Charlie Guide ENG

What's in the box?   

1. M3x20 nylon standoff
2. M3x17 nylon standoff
3. Battery holder
4. M3x10 nylon screw
5. M3x6 nylon screw
6. M3x25 nylon screw
7. M3x5 nylon standoff
8. Antenna
9. M3x12 metal screw flathead
10. M3x30 nylon standoff
11. Spacers
12. Controller acrylic casings
13. Charlie PCB
14. M3x10 nylon standoff
15. Batteries
16. Custom molded small wheel
17. Controller PCB
18. M3x6 metal screw roundhead
19. Motors
20. Wheels
21. Coin battery
22. Transmitter
23. Charlie acrylic casings
24. Custom molded wheel shaft
25. M3 nut
26. LEDs
27. Pushbuttons
28. Token
29. M3x10 nylon screw
30. Receiver module

 

Welcome to the Charlie build guide!

Ready to build your very own Charlie robot? Follow these fun and easy steps to bring Charlie to life! First things first, let’s get your acrylic casings ready.  

Now it’s time to connect the motors! Here are the parts you’ll need.  

 

Lay out all the parts on your table, like in the photo. This will help you keep track of everything and avoid mistakes. Take one of the motors and a longer casing. Attach the casing to the side of the motor without the wire. You’ll see that the motor’s parts fit perfectly into the casing’s cutouts.  

 

Take the smaller casing and attach it to the side with the wire. It will fit perfectly with the motor, just like the other casing.  

 

Take one long bolt and insert it through both casings and the motor. Start from the side with the longer casing and push it through.  

 

Attach a spacer to the side of the smaller casing to securely hold everything together..   

 

Repeat this step with the second spacer and bolt. Once you’re done, everything will be securely in place. Here’s what it should look like:  

Now, do the same for the second motor.  

 

Make sure everything is secure so nothing falls out, even if you turn it upside down.  

 

It’s time for some creative fun! The box contains stickers that you can use to give your Charlie a unique look. Just remember to place all the stickers on the right side so Charlie doesn’t end up inside out!  

 

Before continuing the assembly, we need to pull all the motor wires through the hole, just like in the photo. This way, they’ll be next to the battery holder’s wire.  

 

Now you can grab these parts, and we’re ready to start putting everything together!  

 

Grab this casing and one of the bolts. Insert the bolt through the casing like this:  

 

Take the spacer and fasten the bolt from the backside:  

 

Do the same thing on the other side, too.  

 

You did it! Now, grab these parts to keep building:  

 

Take the longer bolt and insert it through the casing like this, starting from the side with the motors.  

 Turn Charlie around, take the smaller standoff, and use it to secure the bolt.  

 

Place the longest spacer on top and tighten everything together.  

 

Take this casing and put it on top of the spacer.  

 

Finally, use the smaller bolt to tighten everything together so nothing falls off.  

Here’s what everything should look like so far:  

 

For the next step, you’ll need these parts:  

 

Add one of the bolts to the side with the motors, next to the hole with the wires.  

 

Secure a bolt with the smaller spacer, just like we did in the previous step.  

 

Place the longer spacer on top.  

 

Repeat this step with the second bolt and another set of spacers.  

 

Place this casing on top, making sure the wires go through the rectangular hole.  

 

Now, let’s assemble Charlie’s head.  

 

First, place these two spacers into the spacers you just added, which are still not connected to anything. Like this:  

 

Next, add these parts:  

 

Place one of the bolts through the middle of the head casing.  

 

Fasten it with the long spacer on the back side.  

 

Take the casing that looks like a crown and place it on top of Charlie’s head.  

 

Place the two remaining bolts in those spots and secure them on the backside with the two small spacers.  

 

Take the PCB and connect all the wires to it. The labels show where the battery and motors go. Connect the motor from the left side to the Motor L connector, and the motor from the right side to the Motor R connector.  

 

Take the receiver module and plug it into the pin headers on the board.  

 

Let’s return to the casings. Grab these parts:  

 

Follow these steps like a puzzle to put everything together.  

 

As shown in the photo, take this casing part and attach it to the rest of the body. Then, use the bolts to secure it to the long casings so everything stays in place.  

 

Take the PCB and attach it to the front side. Use one bolt to keep the PCB in place.  

The head and body are all set! Now, let’s move on to the legs to give Charlie some movement.  

 

Take one of Charlie’s legs and a bolt. Insert the bolt into the leg like this:  

 

Take a medium–sized spacer and use it to fasten the bolt. This time, place the bolt at the back and the spacer at the front of the leg.  

 

 

Now, take the small rectangle parts and insert them like this:  

 

Next, place this small casing on top from the front side.  

 

To keep Charlie’s foot in place, use the bolt to secure it tightly.  

 

We’ll add rubber feet to the bottom of Charlie’s leg — four feet per leg.  

 

Repeat the same steps for the other leg.  

 

Now, let’s connect the legs together. For this, you’ll need these components:  

 

Take the left (front) leg and this plastic stick. Position the stick behind the leg.  

 

Next, insert a bolt from the back side, through both casings.  

 

On the front side, secure it with two small spacers.  

 

 

Here’s what everything should look like so far:  

 

Now, let’s move on to the right (back) leg. For this leg, position the stick casing in front of the leg.  

 

Place the bolt at the back and secure it with spacers at the front.  

 

 

 

Almost there! We just need to connect the legs to each other and attach them to the rest of the body. To do this, you’ll need these components:  

 

 

Slide one spacer through the motor casings like this:  

 

Both the spacer and the rubber piece have holes that need to line up so you can insert a bolt through them and keep everything securely in place.  

 

 

 

 

 

Insert another bolt through the second hole on the inside.  

 

  

Do the same for the other side.

 

 Now, let’s add the wheels to the motors.  

 

You’ll see the white part of the motor sticking out from Charlie’s body. Attach the wheels to these white parts.  

 

Next, use the bolt to secure everything in place.  

 

 

 

Great job! Now, let’s return to the legs.  

 

Here’s how to correctly connect the legs on one side.  

 

For a clearer idea of where everything goes, here’s another photo:  

 

Take a bolt, position the legs on the Charlie, and insert the bolt into the right leg like this:  

 

Secure it with the wheel at the back:  

 

Now, align the hole on the left leg with the rubber piece we just installed:  

 

 

Grab the bolt and a screwdriver, and let’s secure it in place:  

 

Here’s what Charlie should look like so far:  

 

Repeat the process on the other side until Charlie looks like this and can stand on its own:  

 

But that’s not all — more legs make your robot more stable. So, let’s add two more legs to the front!  

 

We’ll attach two bolts to each leg:  

 

 

Now, position the leg and bolts on Charlie like this:  

 

From the inside, use the spacers to secure those two bolts to Charlie.  

 

 

Repeat this step on the other side as well:  

 

Don’t forget to use LEDs for Charlie’s eyes. Make sure to connect the flat side of the LED to the minus (–) side. You can find the plus (+) and minus (–) signs on the back of the PCB to help you.  

 

 To turn it on, simply click here. 

 

 

With Charlie, you’ll receive a token that unlocks a special new game on Bit (a game console sold separately). If you’re not using the token, you can keep it on Charlie to make sure you don’t lose it.  

 

The final step is to build the controller. First, peel off the protective foil from both sides of the casings.  

 

 

 

Start by taking those fun stickers and placing them on the longest acrylic piece you have left.  

 

Once you’ve customized the casing, connect the PCB and the green module using the pin headers. This little module will ensure your controller and Charlie can communicate with each other.  

 

Next, take the antenna and a round–head screw. Insert the round–head screw, as shown in the photo, and place the antenna underneath the screw to keep it securely in place.  

 

 

  

If you haven’t already, it’s time to add the coin battery to the PCB. Make sure the + sign is facing up. Next, place the PCB onto the customized casing and secure it with screws.

Ensure the antenna is pointing up and securely in place. Now, attach the casings to hold everything together. Don’t worry about which side to place the casing on — there’s only one way it will fit.  

  Next, let’s move on to the second casing: 

 

Now it’s time to add the pushbuttons, which will let you navigate Charlie easily.  

 

Insert the pushbuttons into the holes on the casings. Don’t worry if they seem tilted — the next casing we add will straighten them out.  

 

Now, grab the last casing, along with the bolts and spacers.  

 

 

Insert the bolts from the front side, and use the screwdriver to ensure they go through the PCB properly.  

 

 

On the backside, add the spacers to keep everything securely in place  

 

And there you have it — your controller!   

Press the power button to turn on your controller, as shown in the photo. Once the controller is on, the LED below the switch will light green.  

 

To turn on the other LED on the controller, simply press and hold the pushbutton labeled “LED” on the board.  

 

Once both the controller and Charlie are powered on, use buttons A to D to navigate Charlie. Have fun exploring!