In preparation for ROSCON, we wanted to review a budget-friendly robot anyone can purchase and set up. We selected the Yahboom Robot Arm Kit 6DOF for the following reasons:
• It supports ROS.
• It’s relatively inexpensive.
• Robot arms are cool!
(Note: Peppa Pig and Josh Allen are not included in the kit.)
Your DOFbot starts in this basic state, and Yahboom provides a YouTube tutorial to guide you through the assembly. However, there are a few inconsistencies, and the camera angles can make certain steps hard to follow. While this isn’t a deal-breaker, you might backtrack a few times. It’s also worth noting that the tutorial stops before showing you how to connect the power cord and turn the robot on.
Update: Yahboom has added assembly instructions and a YouTube video explaining the power connection since we wrote this. However, if you’re following the original tutorial, you’ll need to backtrack to find the power connection instructions.
Once your robot is assembled, you can control it using the iPhone app, which is an easy way to get the robot up and running quickly. We used the app for a while before diving into the rest of the tutorial. The ability to view the robot’s camera feed through the app is a nice touch.
The later tutorials guide you through Python, Docker, OpenCV, and ROS fundamentals. While the tutorials aren’t perfect—we had to use ChatGPT a few times to troubleshoot software typos or outdated instructions—they’re manageable with some persistence.
If you’re new to Python, you might want to follow a separate Python tutorial first. That said, the Yahboom tutorial does a great job of teaching you how to get Python to interface with the robot. They also offer AI tracking and grasping courses to introduce you to basic robot arm tasks.
In conclusion, the robot kit and the Raspberry Pi we used cost under $300. If you’re patient and persistent, the kit rewards you with a fully-featured ROS robot at a fantastic price point. However, if you’re a complete beginner, you might want to consider other options with clearer instructions.
