About RoBug
RoBug is a smart electric utility rover I’m building for our rural homestead in Ontario. It’s designed to haul heavy loads across rough terrain — firewood, tools, building materials — and eventually follow me around the property autonomously, carrying whatever I’m working with. I will use it to plow snow, Zamboni the ice on our pond, power tools when I’m away from the house, and pull the kids on their toboggans.
The name
We have a Botley that our kids love. When our daughter was little she misheard us say robot, and thought we were saying robug. This project intends to give this name the stature it deserves.
Why build it?
Commercial utility carriers exist, but nothing quite hits the combination of price, capability, and hackability I wanted. More importantly, this is a chance to build something genuinely useful while learning a stack I’ve wanted to dig into for years — Li-Ion batteries, brushless DC motors, motor control, computer vision, autonomous navigation.
The Specs
- Autonomous Following with Smart Obstacle Avoidance
- 250 kg Max. Payload
- 10 km/hr Max. Speed
- Handles Rocky Forested Terrain with Ease
- Can Climb 20% Grade Fully Loaded
- Capable of Holding Load on a Slope Without Power (Will Not Roll Away)
- Fits in a Model Y Trunk
- 5 Hours of Run Time
- Fully Weather Proof
- Can Operate from -20C to +30C
- 120 V Onboard Power
The Prototype
Before committing to the full build, I’m building a small prototype first using salvaged hoverboard motors. Same software stack, same mechanical design, smaller scale.
About me
I’m a mechanical engineer based in Ontario. This is a personal project — part homestead utility, part robotics education, part excuse to have fun with the kids. Follow along as I figure it out.