u/jihuateneho

I made this robot with stepper motor same as sensor and different motor driver

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​As a seasoned electrical engineer who recently returned to hobbyist robotics after retirement, I’ve been building a maze-solving robot using an STM32, DRV8833, and IR sensors.

​While the hardware side of things has become much more accessible over the last 20 years, my coding skills were a bit rusty. I decided to leverage AI as a pair programmer to bridge the gap. However, I quickly discovered that relying on AI isn't a silver bullet.

​I’ve spent the last few weeks debugging some "hardware hallucinations." For example:

​The Sensor Issue: I fried several sensors because the AI provided code for an "Active Low" setup without realizing the circuit lacked current-limiting resistors. It took me two weeks to manually trace the issue.

​Power Management: Getting the DRV8833 to work with the encoder at 3.3V while feeding 7.8V to the motors required some careful DC-DC converter work that the AI kept missing.

​I’ve decided to document these "lessons learned" and the debugging process on my blog. I’m not here to showcase a perfect final product, but rather to share the raw, often messy, reality of building robots in the age of AI.

​If you’re working on similar embedded projects or have struggled with AI-assisted debugging, I’d love to hear your thoughts or exchange tips on how to handle these logic gaps.

Hello everyone, I am a 50-year-old Electrical and Electronic Engineering enthusiast.

​After retiring, I have spent my spare time coding and building a maze-solving robot with the help of AI. I would like to share my journey and experiences with you all. My project utilizes an STM32 microcontroller, DRV8833 motor drivers, encoder motors, and infrared sensors to navigate a maze.

​I am planning to share this project through a series of posts on my blog. If you are interested in robotics and embedded systems, please feel free to visit and read through my progress.

​While I may not be able to post as frequently as I would like, I wanted to share how AI has helped compensate for my shortcomings in coding and to document my journey of debugging and hardware development. I hope my experiences—and the mistakes I've learned from—will be helpful to you.