I have the 4WD base chassis and motor kit, an Arduino Delanove and an L298P 2A motor shield.
I would like to make a robot that can be controlled via the internet and be able to send pictures on demand. I am wondering what additional hardware/software I need to get this started?
I’ve looked at an ethernet shield and a wifi shield. Which one would be more appropriate and what else would i need to put this robot on the internet?
What sort of camera would be best? I would rather have the camera send images on demand rather than running all the time
Thank you for replying. I can’t seem to find documentation or how to guides for the available wifi shields - which I would need to set the project up. Also what is their range? I would ideally like 100m outdoors if possible.
I like the RS 232 camera but similarly would like sample code/tutorials etc on how to configure the Arduino to take a picture and send it back via wifi.
If you choose an Ethernet shield, your robot will need to be physically connected to the router, which is not great for a mobile robot. We would suggest a WiFi shield (takes some time to setup but worth it in the long run). There are several WiFi shields to choose from so we suggest reading the available documentation to see which you are comfortable with before purchasing.
Regarding the camera, we have a small selection available. If you just want an image rather than a video stream, consider something like the 4D Systems microCAM Serial JPEG Camera Module - RS232. However, if you want the option of a continuous video stream, we suggest a WiFi camera.
In each product description, there is a “Useful Links” section with additional documentation. For example, for RB-Dfr-132, there is a tutorial, sample code etc. Taking a photo with a microcontroller and sending it via WiFi is not easy and you’ll either need to create the code yourself or find someone online who has already created and tested it. WiFi range depends largely on your router being able to pick up and send the data; 100m is very far; likely father than most household routers.
If you want to connect the ROMEO to the computer via XBee, you only need a shield with XBee headers (we have a few, this is just an example). The computer would need to be connected(via USB) to a USB to XBee breakout board.
The XBee modules basically replace a serial line. As soon as you plug in the USB to XBee breakout, the computer should detect the chip and assign it to a COM port. The difficulty people have is that they don’t realize they need to remove or disconnect the XBee module from the microcontroller when programming it (programming uses the serial line, as does the XBee; you can’t use both at the same time). Hope this helps.
