I bought a basic rover set for my kid last Xmass - he was very happy - and now it is time to upgrade it a bit.
I was thinking of getting the 1 x DFRobot Serial Bluetooth Module + 2 XBee headers (to solder). Are those the correct parts? The rover gets power form 4 batteries.
The idea is to control the rover from Android phone.
It is my understanding that the V2 Bluetooth kit already comes with programmed and configured hardware. If I buy parts separately, I assume that I would need to configure everything myself.
I would appreciate some guidelines on what needs to be done and how, especially:
Are there any underwater stones about how to mount the Bluetotth module?
How do I programme the module (i guess I need to assign it ID, etc.)
How do I ensure there is communication with the Android phone?
Do I need to create little android app to control the robot or there is already something in place? If I need an app, then how do i do it?
You need to find an appropriate App which can send serial commands at the correct baud rate. We do not have anything official, but look up Arduino or serial in the App store. You need to install, set up and then pair the module with the Rover’s BT module.
It’s awesome of you to get your kid learning about this stuff so early! I use an Android tablet (an old Nexus 7) in my ROVer robot project (links below), but do so with a web interface so that the robot can essentially be controlled from any web browser over wifi or even over a wireless data connection, for example.
Not sure how far you want to take your project, but you’re welcome to any of the code (even the Android App - though its very rough still) if you’re interested. I just posted a video that talks about the code sharing, actually:
Either way, the Android is a great platform for robotics, so I’m sure you’ll have fun figuring it out. Good luck with whichever route you choose… and, again, awesome that you’re doing this with your kid!
