Watney Is a Low-Cost Raspberry Pi Telepresence Rover Robot

Go head over to Google and check out the prices of telepresence robots. While they have certainly become less expensive over the years, they definitely still aren’t cheap. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be affordable if you’re willing to put some work in and build it yourself. If so, there is a great open source design called Watney, which is a low-cost 3D-printable FPV (First-Person View) telepresence rover robot based on a Raspberry Pi.

Every part on this robot that isn’t electronic can be 3D-printed. Most of the parts can be printed with whatever material you prefer, but you will need some flexible TPU filament for the tires. TPU, along with most other flexible filament types, are notoriously difficult to print, so take your time with those parts. All of the electronic components are inexpensive and easy to find online. Those include a Raspberry Pi, an HD camera, drive motors, a servo for camera tilt, and more. There is also wireless charging, which should help you keep the battery topped off even when you’re not at home.

The provided software is designed for headless use, and the Raspberry Pi will automatically create its own WiFi hotspot on first boot. You can then connect to that to control the robot and see the video feed. Ideally, you’ll then enter the credentials for your WiFi network so you can control the robot through that. You can also setup remote access so you can control the robot from anywhere, though you should pay careful attention to setting up security. Once you’re done, you’ll have a capable telepresence robot. There are also future improvements planned that you can integrate as they become available.