XGO-Rider is a 2-wheel self-balancing robot with an ESP32 controller plus either a Raspberry Pi CM4 or BBC Micro:bit (Crowdfunding)

XGO-Rider is a two-wheel self-balancing robot with an ESP32 controller for motor and servo control, USB-C charging, etc… and a choice between a Raspberry Pi CM4 module or a BBC Micro:bit board for display, audio, and camera (CM4-only).

It’s not the first robot from Luwu Intelligence, since the company launched the XGO-Mini robot dog in 2021, followed by the XGO 2 Raspberry Pi CM4-powered desktop robotic dog with an arm which we reviewed last year. The new XGO-Rider builds on these earlier models but in a different form factor moving from four-legged robots to a 2-wheel self-balancing robot design with many of the same features including AI vision running on the Raspberry Pi CM4.

XGO-Rider specifications:

• Host controller (one or the other)
  • Raspberry Pi CM4 with 2GB RAM + ESP32 for main control, USB-C charging port, DIP switch
  • BBC Micro:bit V2 + ESP32 for main control, USB-C charging port, DIP switch
• Raspberry Pi CM4 model (XGO-Rider)
  • Display – 2-inch color TFT screen
  • Camera – 5MP camera based on OV5647 sensor
  • Audio
    • Dual MEMS digital microphone
    • 8 Ohm/3W chambered speaker
• micro:bit XGO-Rider
  • Display – 5×5 LED matrix
  • Capacitive touch logo
  • Audio
    • Onboard MEMS microphone
    • 8 Ohm/3W chambered speaker
• Hub motor – 8.4V magnetic encoded outer rotor brushless motor; rated torque: 0.1N.m
• Servo motor – 6V 4.5Kg.cm metal shell steel gear with 360˜ magnetic encoded dual-axis serial servo motor
• Battery – 1200mAh 18500 2S battery good for up to 2 hours under mixed conditions
• Dimensions – 135 x 118 x 116 to 158mm
• Weight – About 600 grams
• Materials – 1mm aluminum alloy, PC, carbon fiber

The Raspberry Pi CM4 version of the robot supports programming with Python, Blockly, and ROS, and can run various AI computer vision workloads such as Gesture Recognition, Face Detection, Skeleton Recognition, and more, as well as ChatGPT. The micro:bit XGO-Rider was developed in collaboration with ELECFREAKS to support MakeCode/MicroBlocks visual programming IDE which is especially suited to children’s STEM education.

The company points to its GitHub account for more details, but I don’t see anything specific to the new XGO-Rider at this time. Backers and users will also be able to get supported through a dedicated Facebook group. Watch the video below to better understand some of the capabilities of the self-balancing “AI” robot.

Luwu Intelligence has launched the XGO-Rider self-balancing robot on Kickstarter with an 80,000 HKD ($10850 US) funding goal that has already been reached. “Super Early Bird” rewards start at about $250 US for the micro:bit XGO-Rider, and around $300 for the CM4-powered XGO-Rider. Shipping adds from $10 to China up to $40 to most of the world, and backers should expect their perks to ship in August if everything goes according to plans.

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