Parts & Components
IMU orientation sensors
From the MPU6050 (6-axis, about USD 2) to the BNO055 (9-axis with on-chip fusion, around USD 30), the IMU is the first board on any rover doing heading estimation, any quadruped feeding back body attitude, any humanoid doing balance. What differs between parts is not accuracy but who does the fusion: cheap bare chips leave filtering and calibration to your code, expensive ones bake calibration in but lock the procedure.
Build one
Build one · B
Build a ROS 2 rover: the smallest loop from SLAM to navigation
The most learning per dollar of any robot type. The MVP is not driving around by remote control; it is building a map …
ROS 2 rover · Raspberry Pi 5 vs Jetson Orin Nano · IMU orientation sensors · micro-ROS · 2026-09-28
Build one · B
Build a servo quadruped: the Spot Micro route to an MVP
The legged route most people actually finish. The MVP is not smooth walking; it is stable standing and a straight-line…
Spot Micro quadruped · SG90 and MG996R servos · IMU orientation sensors · 3D printing and materials · 2026-09-28
Hardware
Hardware · B
SG90 and MG996R: the two servos most often bought wrong
The default actuation of first robots. Cheap is their virtue; inflated specs are their norm. This entry takes the numb…
SG90 and MG996R servos · IMU orientation sensors · 2026-09-28
Hardware · B
Choosing an IMU: the real difference between a two-dollar chip and a thirty-dollar module
The parts differ less in accuracy than in 'who does the fusion'. Once that question is settled, the choice makes itsel…
IMU orientation sensors · 2026-09-28