Motors
Motors provide a way for our devices to interact with us and the environment. They can provide haptic feedback for notification, add movement to your robot, help 3D print a model, or CNC mill a material. Some basic motors types include DC brush, servos, brushless, stepper, linear motors. Not sure what motor to select? Check out Motors and Selecting the Right One and the hobby servo tutorial for more information to start.
Actobotics Basic Differential Platform
December 22, 2014
Get started with Actobotics with this simple vehicle. Then expand and customize it for your own evil robot empire.
Advanced Autonomous Kit for Sphero RVR Assembly Guide
December 12, 2019
Get your Advanced Autonomous Kit for the Sphero RVR built up with this hookup guide!
Ardumoto Kit Hookup Guide
April 14, 2017
Learn how to assemble and drive DC motors using the v2.0 Ardumoto Shield.
Assembly Guide for SparkFun JetBot AI Kit V2.0
March 27, 2020
Assembly Guide for the SparkFun JetBot AI Kit v2.0. This tutorial includes photos & comments to assemble the two-layer chassis & additional components unique to the JetBot kit.
Basic Autonomous Kit for Sphero RVR Assembly Guide
December 12, 2019
Get your Basic Autonomous Kit for Sphero RVR all hooked up with this guide!
Basic Servo Control for Beginners
February 25, 2020
An introductory tutorial demonstrating several ways to use and interact with servo motors!
Big Easy Driver Hookup Guide
February 13, 2015
How to get started with the SparkFun Big Easy Driver.
Blynk Board Project Guide
March 25, 2016
A series of Blynk projects you can set up on the Blynk Board without ever re-programming it.
Building an Autonomous Vehicle: The Batmobile
December 6, 2016
Documenting a six-month project to race autonomous Power Wheels at the SparkFun Autonomous Vehicle Competition (AVC) in 2016.
Clap On Lamp
November 28, 2017
Modify a simple desk lamp to respond to a double clap (or other sharp noise) using parts from the SparkFun Inventor's Kit v4.0.
Continuous Rotation Servo Trigger Hookup Guide
May 26, 2016
How to use the SparkFun Continuous Rotation Servo Trigger with continuous rotation servos, without any programming!
Easy Driver Hook-up Guide
May 5, 2015
Get started using the SparkFun Easy Driver for those project that need a little motion.
Electret Mic Breakout Board Hookup Guide
June 23, 2016
An introduction to working with the Electret Mic Breakout Board.
ESP32 Thing Power Control Shield Hookup Guide
June 9, 2017
This tutorial shows you how to get started with the ESP32 Thing Power Control Shield.
Experiment Guide for RedBot with Shadow Chassis
May 28, 2015
This Experiment Guide offers nine experiments to get you started with the SparkFun RedBot. This guide is designed for those who are familiar with our SparkFun Inventor's Kit and want to take their robotics knowledge to the next level.
Experiment Guide for the Johnny-Five Inventor's Kit
June 28, 2016
Use the Tessel 2 and the Johnny Five Inventors kit to explore the world of JavaScript enabled hardware through 14 awesome experiments!
Getting Started with MicroPython and the SparkFun Inventor's Kit for micro:bit
July 11, 2017
Learn MicroPython with the micro:bit.
Getting Started with the AutoDriver - v13
September 15, 2016
SparkFun's AutoDriver is a powerful tool for controlling stepper motors. Here's how to use it.
Getting Started with the Autonomous Kit for the Sphero RVR
December 13, 2019
Want to get started in robotics? Look no further than the SparkFun autonomous kit for the Sphero RVR! Whether you purchased the Basic or Advanced kit, this tutorial will get you rolling...
GPS Differential Vector Pointer
May 31, 2016
Use GPS to have two objects, a base and a target, point towards one another. This can be used to aim a directional antenna (or in the case of this project, a laser) from one object to the other object at a distance that is only limited by your ability to provide the base station with the target's GPS location.
Hacker in Residence: The Harmonic Skew Zoetrope
January 27, 2015
Check out Hacker in Residence, Jesse's awesome Harmonic Skew Zoetrope in this project tutorial.
Haptic Motor Driver Hook-Up Guide
January 19, 2017
Good vibes only. Getting started with the Haptic Motor Driver.
Hobby Servo Tutorial
May 26, 2016
Servos are motors that allow you to accurately control the rotation of the output shaft, opening up all kinds of possibilities for robotics and other projects.
Old Tutorials
Looking for the old, archived tutorials? Head on over to the
archived tutorials on the main
SparkFun site.
Please be aware that the tutorials you find there are no longer
actively maintained.