1. Overview

The Zumo Shield provides a convenient interface between our Zumo chassis and an A-Star 32U4 Prime, Arduino Uno, or Arduino Leonardo (it is not compatible with the Arduino Mega or Due, but it can be used with older Arduinos that have the same form factor as the Uno, such as the Duemilanove). The shield mounts directly to the chassis, connecting to its battery terminals and motors, and the Arduino plugs into the shield’s male header pins, face down. The shield provides all the electronics necessary to power the motors and includes some additional fun components for making a more interesting robot, such as a buzzer for making sounds and inertial sensors including an accelerometer and gyro.

Zumo Shield for Arduino, v1.3, as it ships (assembled with surface-mount components only).

Assembled Zumo Robot for Arduino with an Arduino-compatible A-Star 32U4 Prime LV.

A Zumo chassis, Zumo Shield, and Arduino (or compatible board) can be combined to become a low-profile, Arduino-controlled tracked robot that is less than 10 cm on each side (small enough to qualify for Mini-Sumo competitions).

Main features of the Zumo Shield for Arduino, v1.3.

Assembled Zumo Robot for Arduino with an Arduino Uno, back view.

The Zumo Shield is available by itself, as part of a kit, or in a complete robot:

• Zumo Shield
• Zumo robot kit for Arduino with a Zumo chassis and a stainless steel Zumo blade
• Zumo robot for Arduino, fully assembled with 75:1 HP motors and a reflectance sensor array installed.

The latest revision of the Zumo Shield is version 1.3, which has an LSM6DS33 accelerometer and gyro, LIS3MDL magnetometer, and surface-mount power switch and pushbuttons. The information in this user’s guide also applies to the older Zumo Shield v1.2, which had an LSM303D accelerometer and magnetometer, L3GD20H gyro, and through-hole power switch and pushbuttons; and the original Zumo Shield, which had an LSM303DLHC accelerometer and magnetometer and no gyro. The original Zumo Shield, kit, and robot were sold with different product numbers:

• Zumo Shield (original)
• Zumo robot kit for Arduino (original)
• Zumo robot for Arduino (original)

As of July 10, 2015, the Zumo Robot for Arduino now features black, spoked sprockets. Older robots used white sprockets (which can still be seen in some of the pictures in this guide).