0-PL975 3pi Robot <p><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Pololu 3pi robot is a complete, high-performance mobile platform featuring two micro metal gearmotors, five reflectance sensors, an 8&times;2 character LCD, a buzzer, and three user pushbuttons, all connected to a C-programmable ATmega168 microcontroller. Capable of speeds exceeding 3 feet per second, 3pi is a great first robot for ambitious beginners and a perfect second robot for those looking to move up from non-programmable or slower beginner robots.</font></p>
<p><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The 3pi robot is designed to excel in line-following and maze-solving competitions. It has a small size and takes just four AAA cells (not included), while a unique power system runs the motors at a constant 9.25V independent of the battery charge level. The regulated voltage allows the 3pi to reach speeds up to 100 cm/second while making precise turns and spins that don&rsquo;t vary with the battery voltage. </font>
</p>
<p><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The 3pi robot makes a great platform for people with C programming experience to learn robotics, and it is a fun environment for ambitious beginners to learn C programming. At its heart is an Atmel ATmega168 microcontroller running at 20 MHz with 16KB of flash program memory and 1KB data memory, enough space to run complicated programs. An extra 512 bytes of persistent flash memory is provided on the microcontroller for data logging or long-term learning applications. The popular, free GNU C/C++ compiler works perfectly with the 3pi, Atmel's AVR Studio provides a comfortable development environment, and an extensive set of libraries provided by Pololu makes it a breeze to interface with all of the integrated hardware. The 3pi is also compatible with the popular Arduino development platform. We provide a number of sample programs to show how to use the various 3pi components, as well as how to perform more complex behaviors such as line following and maze solving.</font></p>
<p><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">An external AVR ISP programmer, such as our <a href="0-PL1300.html">USB AVR Programmer</a> or the <a href="0-PL740.html">Orangutan USB Programmer</a> is required to program the 3pi.</font></p>
<table width="100%" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><font color="cccccc" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Specs</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Processor</font></td>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">ATmega168</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Motor Driver </font></td>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">TB6612FNG</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Motor Channels </font></td>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">User I/O Lines </font></td>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Minimum Operating Voltage </font></td>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3V</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Maximum Operating Voltage </font></td>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">7V</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Maximum PWM Frequency </font></td>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">80 kHz </font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Reverse Voltage Protection? </font></td>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yes</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">External Programmer Required </font></td>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yes</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Diameter</font></td>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3.7in.</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Weight</font></td>
<td><font color="00ff66" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2.9 oz. </font></td>
</tr>
</table>

Introducing the 3pi Robot:

Line Solving Robot:

Required Accessories
An external AVR ISP programmer such as our Orangutan USB programmer is required to program the 3pi. The 3pi is powered by 4 AAA batteries, which are not included. We recommend rechargeable NiMH cells.