Society of Robots - Robot Forum

Mechanics and Construction => Mechanics and Construction => Topic started by: black-raven546 on September 19, 2009, 03:06:58 PM

Title: Help me get a start on the project please (wireless & PC controlled)
Post by: black-raven546 on September 19, 2009, 03:06:58 PM
Ok my friend has more robotic experience then i do but he insists on me getting parts and materials and he will do programming. Were simply going to create the wheels / wireless assembly first and once that is done work on the rest (adding camera / toggle flash lights, etc). Heres the concept i created of the robot,

Aprox 1ft long,

(http://i37.tinypic.com/33lmp3r.jpg)

What i need help with, My friend hasnt done any wireless projects, whats a good/easy way to do wireless connection with a computer, im thinking bluetooth or wifi, which one cheaper / has better range? and where is a good place to get the other parts from (processor, motors etc etc).
Title: Re: Help me get a start on the project please (wireless & PC controlled)
Post by: Ro-Bot-X on September 19, 2009, 03:31:48 PM
If you decide to use an Arduino (http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?c=103) microcontroler, here are some options for you in this post: http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=9052.msg70463#msg70463 (http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=9052.msg70463#msg70463)
You will also need a Motor shield (http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9213).
You can plug the shields one on top of the other, but you need to take care for shield compatibility, that means you need to use shields that use different pins on Arduino.


For the Axon (http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store/p/5826-Axon-Microcontroller.aspx) you will need to interface the modules yourself with wires.
Title: Re: Help me get a start on the project please (wireless & PC controlled)
Post by: black-raven546 on September 19, 2009, 03:41:50 PM
ah thanks for the info mate, What exactly is a shield? (im fairly new to robotics unlike my friend)
Title: Re: Help me get a start on the project please (wireless & PC controlled)
Post by: kd5kfl on September 19, 2009, 03:49:16 PM
wifi is both cheaper and has greater range.

shield is a motor interface to the Arduino board. separates high current motor from low current computer
Title: Re: Help me get a start on the project please (wireless & PC controlled)
Post by: black-raven546 on September 19, 2009, 05:17:48 PM
ok ok i THINK ive found all of the electrical parts i need (besides misc, wires and such) only thing i cant find is "tank" treads about 1in or 1.5in wide, anyway here is my current list of parts, tell me if there is more i need:

Motors:
$11 Dual Motor GearBox http://tinyurl.com/n3e6po (http://tinyurl.com/n3e6po)
Computer:
$30 Arduino USB Board
$25 Ardumoto - Motor Driver Shield http://tinyurl.com/ntjqp5 (http://tinyurl.com/ntjqp5)
Wireless:
$55 WiShield 1.0  http://tinyurl.com/nqpbhp (http://tinyurl.com/nqpbhp)
Power:
$35 mid-cap Lithium Backpack http://tinyurl.com/lx4tva (http://tinyurl.com/lx4tva)
Title: Re: Help me get a start on the project please (wireless & PC controlled)
Post by: Ro-Bot-X on September 20, 2009, 06:00:43 AM
Care should be taken with that motor gearbox since it has unefficient motors that are low voltage (up to 4.5V) and high current (over 1.5A each). Higher voltage will melt the collector on the motors! You will need to supply unregulated voltage (make sure your battery pack allow it) to the motors through the Motor shield, solder 0.1uF capacitors on each motor to reduce the electrical interference, twist the wires that go from the Motor shield to the motors. Also, the motor shield is designed for motors that use up to 1A each. I would not recommend this motor gearbox, I had many problems with it. Try to use the Micro metal gearmotors instead.
Title: Re: Help me get a start on the project please (wireless & PC controlled)
Post by: Admin on September 20, 2009, 08:11:35 AM
this might help:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/electronics_bluetooth_robot.shtml (http://www.societyofrobots.com/electronics_bluetooth_robot.shtml)