BurgerBot is a compact, circular robot you can print at home, wire up in an afternoon, and be driving around the kitchen by teatime. It’s one of the friendliest first robot projects out there.
What is BurgerBot?
BurgerBot is a two-wheeled differential-drive robot shaped like — yes — a burger. The body is entirely 3D printed. Inside sits a Raspberry Pi Pico (or Pico W), a pair of micro metal motors, a Motor SHIM from Pimoroni, a LiPo battery, and an ultrasonic distance sensor on the front. That’s it. The whole build costs well under £30 in parts, and the print time is just a few hours.
The robot has gone through several versions. V1 drives around and avoids obstacles. V2 adds a pen holder so BurgerBot can draw patterns — a brilliant introduction to turtle-style Logo programming. V3 gains a custom PCB that tidies up all the wiring and makes the build even cleaner.
Key specs for the standard build:
- Microcontroller: Raspberry Pi Pico / Pico W
- Motors: 2× micro metal motors with moon-buggy wheels
- Sensor: 3.3 V ultrasonic rangefinder (front-mounted)
- Power: Galleon LiPo via Pimoroni LiPo SHIM
- Code: MicroPython
How the parts connect
BurgerBot is a great example of how few parts a working robot really needs. The LiPo feeds power in, the Pico is the brain, the Motor SHIM drives the two wheels, and the ultrasonic sensor lets it see what’s ahead:
flowchart LR
LIPO["LiPo battery<br/>(via LiPo SHIM)"] --> PICO["Raspberry Pi Pico<br/>(MicroPython)"]
PICO --> SHIM["Motor SHIM"]
SHIM --> ML["Left motor"]
SHIM --> MR["Right motor"]
US["Ultrasonic sensor<br/>(front)"] --> PICO
Two motors for differential drive, one sensor to avoid walls, and a Pico tying it together — that’s the whole robot. Add a pen holder and the same platform becomes a drawing robot.
Why robot builders care
BurgerBot is a masterclass in “just enough”. It has everything you need to learn the fundamentals — motor control, sensor reading, simple autonomy — without drowning you in complexity before you’ve started. Because the chassis is 3D printed, you can modify it: add a servo arm, swap the sensor, redesign the top plate. It’s also Bluetooth-capable on the Pico W variant, so remote control is only a few lines of MicroPython away.
The pen-drawing version is especially powerful for teaching. Watching a robot you built trace out a square or a spiral makes abstract programming concepts — loops, angles, functions — instantly concrete.
Get started
Start with the full build guide: Build your own BurgerBot. It walks you through printing, wiring, and writing your first MicroPython program step by step.
Once you’re driving around, check out BurgerBot V2 — Quick on the Draw to add a pen holder and teach your robot to sketch. When you’re ready to level up the hardware, Making a Custom PCB for BurgerBot shows how to design a proper PCB that replaces all the breakout boards.
Want wireless control? Gamepad & BurgerBot walks you through building a Bluetooth gamepad remote from scratch using a second Pico.
Your first task: download the STL files, start the print, and order the Pimoroni parts. By the time the print finishes, the components will almost be on their way.
Reacts well with
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