefulRobot: 2024-03-21 (GitHub, checked 2026-10-01).

Repository activity

Reproducibility57/100Early source coverage, unverifiedCADBOMWIREFWBUILDLICREPHow it is computed
ReallyUsefulRobot open-source 8-DoF mobile manipulator, 3D render from rur_detailed.xacro
main assembly 3D · rur_detailed.xacro

About ReallyUsefulRobot

ReallyUsefulRobot is an XRobots mobile service robot platform with a tall utility-stick body, differential wheel drive, lidar, onboard NVIDIA Xavier NX compute, Teensy 4.1 control, ODrive motor control and ROS Melodic packages. The source repository includes CAD and STEP guidance, printable STL-derived ROS and Gazebo meshes, detailed robot description files, and a README hardware section that names the main drive, sensing, compute, battery and belt components. Later commits added an arm and housing, a belt-driven vertical linear axis, an eye servo assembly and RealSense and Jetson vision; the repo was last updated in 2021.

Licenses

Hardware
MIT
Software
MIT
Docs
Not published

Degrees of freedom

8 DoF arm 4wheels 2eyeTilt 1linearAxis 1

Breakdown source

Differential driveMobile manipulatorsource

How to build ReallyUsefulRobot

5 steps

Steps marked Motari summary condense the linked source; follow the source for exact instructions. Upstream step marks a step taken from the linked guide.

  1. Export and print parts

    Load CAD/RUR_001.stp, the whole assembly as a single STEP file, into CAD software and export individual STLs. Print the tyres in TPU (Ninjaflex) and the rest in PLA.

    Motari summarygithub.com/XRobots/ReallyUsefulRobot/blob/main/CAD/RUR_001.stp

  2. Build the drivetrain

    Mount the 6374 BLDC motors and 8192 CPR encoders, run the Synchroflex T5 belts to the wheels, and wire the 56V ODrive 3.6.

    Motari summarygithub.com/XRobots/ReallyUsefulRobot/blob/main/CAD/RUR_001.stp

  3. Wire the electronics

    Connect the Teensy 4.1 to the ODrive on Serial1 and to the wheel encoders, add the RPLIDAR A2 and Xavier NX, and power from the 24V LiPo.

    Motari summarygithub.com/XRobots/ReallyUsefulRobot/blob/main/CAD/RUR_001.stp

  4. Flash the Teensy firmware

    Build the Arduino sketch with the repo's modified ROS Serial and ODrive Arduino libraries (Teensy 4.1 support, enlarged buffers).

    Upstream stepgithub.com/XRobots/ReallyUsefulRobot/blob/b3bb368838bafde819...

  5. Bring up ROS and navigate

    On the Xavier (ROS Melodic / Ubuntu 18.04) run rur_bringup.launch, build a map with gmapping, then run rur_navigation for autonomous navigation.

    Motari summarygithub.com/XRobots/ReallyUsefulRobot/blob/main/CAD/RUR_001.stp
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.

ReallyUsefulRobot bill of materials

10 rows

Cost to build

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

ReallyUsefulRobot parts, as the source lists them (read 2026-06-07). Prices are the source's, not checked against vendors.

ReallyUsefulRobot bill of materials
PartQtySpecSourceConfidence
ODrive 6374 150Kv BLDC motorsWheel drive motors from the ODrive store
26374 frame, 150 Kv BLDC
ODrive Roboticsprice not listedReallyUsefulRobot README.md lines 9-12
high
ODrive 8192 CPR encoders and cablesWheel encoder feedback hardware
28192 CPR encoder with cables
ODrive Roboticsprice not listedReallyUsefulRobot README.md lines 9-12
high
ODrive 3.6 motor controllerDual-axis BLDC motor controller
156V ODrive 3.6 running from 24V LiPo pack
ODrive Roboticsprice not listedReallyUsefulRobot README.md lines 9-12
high
Synchroflex T5 wheel-drive beltsWheel drive belt set with tensioners
2590 mm T5, 12 mm wide PU belts with steel tensioners
Synchroflexprice not listedReallyUsefulRobot README.md lines 9-13
high
Utility-stick drive beltTall body/utility-stick drive belt
1HTD 5 mm pitch, 15 mm wide, 1790 mm length belt
belt retailprice not listedReallyUsefulRobot README.md line 13
high
Teensy 4.1Real-time MCU for encoders, ODrive serial, odometry, and ROS serial bridge
1Teensy 4.1
PJRC / electronics retailprice not listedReallyUsefulRobot README.md lines 17-20 and 28-32
high
NVIDIA Xavier NXOnboard ROS Melodic compute platform
1NVIDIA Xavier NX running Ubuntu 18.04 / ROS Melodic
NVIDIA / retailprice not listedReallyUsefulRobot README.md lines 17-24
high
RPLIDAR A22D laser scanner publishing scan topic
1RPLIDAR A2
Slamtec / robotics retailprice not listedReallyUsefulRobot README.md lines 17-20 and 28-32
high
24V and 11.1V LiPo power systemMain and electronics batteries plus switches and wiring
124V and 11.1V LiPo packs, switches, wiring
battery/electronics retailprice not listedReallyUsefulRobot README.md lines 11 and 17-20
high
Printed structure and tyresPrintable mechanical parts and TPU tyres
1TPU tyres, PLA structure printed with 0.5 mm and 1.2 mm nozzles; CAD provided in STEP/STP
3D print yourself from source CAD/meshesprice not listedReallyUsefulRobot README.md lines 5-7 and ROS detailed meshes
high

Rows from the source's own parts list 4

README.md@b3bb368markdown

Source rowQtyPrice and vendorLine
ReallyUsefulRobot printable structure and tyres
source-listed print materials
XRobots/ReallyUsefulRobot READMEno price listed
L5
ReallyUsefulRobot drive hardware
source-listed drive components
XRobots/ReallyUsefulRobot READMEsource-listed unpriced
L9
ReallyUsefulRobot electronics stack
source-listed electronics components
XRobots/ReallyUsefulRobot READMEno price listed
L17
ReallyUsefulRobot control and ROS integration
source-described control stack
XRobots/ReallyUsefulRobot READMEno price listed
L28

ReallyUsefulRobot source files

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.

ReallyUsefulRobot in simulation

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

The 3D specimen on this page is converted from ROS/rur_detailed_description/urdf/rur_detailed.xacro at b3bb368.

Builds of ReallyUsefulRobot

0 reviewed

No reviewed builds of ReallyUsefulRobot 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 and provenance

Sources

Last push to XRobots/ReallyUsefulRobot: 2024-03-21 (checked 2026-10-01)

Related links

How this page was made

Assembled from public sources on 2026-06-04, 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: source-reviewed 2026-06-07.

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

Badge: reproducibility 57/100

Markdown
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HTML
<a href="https://motari.io/r/really-useful-robot"><img src="https://motari.io/api/v1/badge/really-useful-robot" alt="Motari reproducibility score for ReallyUsefulRobot" height="20"></a>

Not fully met yet: bom evidence (partial), wiring diagram, 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