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ELECTRONBOT - A TINY EVE-INSPIRED DESKTOP ROBOT WITH A SCREEN FOR A FACE

Six-axis robot with a screen for a face, and all the design files to build one yourself.

by Zhihui Peng (稚晖)

FULL CAD BOM FIRMWARE DOCS

RoboticsOpen-hardware

Built withSTM323D printing

difficulty
●●●●●
time
a full week
license
GPL-3.0
repo
repo ACTIVE9,520 stars

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Videos
1
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COMPAREE VERDICT

ElectronBot is the desktop robot every WALL-E fan wanted — six degrees of freedom, a round LCD face that plays video over USB, and the satisfying feel of a real machine. The engineering is excellent: servos rebuilt with a tiny custom driver board that reads each servo's potentiometer for angle feedback over I2C, a head board with an STM32F405 and USB-HS PHY, a sensor board with a USB hub, and a Unity-based SDK so you can write apps that make it react to your desktop. The problem is that this is not a kit and the repo is not a step-by-step tutorial. You will fabricate PCBs with tiny passives, open up and rebuild six servos (the smallest has to lose its cover to fit the board), and debug several boards over I2C. The mechanical tolerances are tight — the creator recommends nylon (MJF) printing over FDM because of the small gears. If you have built a custom keyboard or a drone from scratch, you have the skills. If you have not, this will eat a month. The one thing most likely to go wrong: servo bus communication — the creator warns to bring up and test one servo at a time.

GOOD TO KNOW

  • —Altium sources and ready Gerbers for all boards (head mainboard, SensorBoard, BaseConnector, ServoDrive for each servo plus a debug version), STM32 firmware, the Unity SDK and full mechanical CAD (STEP and Fusion 360).
  • —No assembly guide — the README lists steps but assumes you know how to order PCBs and solder 0402 parts.
  • —Each servo's original driver board is replaced with a tiny custom ServoDrive PCB that reads the servo's potentiometer for joint feedback and talks I2C; no kit exists.
  • —No separate BOM file - component values come from the Altium schematics; the README names key parts (STM32F405, GC9A01, USB3300, bearings, screws).
  • —GPL-3.0 license permits commercial use with source disclosure.
  • —9,400+ stars; the main README is Chinese with an English translation (enREADME.md) in the repo.

Parts to buy

10 items

From our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.

  • Custom PCBs (Gerbers provided)from the repo files
  • Six small servos to rebuildFind
  • STM32F405 and STM32F042 MCUsFind
  • USB3300 PHYFind
  • GC9A01 round LCDFind
  • USB cameraFind
  • 6x10x3 and 25x32x4 mm bearingsFind
  • M2x25 screwsFind
  • 31.5 mm watch crystalFind
  • ConnectorsFind

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Can I build this?

PrintFull body shell, arms, neck joint, base — the creator recommends HP nylon (MJF) printing, about 200-300 yuan, because FDM may not be precise enough for the gears
BuyCustom PCBs (Gerbers provided), six small servos to rebuild, STM32F405 and STM32F042 MCUs, USB3300 PHY, GC9A01 round LCD, USB camera, 6x10x3 and 25x32x4 mm bearings, M2x25 screws, 31.5 mm watch crystal, connectors
ToolsAltium Viewer or KiCad converter, PCB fab account, soldering iron, hot air station, hex drivers, servo disassembly tools, multimeter, logic analyzer helpful for USB debug
SkillsPCB assembly with tiny SMD parts, rebuilding servos with a custom driver board, STM32 firmware flashing (SWD pads), mechanical fit tuning, USB troubleshooting — this is an advanced build
TimeOne week if you have done similar robot builds; two weeks if this is your first multi-board custom robot; longer if you hit servo or USB issues
CostHigh, driven by fabricating the head, sensor and base boards plus six ServoDrive boards, six servos to modify, the round LCD and the nylon prints
SafetyNone beyond ordinary electronics care — low-voltage servos and USB power only.

Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.

Videos

Creator video, mostly in Chinese

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Gallery

Start here

Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.

  1. 1.Read the README end-to-end (Most instructions are in Chinese — use machine translation)
  2. 2.Send the ready-made Gerbers from the Hardware folder to a PCB fab(Boards: the head mainboard, the SensorBoard, the BaseConnector, and one tiny ServoDrive board per servo (six), plus a ServoDrive-DK version for debugging)
  3. 3.Order PCBs and compare the BOM against what you can source(There is no BOM file - pull the parts list from the Altium schematics)
  4. 4.Print the mechanical parts and test fit before modifying servos(The creator recommends HP nylon (MJF) prints because FDM may not be precise enough for the gears)

Resources

Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.

KNOWN ISSUES

  • There is no separate BOM file - you read component values off the Altium schematics, so plan time for that before ordering.
  • Servo modification is not reversible - you replace each servo's driver board with a ServoDrive PCB, and the smallest servo has to lose its cover to fit. Break a gear or the potentiometer while doing it and that servo is scrap.
  • The main README is in Chinese; there is an English version (enREADME.md), but some linked tutorials and errata are on Bilibili in Chinese.
  • The USB-HS link to the screen is the first thing to bring up: the repo includes a separate USB display test project with precompiled firmware - flash it to the STM32F4, run Sample.exe on the PC, and the screen should play the test video before you add the servos.
  • There is no written step-by-step manual — assembly is covered by community video tutorials on Bilibili (in Chinese) linked from the README, and it assumes you have built multi-board robots before.
  • Printed parts need fitting: the README advises lightly sanding and greasing the arm push rods, trimming some servo mounting tabs, and using hot glue if screws do not hold in brittle prints.

Is there a kit or pre-made PCB set?

No kit from the creator. The repo has Altium sources and ready Gerbers to send to a PCB fab; you source and solder all parts yourself.

Which servos do I need?

The README does not name exact servo models. It describes standard potentiometer-feedback RC servos, including a small 3 g one that has to lose its cover (then held with M1x10 screws) to fit the custom driver board, and notes some servo mounting tabs must be cut short to fit the body. Check the CAD model for dimensions before buying six.

Can I skip the servo modification?

No. The joint-angle feedback is what makes the motion smooth and the robot controllable. Without it, you have six blind servos.

Will the Unity SDK work on Linux?

Not officially. The SDK and ElectronStudio are built for Windows (CLion with MSVC), and the robot's USB driver is installed through Windows Device Manager with driver signature enforcement disabled. Linux would mean porting the SDK yourself.

Community builds

No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.

Discussion1

FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM

About 9,500 stars and the assembly knowledge is spread across the README and community tutorials, so this is a build for people who have done hard ones before. What would worry you most: the servo rebuild, the PCB bring-up, or the USB video stream?

CompareeTEAM2mo agoedited

Practical notes from our verification: the repo is live and contains Altium sources and ready Gerbers for the head board, sensor board, base connector and ServoDrive boards, STM32 firmware, a Unity SDK and mechanical CAD. There is an English README (enREADME.md), and the README links community installation tutorials on Bilibili. The creator's video shows the robot in motion. The single biggest trap is the servo rebuild: each of the six servos gets a custom ServoDrive board that reads the servo's own potentiometer, so you disassemble and reassemble them without breaking the plastic gears. The creator also says FDM printing may not be precise enough for the gears and recommends HP nylon prints. If you have never opened a servo, practise on a spare first. Correction (4 October 2026): we re-checked this page line by line against the project's own repository, documentation and videos, and fixed errors in earlier versions.

Zhihui Peng (稚晖)

Zhihui Peng is a hardware engineer known for compact, high-integration open-source robots and dev boards. ElectronBot was designed as a desktop companion that could react to the user's screen and expressions, not just wave randomly.

GitHub

Star the project on GitHub

DISCLAIMER

  • Comparee is not the author of the projects featured here. All rights to each project belong to its creator — every page links to the original source, and we never host creators’ files.
  • Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
  • Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
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