Hi, I recently obtained an Arduino Uno and I’m really excited to build a small indoor and outdoor rover! I’d like to build and program a smallish dirt road rover that avoids obstacles, manipulates small objects, makes basic decisions, and can be remote controlled with a manual override. I’m great with software but I don’t know the first thing about hardware! Seriously, I had no idea what a shield was until I read about it on the Arduino website.
That said, I need serious help in choosing a shield, chassis, motors, wheels, LED lights, wires, batteries, etc. for my rover. And after I actually manage to purchase the right parts, I need help assembling the robot. Can anyone recommend some good sites to purchase parts from and some good tutorials on choosing parts and building rovers? I have a budget of $100, preferably less. Thanks for your help!
There are tutorials and kits on the LM website for building rovers with LM parts, like the BB II. Maybe buy a kit without the BB II, and add your stuff?
Take a look at this website to get an idea of what you will need depending on whether it will be 4X4 or 6X6 etc: mymindsi.com/ The MINDSi rovers use the Arduino UNO and the code is open source. Take a look at the code page and the tutorials. I am presently using a Traxxas E-Maxx with the CC motor and controller. I plan to interface a DIY Drones APM to an Arduino UNO. The UNO will provide obstacle avoidance while the APM will input waypoint steering commands when the UNO is not avoiding obstacles.
Regards,
TCIII
Ditto! Don’t have the full Traxxas yet, but I’m picking up parts…
I bought some wheels and some drive-shafts, and some new gear motors and PWM drivers.
Currently on old Hummer H2 R/C toy.
What all Traxxas parts do you have? How familiar are you with them? Do you have suspension parts?
I’m once again evaluating the Traxxas suspension parts for a rover. I’d like to get good close-up photos of the wishbone, bulkheads, springs, drive-shafts (axles). And some simple dimensions. I think I can machine some simple suspension parts, and use wheels and drive-shafts to make my own skid-steer platform (dual drive motors, 4WD or 6WH drive).
DPA built a very good 6WD from Traxxas parts, I wouldn’t mind repeating the process…
Hi Alan,
I actullay built the complete Traxxas E-Maxx buy buying all the pieces off of various sellers on eBay. It took a while and was quite a learning experience. The most expensive parts were the CC NEU brushless motor and the Mamba Monster ESC! Unfortunately I do not have the machine shop capability to build the aluminum bulkheads and the assorted drive shafts and other hardware that DPA custom built for their rover. The Traxxas E-Maxx will have to suffice. It is very robust and the platform that I attached to the chassis in place of the plastic truck body has more than enough room for the Arduino UNO and the APM in one of the DIY Drones wooden boxes. Since the Traxxas E-Maxx is in Florida, where I plan to retire in about three months, and I am still in TX waiting to retire Aug 1st, about all I can do is order the Arduino UNO, Sensor Shield, and the three PINGs and two IR distances sensors and then proceed to try out the obstacle avoidance program.
Regards,
TCIII
The Traxxas E-Maxx is a good chassis! I wouldn’t mind getting one.
I did manage (I think) to figure out wheels, drive shafts and shocks for Traxxas (4907), bought some on E-bay. I’m only going to try 4WD (expandable to 6WD) for now. I do wish I had a better pix of the wishbone suspension parts used on the Traxxas. For simple, non-steerable wishbones and shocks, I might be able to manage and CNC some parts. Getting the shocks (spring over shocks) and the universal jointed drive shafts will simplify design (if the parts I ordered fit together!). I’m watching/looking for the wishbone parts, I can make my own, but they must be sized to fit the drive shafts. The remainder of the chassis fabrication, two geared drive motors and timing belt drive won’t be hard. A good-sized project, 'tho.
What Sensor board will you use? You do know that the BotBoarduinos give you the same thing, with the I/O neatly brought out to three-pin headers? Greatly simplifies interconnects. I got mine last night! It is different from the UNO in that you MUST provide power. And for some reason, they want you to disconnect the USB while on the robot… I’d use SRF08 Sonars, more advanced then PING, less attention needed. I have an array of six SRF08 sonars, and a PIC processor to manage them if I decide to put all of them on the 'bot. 'Hate to steal the array from one of my MicroMoose 'bots.
I did find a $30 ESC that would probably work on the Hummer H2 R/C truck, it probably doesn’t even need that. But I need a simple chassis to get navigation (waypoint) software work started.
Hi Alan,
Though it is pricey in relation to other Arduino hardware, I have been looking at the MINDSi combo Arduino UNO, Sensor Shield, enclosure, and assorted sensor cables for $80 plus shipping. The MINDSi Senor Shield has connections for the Parallax PING, their own IR Sensor, and for I2C. If I bought a generic Arduino shield, the price of the connectors and the labor involved with the wiring could easily add up to the cost of the MINDSi Sensor Shield. Also, while building my EDDIE clone, I found that the newer PINGs are very sensitive to local capacitance and using the MINDSi Sensor Shield might negate some of those effects. Anyway, here in TX I am without a solder station so the MINDSi hardware might be the only way to go as I really need plug and play at this point.
Make sure the ESC is designed for a ground vehicle because the model airplance ESCs do not have a reverse function!
Regards,
TCIII
Have you explored the possibility of using a Lynxmotion BotBoarduino instead of an UNO?
If you are considering using an Arduino UNO as a controller, it makes much more sense to use the BotBoarduino instead. The BotBoarduino already has three-pin headers for plugging in sensors (analog and digital), as well as a separate header for I2C, a speaker, and even buttons and switches to make a small sort of user interface if you want to do that. I don’t see how an Arduino Uno with a shield to turn it into a robotics controller (at added cost) could beat the BotBoarduino in any way. You don’t need a robotics shield with the BotBoarduino - it was designed for robotics from the start.
I’m using a BotBoarduino on W.A.L.T.E.R. and am going to get another one. It’s insanely easy to use and program, and everything needed to attach sensors is all right there on the board. I’ve already got my BotBoarduino setup as an I2C slave, and my Raspberry Pi sees it on the I2C bus. I just have to write the code to exchange data between the two boards. Attaching I2C stuff, or anything else, to a BotBoarduino is just as easy as doing it with a regular Arduino.
If you want plug and play, the BotBoarduino IS exactly that, and more.
