{"id":5788,"date":"2015-03-11T09:15:23","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T16:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.digilentinc.com\/?p=5788"},"modified":"2026-09-09T02:45:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T09:45:23","slug":"introducing-the-zybot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/introducing-the-zybot\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing the ZYBOt!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our applications and systems engineering manager, Sam B., has had an exciting project sitting on his desk for a long time that we finally get to see. Originally, his project was the Zedbot, a Linux-based robot that uses the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/reference\/programmable-logic\/zedboard\/start\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zedboard<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5814\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5814\" style=\"width: 493px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0135-e1425424153609.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5814 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0135-e1425424153609-493x600.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_0135\" width=\"493\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0135-e1425424153609-493x600.jpg 493w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0135-e1425424153609-841x1024.jpg 841w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0135-e1425424153609-185x225.jpg 185w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0135-e1425424153609.jpg 1723w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 493px) 100vw, 493px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5814\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Zedbot!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This takes embedded Linux on an FPGA and merges it with the world of robotics. It uses FPGA, Linux, servers, networking, and working with specialized hardware libraries, like that of the Xbox controller. Awesome!<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5815\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5815\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0136.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5815 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0136-600x448.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_0136\" width=\"600\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0136-600x448.jpg 600w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0136-1024x765.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0136-225x168.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5815\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Zedboard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Josh and I finally got a chance to see his project. We then worked with him to create the ZYBOt. It&#8217;s the same basic design, but done on a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/reference\/programmable-logic\/zybo\/start\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ZYBO<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a lower-cost board. After working on the ZYBOt for some time, we&#8217;ve got it working so that we can now show it off to the world, just in time for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecedha.org\/Meetings\/2027-ECEDHA-Annual-Conference-and-ECExpo\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ECEDHA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Hilton Head, SC. We will be bringing the ZYBOt and our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2GxZOn7Znac\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LED display<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to ECEDHA.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5816\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5816\" style=\"width: 427px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0137-e1425424192540.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5816 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0137-e1425424192540-427x600.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_0137\" width=\"427\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0137-e1425424192540-427x600.jpg 427w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0137-e1425424192540-728x1024.jpg 728w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0137-e1425424192540-160x225.jpg 160w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0137-e1425424192540-800x1125.jpg 800w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0137-e1425424192540.jpg 1516w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5816\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ZYBOt!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ZYBOt is a robot with a camera that transmits the camera feed and is controlled by an Xbox controller wirelessly. We&#8217;ve had a lot of fun trying to drive it from one side of the office to the other using the controller and the camera feed as our guide. The ZYBOt is a great project for people who want to dive into working with FPGAs and Linux.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5817\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5817\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0138.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5817 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0138-600x448.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_0138\" width=\"600\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0138-600x448.jpg 600w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0138-1024x765.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0138-225x168.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5817\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ZYBO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only are we ready to show off the ZYBOt to the world, but we&#8217;ve also created a collection of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instructables.com\/The-Zybot\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instructables<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so that you too can make your own ZYBOt. We even recorded a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6XcKvLsmW5s\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">video<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about it. In the Instructables, we cover all of the hardware, software, and power considerations required to make your very own ZYBOt at home. I also added a short Instructable about troubleshooting some of the problems you might face.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The ZYBOt Guide<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We wanted to make an all-inclusive guide on our Wiki \u2014 something that would be the authoritative guide for the ZYBOt project. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m very excited to announce the (Ultimate)<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/reference\/zybo:zybo:zybotguide\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ZYBOt Guide<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The guide is portioned into logical sections, much like the original Instructables:<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6449\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6449\" style=\"width: 374px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/16540162149_58343b2dd4_o.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6449\" src=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/16540162149_58343b2dd4_o-560x600.png\" alt=\"The ZYBOt\" width=\"374\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/16540162149_58343b2dd4_o-560x600.png 560w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/16540162149_58343b2dd4_o-956x1024.png 956w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/16540162149_58343b2dd4_o-210x225.png 210w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/16540162149_58343b2dd4_o-800x857.png 800w, https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/16540162149_58343b2dd4_o.png 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 374px) 100vw, 374px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6449\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Zybot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Parts List<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dual Booting Windows and Linux<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loading Ubuntu onto the MicroSD Card<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Setting up the ZYBO<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Setting up the Software<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building the Zybot<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Controller<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check out the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/reference\/learn\/programmable-logic\/tutorials\/zybo-zybot-guide\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ultimate Guide<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to building your own ZYBOt!<\/span><\/p>\n<div class='watch-action'><div class='watch-position align-left'><div class='action-like'><a class='lbg-style6 like-5788 jlk' data-task='like' data-post_id='5788' data-nonce='8fb42af87d' rel='nofollow'><img src='https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wti-like-post-pro\/images\/pixel.gif' title='Like' \/><span class='lc-5788 lc'>+1<\/span><\/a><\/div><div class='action-unlike'><a class='unlbg-style6 unlike-5788 jlk' data-task='unlike' data-post_id='5788' data-nonce='8fb42af87d' rel='nofollow'><img src='https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wti-like-post-pro\/images\/pixel.gif' title='Unlike' \/><span class='unlc-5788 unlc'>0<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div> <div class='status-5788 status align-left'><\/div><\/div><div class='wti-clear'><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our applications and systems engineering manager, Sam B., has had an exciting project sitting on his desk for a long time that we finally get to see. Originally, his project was the Zedbot, a Linux-based robot that uses the Zedboard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":5816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[35,1554],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[4466],"class_list":["post-5788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fpga","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_0137-e1425424192540.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":4466,"user_id":18,"is_guest":0,"slug":"kaitlyn","display_name":"Kaitlyn Franz","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9276021eaa44781ce19f364cfca46ada25e1500769cf4803a095a5bae83c912a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"Franz","last_name_2":"","first_name":"Kaitlyn","first_name_2":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5788"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32578,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5788\/revisions\/32578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5788"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}