An Affordable Six-Wheel Arduino Rover for Hands-On Learning in Planetary Robotics and Environmental Sensing with A Path Toward Edge AI

  • Unique Paper ID: 208523
  • PageNo: 345-357
  • Abstract:
  • This work reviews recent literature (2021–2026) on low-cost rover platforms, educational robotics, six-wheel mobility, environmental sensing, and embedded machine learning, and positions an affordable six-wheel Arduino rover within this landscape. The platform pairs an Arduino Uno with six DC geared motors driven through an L298N dual H-bridge, while an HC-05 Bluetooth module links the chassis to an Android handset for basic teleoperation. A modular sensing bay can accommodate the DHT11 temperature-humidity sensor, the BMP280 barometric sensor, the HC-SR04 ultrasonic ranger, soil-moisture and light probes, MQ-series gas detectors, and the MPU6050 inertial unit. The chassis is designed in CAD for fabrication from acrylic sheet, keeping the projected build cost within a few thousand Indian rupees. The review synthesises peer-reviewed literature indexed in major scholarly databases, supplemented by an authenticated NASA technical memorandum, spanning flight autonomy on Perseverance, deep-learning terrain classification, rocker-bogie suspension optimisation, low-cost sensor calibration, and meta-analytic findings on robotics-supported learning. Five recurring management concerns emerge: purpose, hardware, sensing, process, and reliability. We organise these into a development framework for student-built rovers and map a staged upgrade path toward future TinyML inference, autonomous obstacle avoidance, GPS-assisted navigation, and IoT telemetry. AI is therefore positioned as a future capability rather than a demonstrated onboard function, with the present design providing the sensing, control, and data-acquisition foundation for subsequent TinyML deployment. The platform is an educational terrestrial rover, not flight-qualified planetary hardware. The literature supports hands-on robotics as a means of developing computational thinking and STEM engagement, while the proposed platform provides a practical setting for such learning.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{208523,
        author = {Shivraj Padmakar Shinde and Dr. Kirankumar Premchand Johare},
        title = {An Affordable Six-Wheel Arduino Rover for Hands-On Learning in Planetary Robotics and Environmental Sensing with A Path Toward Edge AI},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {no},
        pages = {345-357},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=208523},
        abstract = {This work reviews recent literature (2021–2026) on low-cost rover platforms, educational robotics, six-wheel mobility, environmental sensing, and embedded machine learning, and positions an affordable six-wheel Arduino rover within this landscape. The platform pairs an Arduino Uno with six DC geared motors driven through an L298N dual H-bridge, while an HC-05 Bluetooth module links the chassis to an Android handset for basic teleoperation. A modular sensing bay can accommodate the DHT11 temperature-humidity sensor, the BMP280 barometric sensor, the HC-SR04 ultrasonic ranger, soil-moisture and light probes, MQ-series gas detectors, and the MPU6050 inertial unit. The chassis is designed in CAD for fabrication from acrylic sheet, keeping the projected build cost within a few thousand Indian rupees.
The review synthesises peer-reviewed literature indexed in major scholarly databases, supplemented by an authenticated NASA technical memorandum, spanning flight autonomy on Perseverance, deep-learning terrain classification, rocker-bogie suspension optimisation, low-cost sensor calibration, and meta-analytic findings on robotics-supported learning. 
Five recurring management concerns emerge: purpose, hardware, sensing, process, and reliability. We organise these into a development framework for student-built rovers and map a staged upgrade path toward future TinyML inference, autonomous obstacle avoidance, GPS-assisted navigation, and IoT telemetry. AI is therefore positioned as a future capability rather than a demonstrated onboard function, with the present design providing the sensing, control, and data-acquisition foundation for subsequent TinyML deployment. The platform is an educational terrestrial rover, not flight-qualified planetary hardware. The literature supports hands-on robotics as a means of developing computational thinking and STEM engagement, while the proposed platform provides a practical setting for such learning.},
        keywords = {Artificial Intelligence; Arduino Uno; Six-Wheel Rover; Planetary Robotics; Environmental Sensing; Bluetooth Control; Embedded Systems; Educational Robotics; TinyML},
        month = {September},
        }

Cite This Article

Shinde, S. P., & Johare, D. K. P. (2026). An Affordable Six-Wheel Arduino Rover for Hands-On Learning in Planetary Robotics and Environmental Sensing with A Path Toward Edge AI. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 345–357.

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