Editor-DN
Flipper Zero has received a lot of attention in the press for its many features that make it an excellent multi-tool for pentesters and other hardware hackers who want to play with radio protocols or access control systems, and often for sensitive accounts. Also for Ability to be used for nefarious purposes. But whatever the use case, how many times have those of us who own a Flipper Zero looked at it and thought how much better it would be if it had wheels? I mean, who wants to carry it in a pocket when it can drive around and follow us?
Realistically, no one except Hackaday.io user Lexi has thought so. Jokes aside, a free-moving robotic hacking machine is actually a very interesting idea. It can be used for some covert operations to play pranks on the neighbor, or maybe even some practical applications. Whatever your use case, Lexi’s Tango Marauder looks like it’s up to the task.
Just add wheels (…and a bunch of other stuff)
Although details of the project are still scarce, the Tango Marauder was designed with short-range wireless networks, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, in mind. The robot was built into a 3D-printed case that looks like a futuristic car, with big wheels powered by a TT motor. A Raspberry Pi 4 single board computer loaded with ROS2 Humble manages the motor driver to assist the robot. Tengu Marauder was also designed to be extensible, so if you need additional accessories for your application, adding them shouldn’t be too difficult.
Of course, it’s basically the most common small, wheeled robot ever. For hacking purposes, Lexi included an ESP32 development board flashed with the Marauder. If you’re not familiar with Marauder, it’s a collection of offensive and defensive tools that take advantage of the ESP32’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth transceivers — providing a bare ESP32 with many Flipper Zero-like capabilities. An Xbee X2C module was also wired for an additional wireless communication option.
At this time, I only provide some very strict guidelines. Project writing, so this is far from a step-by-step guide if that’s what you’re looking for. But for the more experienced hardware hacker, a few images, details, and bill of materials should be enough to inspire the development of a very similar tool. If you decide to build your own Tengu Marauder, don’t forget to post the project on Hackster — we’d love to see it! It would be nice if you could also provide more detailed instructions in your write-up to give new hackers more guidance in building their own. We all have to start somewhere!
