RoboRover Core | Lab Explorer: The Interactive 3D Manual Replacing Boring Robotics PDFs

What is RoboRover Core | Lab Explorer?

Lab Explorer is a modern onboarding and documentation experience for RoboRover Core (powered by Kypruino UNO+, Arduino UNO–compatible). Instead of scrolling through long documents, you can explore the robot in 3D, click on real hardware areas, and instantly see: pin mappings, what the part does, how to use it, and why it matters educationally.

Think of it as a “Google Maps” for the robot’s electronics — with the goal of making learning faster, debugging easier, and projects more approachable for everyone (students, hobbyists, educators, and engineers).

Why we’re doing this (and why manuals need to evolve)

Traditional manuals usually fail at the exact moment you need them most:

• You’re mid-build and need one specific pin mapping quickly.
• You’re trying to understand what to connect where without guessing.
• You’re teaching a class and want students to learn the concept, not just copy steps.
• You’re debugging and need to see the whole wiring story in one place.

With Lab Explorer, we want documentation to feel like a tool — not a chore. Visual, interactive, searchable, and always improving.

Our goal: Reduce friction. Increase clarity. Make robotics more enjoyable and more “maker-native.”

What the app can do (so far)

Lab Explorer is already packed with practical features designed for real workshops and real builds. Here’s what you can expect today:

1) Interactive 3D Robot View

The app loads a high-detail 3D model of RoboRover Core. You can orbit, zoom, and inspect the robot like you would in a CAD tool — but optimized for learning. Floating 3D nodes sit above real components and subsystems.

2) Click-to-Learn Nodes (Hardware Registry)

Each node represents a verified hardware area (sensors, actuators, connectivity, prototyping zones). When you click a node, the sidebar shows:

• What it is (what the module does, where it’s used)
• Pinout mapping (Kypruino pins + function)
• Usage notes (voltage expectations, typical patterns, gotchas)
• Educational tips (the concept behind it: PWM, I²C, interrupts, IR protocols, etc.)

3) Category Filters (Declutter the Workspace)

Teaching sensors today? Turn off everything else. Working on motors? Show actuators only. Filters let you focus on the subsystem you’re dealing with and avoid “information overload.”

4) AI-Assisted Wiring + Arduino/C++ Starter Code

When you select a node, the app can generate:

• Step-by-step wiring guidance for that exact subsystem
• Arduino/C++ starter code to get you moving quickly
• Engineering-style explanations that are useful even for advanced users

This is especially helpful for students who want a fast “first success,” and for educators who want a clean baseline example to build on.

5) Real-World System Awareness (Pin Sharing & Conflicts)

Robots are real systems — and real systems have constraints. Lab Explorer is designed to make those constraints visible (for example, when pins are shared between features, or when I²C devices share the same bus). This is not only practical for debugging, it’s also an important part of learning embedded systems properly.

What can you build with RoboRover Core + Lab Explorer?

The app is designed to support a “project-first” learning flow. Here are a few classic build paths we recommend:

1. Motor control basics: direction + PWM speed control
2. Sensor reading: ultrasonic + IR distance thresholds
3. Line following: tuning thresholds → calibration → PID improvements
4. Obstacle avoidance: reactive logic + safe stopping behavior
5. IR remote rover: control motion states using a remote
6. OLED dashboard: display sensor values, speed, and status messages
7. Wireless control: Wi-Fi tele-operation + telemetry experiments

And of course… the fun part: once you have the basics, you can combine them into “smart robot behaviors” that feel like real robotics.

GitHub examples (coming soon)

We are preparing a dedicated GitHub repository with ready-to-run RoboRover Core project examples (line following, obstacle avoidance, remote control, OLED UI dashboards, and more).

We will add the official link inside the app and here in this post soon:
GitHub Examples: [Link will be added here]

Work in progress (and why that’s a good thing)

Lab Explorer is a living tool. That means it will keep getting better:

• More nodes and deeper documentation
• More guided lessons and “challenge mode” project prompts
• Calibration guides and troubleshooting flows
• More example code patterns (basic → intermediate → advanced)
• Better educator tooling (classroom workflows, lesson mapping, etc.)

We’re intentionally building this alongside the community so it becomes truly useful in real classrooms and real maker benches.

We want your feedback

If you could add one feature to the Lab Explorer experience, what would it be?

• Guided step-by-step lessons inside the app?
• Project “recipes” with checkpoints and expected outputs?
• A troubleshooting wizard (“my motors don’t move”, “sensor reads 0”, etc.)?
• Calibration tools (line sensor calibration, PID tuning helper, etc.)?
• More advanced robotics content (encoders, closed-loop speed control, mapping, autonomy)?

Comment below with ideas, improvements, or the type of projects you want us to build next. Your feedback directly shapes what we prioritize.

Explore RoboRover Core

Want to learn more about the RoboRover Core robot platform and what it includes?
RoboRover Core product page: https://robo.com.cy/products/roborover-core
Lab Explorer web app: https://roborovercore.apps.robo.com.cy/

We’re excited about this shift. Robotics education deserves tools that match the creativity and energy of the maker community — and we’re building exactly that.