For TEDx Copenhagen 2019, MAKESOME was contacted about building a trash can. Not just any ordinary waste bin, however, but one that would fit in with their theme of “expect the unexpected” by driving around and being rude to participants. From the video, the bot looks like it was a great success, and something that caught attendees off guard with its “in your face” attitude.

Mechanically, the base of the device is an omniwheel robot, which moves in any direction under the power of four DC gearmotors. An Arduino Uno is the brains of the project, with user interface provided by a PlayStation gamepad over Bluetooth. A Nano takes controls motors, while an MP3 module, amp, and speakers allow it to conversate and joke around while receiving their refuse.

The robot is built around an Arduino Uno used as the main controller and an Arduino Nano for the motor control. Commucation is via an USB Host Shield and a Bluetooth dongle. 2 MDD10A 2.0 motorcontrollers were used to control the 4 JGB37-550 motors. The mp3 player is a Serial mp3 player v1.0 and the amplifier and speakers come from a set of Z150 Logitech computer speakers. Battery is a Tattu 22000 mAh, 14.8V 4 cells LiPo battery. A DC-DC converter was used to deliver 5V for the controllers.