robot

Experimenting with Sound Localization and Arduino

Today I'm going to walk you through my experience trying to localize the source of a sound using Arduino. My goal with this was to add a feature to my robot that would make it more interactive and look more "alive". Beta 1 What you normally see people doing, as an easy approach, is to measure the volume level from two microphones in which the amplified output is connected to the Arduino analog inputs. Whichever input is higher determines the source direction of the sound. On the practical side this proves to be…continue reading →

Arduino robot controlled from an Android phone via Bluetooth

Project overview

This is a differential steering robot that can be controlled from an Android phone via Bluetooth. The robot’s "brain" is Arduino Uno compatible board (an “Arduino on a breadboard”). The robot uses a JY-MCU Bluetooth module for communication with the Android phone. A custom Android app, created with the MIT App Inventor 2 essentially acts as a remote control, sending commands to the Arduino that tell the robot to move forward, reverse, stop or rotate.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7f4o7RvLOU(more…)

The Rover from the OWI 3 in 1 ATR kit enhanced for climbing

I recently bought the OWI 3 in 1 ATR (all terrain robot) kit from Amazon. What got my attention was its potential for hacking and re-use of its components. In the "Rover" mode the unit is pretty tightly packed. There does not seem to be much space to add electronics, or batteries inside, but they can be added on top. The front of the robot seemed a good spot to put the extra stuff, so I taped a 4 full AA battery pack as a test. The results were pretty good - the motor handles the extra load without a problem and the additional weight at the front actually helps the bot to climb over fairly tall obstacles with a vertical wall:http://youtu.be/uwsvrSopF-A(more…)

ATTiny85 Mini Robot vs. Black Box

A few days ago we got several ATTiny85 ICs (datasheet) and this is a first video of the small chip in action.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk5PbAOYuLUWorking out the kinks of programming this little guy with an Arduino Uno and getting Arduino libraries to work with it takes a bit of effort and digging around the forums. Still, as a small, light and cheap (can be found for $1.15 online) alternative of an Arduino Uno - it looks very promising! Here is a detailed tutorial on how to program the ATTiny using an Arduino Uno.(more…)

Project 2: Arduino Line following test 3

Test #3 of my Arduino Uno controlled line following bot for the upcoming competition. This test was focused on checking how the bot handles 90 degree turns with sharp corners, line intersections and line breaks.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q_QbmW_u5QThe robot uses 6 TCRT5000 IR reflector sensors positioned in a line. (more…)

Competition 2: Line Following Robot

General Objectives:

The objective of this contest is for a robot to follow a black line on a white background, without losing the line while navigating several turns on a race course. The robot to complete the course in the shortest period of time while accurately tracking the line from start to finish wins. (more…)

Robot Platform including h-bridges from $10 R/C Car

This is an "instructable" on how to hack a cheap remote controlled toy car and turn it into an Arduino powered autonomous robot vehicle. It requires some soldering, so be prepared to mess around with wires on a tiny PCB and learn to de-solder a chip from a board! Once you master that though, you open endless possibilities for hacking and salvaging components from old "junk" electronics!continue reading →