I have my new 100mm 4WD robot and am getting an arvdude error message when trying to upload using the USB cable from my MAC OS X arduino IDE. I have used this IDE for Arduino Uno sketches. Should I try a Windows based IDE instead of my MAC? Should I try rewriting the bootloader as described in the manual? This seems dangerous to me since there is no way to undo it if it doesn’t work, then the robot is dead. Thanks for any suggestions.
Gary
The microcontroller would not use the Arduino UNO - it is likely based on the Duemilanove design. Confirm that the computer detects it and installs the correct drivers.
Try next with a very simply program like BlindLED. Note that within the IDE, you also need to manually select the appropriate COM port.
Thanks Coleman. Unfortunately that does not help. I have selected the appropriate COM port but the computer does not recognize the board and does not appear to load any drivers. I get the error message when I try to upload even a very simple program. I cannot communicate with the robot at all. Has anyone been successful in uploading to the 4WD robot? If so what configuration did they use?
Thanks.
Gary
Can you provide a few clear photos of the setup? You likely need to remove the shield when uploading code to the microcontroller since it uses the Tx and Rx pins.
Here are two pictures of the 4WD mecanum wheel robot that I purchased from RobotShop.
The first with the shield in place and the second with the shield detached.
I assume that I leave the 12V battery disconnected when uploading a program?
Is there any way to display values from sensors on a PC while the robot is running? I need to do that to calibrate sensors.
I assume that the normal arduino serial monitor is not available to me with the shield in place.
Thank you for your help!
Gary
The FTDI should provide power to the microcontroller in order to upload code, but check the power select jumper.
Is there any way to display values from sensors on a PC while the robot is running? I need to do that to calibrate sensors.
Yes, but you’ll need to update / write your own code. There are XBee headers on the shield, so you can add an RF module or any other wireless module with XBee footprint.
You can still use the Tx pin on the Arduino, but given the number of devices being used, you’d need to check to see what else might be on that pin so it does not get weird signals.
]Check which pins are used for which features (motor controller / XBee socket etc)/:m]
]If there is overlap, see what can be done, or if you can create a work-around./:m]
]Update the code accordingly/:m]
I still cannot upload any program. This robot is useless. I wish there was someone else who has this same model who could tell me how to connect to it. I may have a defective Nexus 60003 board. That is what it is beginning to look like. I will contact customer support to initiate a defective item return process. It is sad, I had such high hopes for this.
Gary
It certainly seems odd that your computer does not detect the board. Can you try manually downloading and installing the device drivers?
]Choose your operating system here: ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm/:m]
]Download and unzip the drivers, and place the file in a directory you’ll remember./:m]
]Plug in the board (shield removed), and see if your computer detects that something has been connected./:m]
]Manually browse to the drivers and install them for the board./:m]
]Does your computer now detect the board correctly?/:m]
]If so, open the Arduino IDE, select the right COM port and board type (Duemilanove)/:m]
]Open a basic program like Blink LED/:m]
THANK YOU Coleman! Installing the drivers worked and I was able to upload a simple program. Unfortunately that replaced the demo program that came preinstalled. I was hoping to use that demo program, which did a few things well, to start my custom programming. Is that demo program available in source code (arduino) form? Or is there any other demo program for this robot that uses the ultra-sonic sensors and controls the mecanum wheels? If I have to start from scratch it is going to be a long slow process.
Thanks again for your patience in getting me this far.
Gary
Happy to hear it worked.
The demo code can be found here: robotshop.com/media/files/zip2/10011.zip
We offer all useful documentation under “Useful Links” here:
robotshop.com/en/4wd-arduino … tml#Useful Links
I wish the demo code could be found there. Unfortunately the 2 programs/sketches there are totally disfunctional. I have successfully uploaded both and the wheels move erratically and the sensors appear to be disabled. I completely understand that you cannot debug code. I cannot either!! It is very time consuming and these programs (one with the string “backup” in the name which I thought was encouraging), are totally useless. I am going to continue with my attempt to return this useless robot that came with no working sample code. I am very disappointed.
Gary
What would you like the sample code to do? Note that this is a development platform, so it is expected that the user will need to create code for their application.
We have sample code for one of our Mecanum drive robots which you might be able to use by changing the pinout:
robotshop.com/en/dfrobotshop … basic.html
robotshop.com/media/files/pd … -guide.pdf
If you’d like, we can also contact the manufacturer to see if they can provide whatever code was loaded on the robot when it was shipped.
