{"id":820,"date":"2020-02-15T12:06:07","date_gmt":"2020-02-15T17:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robotsbench.com\/?p=820"},"modified":"2022-03-14T12:02:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T17:02:48","slug":"building-the-geekcreit-diy-l298n-autonomous-robot-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/building-the-geekcreit-diy-l298n-autonomous-robot-car\/","title":{"rendered":"Building the Geekcreit\u00ae DIY L298N Autonomous Robot Car"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"affiliate-disclaimer\">I hope that the products recommended here will help you build great projects. Just so you know, if you buy through the links on this page on Amazon or Banggood (among others), RobotsBench may get a small share of the sale (as an Amazon affilate, I earn from qualifying purchases). This helps to keep the site alive and allow me to write more articles. Thank you!<\/div>\n<p>A few weeks ago while I was shopping on Banggood for new parts I wanted to try out, I came across this great robot kit from Geekcreit. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.banggood.com\/custlink\/DGGvQ2ollH\">Geekcreit\u00ae L298N 2WD Motor Ultrasonic Robot Car Kit<\/a> (Banggood) is based on an Arduino board and includes many parts I was looking to purchase separately such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Ultrasonic sensor<\/li><li>Standard motors<\/li><li>Motor driver board<\/li><li>Servo motors<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you would rather purchase from Amazon, I&#8217;m pretty sure <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3k8UREJ\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3k8UREJ\">this kit<\/a> is the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a low price point, it&#8217;s a fun project to experiment with to learn more about autonomous robots. The assembly requires a few tools and a bit of resourcefulness, but doable even for a beginner. It&#8217;s also cheap enough that you won&#8217;t feel bad if you make a few mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-849\" width=\"805\" height=\"603\" srcset=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 805px) 100vw, 805px\" \/><figcaption>The completed robot kit,  ready to go!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Assembling the Robot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To build the kit, you&#8217;ll also need a few of your own supplies to complete it, which are pretty common if you tinker with electronics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/best-soldering-iron-for-electronics-reviewed\/\">A soldering iron<\/a><\/li><li>A small star screwdriver; the kit includes one, but it&#8217;s hard to use with the smaller screws (<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2OF9AIO\">Amazon<\/a>)<\/li><li>Cutters and <a href=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/the-5-best-wire-strippers-for-electronics\/\">wire strippers<\/a><\/li><li>Jumper wires to link various boards to the Arduino;  20 cm (8 inches) should be enough  (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.banggood.com\/custlink\/KvvDn1PjwD\">Banggood<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/38hcsU0\">Amazon<\/a>)<\/li><li>A few lengths of 22 awg wire (or something close) for the motors (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.banggood.com\/custlink\/KmGDAur6jV\">Banggood<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2UFm07g\">Amazon<\/a>)<\/li><li>4 AA batteries to power the robot (<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2OV9YmP\">Amazon<\/a>) <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The PDF reference manual in the listing (there is a slight mistake in the listing, here is the correct link <a href=\"http:\/\/myosuploads3.banggood.com\/products\/20191215\/20191215200239robot-car-instructions.pdf\">http:\/\/myosuploads3.banggood.com\/products\/20191215\/20191215200239robot-car-instructions.pdf<\/a>) is pretty detailed with a lot of pictures. Just throw away the paper manual in the box that only describes the chassis assembly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The biggest hurdle is that the mounting holes for the electronics and sensors are not in the same place as in the reference manual. I used sticky Velco instead (<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/38hcVWg\">like this one on Amazon<\/a>) to hold everything in place and it worked just fine once it dried properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotVelcro-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-848\" width=\"615\" height=\"460\" srcset=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotVelcro-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotVelcro-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotVelcro-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotVelcro-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotVelcro-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><figcaption>Velcro holding the Arduino on the chassis. You can also see the motor drive board behind.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I also had a bit of trouble with the pins holding the motors to the chassis. Two of then were a bit too wide, so I broke when trying to remove it from the board because it won&#8217;t go all the way in. It still works since there is one on each side of the motor, if not as sturdy. If I do another one, I would sand it beforehand if it was too tight instead of trying to force it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotMotorPin-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-847\" width=\"618\" height=\"463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotMotorPin-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotMotorPin-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotMotorPin-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotMotorPin-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotMotorPin-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 618px) 100vw, 618px\" \/><figcaption>Not broken transparent pins properly screwed on each sides of the motor.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Expect to have some leftover parts at the end; it looks like they combined a few kits to build this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Programming the Robot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The complete code for the robot is in the manual, so you can program it with the Arduino IDE. If you&#8217;re flashed a LED before, it&#8217;s the same process: the included board is an Arduino Uno clone. The USB cable needed to program the robot is also included in the kit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the code is in a PDF and you need to convert it, there was a bit of work to convert it back to a usable form (I&#8217;m not publishing it here since there was no clear license included with the code). Just be careful with the minus signs in the code; you&#8217;ll need to write them out again since it&#8217;s not the right symbol. If you forget, the Arduino IDE will display a weird encoding error when you try to compile the code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Running the Robot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once it&#8217;s programmed, you just need to put batteries in and try it out! Switch it on and if everything works correctly, the robot will try each motor forward separately for a few seconds. You can then put it on the ground and it will start going around, scanning with the ultrasonic sensor.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If one of the motors is not spinning forward correctly, just reverse the wires on the motor driver board. Otherwise, if it&#8217;s not working, recheck all your connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekCreeitRobotVideo-1.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The autonomous navigation of the robot is not perfect since it can&#8217;t see very high or low, but it will avoid most obstacles at its height. You can then try to improve on the program yourself!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I hope that the products recommended here will help you build great projects. Just so you know, if you buy through the links on this page on Amazon or Banggood (among others), RobotsBench may get a small share of the sale (as an Amazon affilate, I earn from qualifying purchases). This helps to keep the &#8230; <a title=\"Building the Geekcreit\u00ae DIY L298N Autonomous Robot Car\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/building-the-geekcreit-diy-l298n-autonomous-robot-car\/\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Building the Geekcreit\u00ae DIY L298N Autonomous Robot Car<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":849,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"This is a writeup on how I built the robot kit Geekcreit\u00ae L298N 2WD Motor Ultrasonic Robot Car Kit from Banggood. It includes all the parts needed, from an Arduino to the frame and wheels.","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[87,94,108,109],"tags":[89,102,112,103,92,110,111],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-scaled.jpg",2560,1920,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-768x576.jpg",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-1024x768.jpg",1024,768,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-1536x1152.jpg",1536,1152,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-2048x1536.jpg",2048,1536,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable":"<p>I hope that the products recommended here will help you build great projects. Just so you know, if you buy through the links on this page on Amazon or Banggood (among others), RobotsBench may get a small share of the sale (as an Amazon affilate, I earn from qualifying purchases). This helps to keep the site alive and allow me to write more articles. Thank you! A few weeks ago while I was shopping on Banggood for new parts I wanted to try out, I came across this great robot kit from Geekcreit. The Geekcreit\u00ae L298N 2WD Motor Ultrasonic Robot&hellip;<\/p>\n","category_list":"<a href=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/category\/arduino\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Arduino<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/category\/featured\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Featured<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/category\/products\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Products<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/category\/robots\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Robots<\/a>","author_info":{"name":"Cindy","url":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/author\/cindyptn\/"},"comments_num":"0 comments","featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-scaled.jpg",2560,1920,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-768x576.jpg",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-1024x768.jpg",1024,768,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-1536x1152.jpg",1536,1152,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GeekcreitRobotComplete-2048x1536.jpg",2048,1536,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"<p>I hope that the products recommended here will help you build great projects. Just so you know, if you buy through the links on this page on Amazon or Banggood (among others), RobotsBench may get a small share of the sale (as an Amazon affilate, I earn from qualifying purchases). This helps to keep the site alive and allow me to write more articles. Thank you! A few weeks ago while I was shopping on Banggood for new parts I wanted to try out, I came across this great robot kit from Geekcreit. The Geekcreit\u00ae L298N 2WD Motor Ultrasonic Robot&hellip;<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"<a href=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/category\/arduino\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Arduino<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/category\/featured\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Featured<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/category\/products\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Products<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/category\/robots\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Robots<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Cindy","url":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/author\/cindyptn\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1049,"href":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions\/1049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robotsbench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}