# Gobot — Robotics and IoT Framework for Go

> A Go framework for robotics, drones, and the Internet of Things that provides drivers for 40+ hardware platforms including Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and Sphero.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# Gobot — Robotics and IoT Framework for Go

## Quick Use
```bash
go get gobot.io/x/gobot/v2

# Blink an LED on Arduino
import (
    "gobot.io/x/gobot/v2"
    "gobot.io/x/gobot/v2/drivers/gpio"
    "gobot.io/x/gobot/v2/platforms/firmata"
)

func main() {
    adaptor := firmata.NewAdaptor("/dev/ttyACM0")
    led := gpio.NewLedDriver(adaptor, "13")
    work := func() {
        gobot.Every(1*time.Second, func() { led.Toggle() })
    }
    robot := gobot.NewRobot("bot", []gobot.Connection{adaptor},
        []gobot.Device{led}, work)
    robot.Start()
}
```

## Introduction
Gobot is a Go framework that provides a consistent API for interacting with hardware devices, robots, and IoT platforms. It abstracts away platform-specific details so you can write device-control logic once and run it across Arduino, Raspberry Pi, drones, and many other platforms.

## What Gobot Does
- Provides drivers for GPIO, I2C, SPI, and serial communication protocols
- Supports 40+ hardware platforms including Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, and Jetson Nano
- Integrates with drones (DJI Tello, Parrot), Sphero robots, and Leap Motion controllers
- Offers an event-based programming model with timers and callbacks
- Includes an optional HTTP API for remote-controlling robots over the network

## Architecture Overview
Gobot is organized around three concepts: Adaptors (platform connections), Drivers (device interfaces), and Robots (units of work). An Adaptor handles the low-level connection to a board or protocol. Drivers use the Adaptor to communicate with specific hardware (LEDs, motors, sensors). A Robot groups connections, devices, and a work function into a runnable unit. Multiple Robots can be managed by a single Master.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Install with `go get gobot.io/x/gobot/v2` — pure Go core, platform packages are separate
- Connect to Arduino via Firmata protocol over serial USB
- For Raspberry Pi, use the built-in GPIO adaptor with direct memory-mapped I/O
- For drones, install platform-specific packages like `gobot.io/x/gobot/v2/platforms/dji/tello`
- Optionally enable the built-in API server for HTTP and WebSocket remote control

## Key Features
- Unified API across dozens of hardware platforms and protocols
- Event system for reacting to sensor data, button presses, and device state changes
- Built-in support for MQTT and BLE for wireless IoT communication
- Composable architecture — combine multiple robots into coordinated swarms
- Full concurrency support using Go goroutines for parallel device control

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Johnny-Five (JS)** — similar abstraction for hardware; Gobot brings Go's concurrency and type safety
- **Arduino IDE** — C/C++ firmware development; Gobot controls Arduino from Go over Firmata
- **ROS** — full robotics middleware; Gobot is lighter and focused on device-level control
- **TinyGo** — compiles Go to microcontrollers directly; Gobot runs on the host and controls devices remotely

## FAQ
**Q: Does Gobot run on the microcontroller itself?**
A: No, Gobot runs on a host machine (PC, Raspberry Pi) and communicates with devices over serial, I2C, GPIO, or network protocols.

**Q: What Go version is required?**
A: Gobot v2 requires Go 1.18 or later.

**Q: Can I control multiple devices simultaneously?**
A: Yes, each Robot runs concurrently. You can manage multiple Robots in a single program.

**Q: Does Gobot support computer vision?**
A: It has an OpenCV integration for camera access and image processing.

## Sources
- https://github.com/hybridgroup/gobot
- https://gobot.io/

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Author: AI Open Source