My First Minibot: Minibot 001

In the world of robotics, there’s something magical about creating your very first robot. It’s like giving life to a tiny mechanical creature that scurries around, performing tasks with surprising agility. This is the story of my very first Minibot- Minibot 001- a humble yet significant milestone in my journey as a robotics expert.

Louisville, Colorado 2010 - When designing the first Minibot, I would incorporate a list of desirable features. It would have zero-radius turning - enabling it to turn on a dime. It would be very low-profile for getting into tight crawl-spaces for robotic home inspection. It would also be very rugged - yet simple to operate and made of metal - built to last.

Minibot 001 was born in my basement workshop, fueled by curiosity and a desire to explore the possibilities of industrial and home inspection robots. The components needed to be sourced from reputable companies who would still be around in 10-20 years. I ordered the parts, fabricated some of my own and had the aluminum chassis plates manufactured locally. I started selling the Minibots almost immediately. I had lots of interest from building and home inspectors but also universities - looking for a reliable platform to develop waypoint navigation and obstacle avoidance.

Minibot 001 has been around the block a few times but she is still in use today! - I didn’t sell the first one, I kept it as a test platform. For over 14 years, this robust little workhorse has carried many payloads, been bashed, crashed and thrown from a moving truck. Nothing seems to stop this durable little robot. She wears her scars proudly.  Dirty, dented, weathered and scarred, she continues to provide value data for Inspectorbots and their customers.