Bumblebee Rover: An Open-Source Autonomous Rover Built with Locally Available Hardware

Project Overview

Bumblebee Rover is an open-source autonomous rover platform being developed by Team Bumblebee, a student robotics team from Bangladesh. The project is inspired by NASA's rocker-bogie rover systems and adapted from the Sawppy Rover architecture.

While the original Sawppy design relies on proprietary LX-16A smart servos that are difficult to source in many countries, Bumblebee Rover has been redesigned around hardware that is readily available in Bangladesh and other developing regions. The goal is to create a rover that remains highly capable while being significantly easier to reproduce and maintain.

Rover Render image from Swappy Rover.

Design Philosophy

Many open-source robotics projects are technically available to everyone but practically difficult to build because they depend on region-specific components.

Bumblebee Rover addresses this problem by documenting not only what components were selected, but also why they were selected and which alternatives were rejected. The project includes a hardware substitution guide that allows builders to identify compatible local alternatives based on the specifications that actually matter rather than exact part numbers.

This approach makes the platform genuinely reproducible rather than merely open-source.

All Docs are available here

Mechanical System

The rover uses a six-wheel rocker-bogie suspension system adapted from the Sawppy architecture.

Major modifications include:

• Replacement of proprietary LX-16A smart servos

• JGB37-520 DC gear motors for wheel drive

• LDX-227 PWM servos for steering

• Redesigned motor mounts and drivetrain interfaces

• Fully open-source CAD models and assembly files

All structural components are designed for FDM 3D printing.

Electronics

The electronics architecture is based on distributed motor control.

A custom CAN-enabled motor driver board was designed in EasyEDA Pro based on the OpenDualMotor Driver project and modified to support communication between multiple motor controller nodes and a central control unit.

Future development includes:

• Power distribution board

• Sensor integration

• Autonomous navigation stack

• ROS 2 software integration

Open-Source Development

All project resources are publicly available, including:

• CAD files

• PCB designs

• Documentation

• Build logs

• Engineering decisions

• Hardware substitution guides

The project is actively documented through GitHub and the Team Bumblebee website.

Goals

The long-term goal of Bumblebee Rover is to create a practical, reproducible robotics platform that students, makers, and educators can build regardless of geographic location or component availability.

By sharing every design decision, modification, and lesson learned, Team Bumblebee hopes to lower the barrier to entry for advanced robotics and encourage more open-source hardware development in underrepresented regions.

Current Status

• Mechanical architecture completed (final motor mount design pending physical validation of selected drive motors)
• 3D-printable structural components finalized
• CAN-enabled motor driver PCB designed in EasyEDA Pro
• Preparing for first prototype manufacturing, assembly, and testing

Attribution and Modifications

Bumblebee Rover is derived from the open-source Sawppy Rover project. While the overall rocker-bogie architecture originates from Sawppy, Team Bumblebee has redesigned portions of the drivetrain, electronics architecture, component interfaces, and manufacturing workflow to support locally available hardware and improve reproducibility in resource-constrained environments.

Project Website:
http://www.bumblebee-bd.club/project-rover.html

Build Logs
http://www.bumblebee-bd.club/Build%20log/build-log.html

Source Repository:
https://github.com/Adnanosman9/Rover