Gents,
I’m new to this forum (or any other robot forum to that matter), and would appreciate as much help as I can get… I want to build a small robot with my kids, and to do so, I’m looking through web sites and forums just like yours… No problem choosing and building a physical platform, but when it comes to the electronic side… also there are some restrictions I had to set for this specific project: (besides budget being around 250,00US$)
I want it to be as “off the shelf” electronics as possible, so, if my kids’ friends come by and like it, I can just easily tell them what parts to buy and how to do it (like a cake recipe).
It’s going to be a wired robot, but I would like to be able to use only three copper conductors (12VDC power and telemetry, maybe though one of those wall socket internet routers? Attached to a micro controller or a single board computer?)
I need to be able to at least, drive 4 brushless 12VDC 2A motor (forward and reverse with 4 independent speed controls), 2 small servo motors, 4 relay switches (for different devices that will be hooked up, such as lights 12V LED, web camera etc…), a video input (the robot will carry a small video camera and it needs to be transmitted in “real time” and an RS232 serial input to hook other stuff, four analog and four digital inputs (all this will be for later add ons).
Could you please help me choose de right parts?
Regards,
Alex Santana
Hello Mr Benson,
You got the idea quite right… what we intent to do is sort of a robot spy… But not exactly toy…
My background includes a hint of everything but essentially nothing deeply, I don’t intend to do all by myself, like I said, this is more a team building project (with my kids, who are very savvy with computers).
I want off the shelf parts because I want to be able to repeat the experiment easily over and over if necessary…
250,00 is just for boards and interfaces…
Basically, I need help to spec a processor and interface boards to manage all mentioned in my previous post.
I’ve been reading a lot about arduino, beagle bone, Pi. I’m just very uncertain which will work best in my case… I know I’m not going to find all what I want in one board, but I’m looking for a combination of boards that can be stacked together will provide the I/Os the project needs… Without having to go in a component level…
Anyway… Any help is greatly appreciated…
Regards,
Alex
If you don’t plan to use a G15 servo (very specific), then you don’t need the G15 shield. The relay shield would be used for lighting? One thing with Arduino and shields is that often times shields use the same pins; you need to check which pins are used by each shield and ensure they don’t overlap (for example if one shield uses digital pins 5,6,7,8 and the other uses 7,8,9,10, then pins 7 and 8 overlap and you might have issues).
Note that if you want to use skid steering, you don’t need four independent channels; you can get away with using a dual motor controller and connecting two motors to one channel. Many people opt for a router-based solution; if you feel comfortable programming the setup, then it’s a good choice. Your main issue with all of this will be power, and properly spreading it across many devices.
Welcome to the forum. It sounds like it might be your first time building a robot? You indicate you’d prefer something “off the shelf” but also list a variety of components you want to purchase. Note that setting up and configuring a single board computer is not the easiest task without a computer background. It sounds like in order to stay within a $250 budget, most of the robot will need to be custom. Essentially you are looking to create something like the Robot Spy Tank w/ Camera? We encourage you to take a look at our Grand Tutorial to understand how everything fits together and how to choose components.
Arduino is by far the most popular, and easiest to use, but cannot handle video. The Pi is incredibly inexpensive and is great value, but you’ll need to take quite a lot of time understanding how to use Linux and interact with the Pi. The Beagle Bone is a bit of an intermediate now. Use the tools mentioned in the tutorial to spec the motors you need, then find the right controller etc. The cheapest will be a 2WD robot with two casters in the back, all attached to a piece of wood. You may want to figure out the camera system first.
Dear Mr Benson,
In my research I was hugely impressed with the arduino fans base, everyone, including you, says the same thing, the easyness and trying to think outside the box here I guess I found a way to handle video in real time, even with such device, basicaly using an router and an IP camera… 4Vdc motors is a basic requirement… But I can go brushed ones, since it controller is cheapper, so as the motors…
So, correct me if I’m talking BS…I’m thinking about integrating the following equipment:
Wall socket network spreader,
4 port router,
Arduino usb microcontroller,
Arduino ethernet shield,
dagu 4 channel 5-12v,2a, 2A brushed DC motor controller,
G15 cube servo controller shield for arduino,
Linxmotion pan and tilt kit/ aluminium,
Relay shield V2 for Arduino,
IP web cam…
How’s that sound???
Please tell me your thoughts.
Regards,
Alex