The aims of this project is to create a track-driven vehicle with 3 interchangable ‘Pod’ bays to allow different functionality.
Control will be handled via a Raspberry Pi via a web based control system, and sensor/motor/servo control handled by the Arduino, which will be passed commands from the RPi.
Locomotion
The tracks will be powered by two large motors for movement, connected to the arduino via a motor Shield.
Pods
Each Pod will have a connection to a usb port (via a hub connected to the Pi) and a breakout of Arduino pins (5v, 3.3v, I2C, data pins etc - To be decided at a later date).
The blend of connections would allow for a number of ‘pod’ options.
An example would be a projector pod - a pic projector would be connected via USB for streaming media, while a servo to control the angle would be connected via the Arduino Pins.
Power
The power will come from 12v Rechargable batteries (one pod idea is to have a pod to add extra capacity for those battery intensive pods or usage).
Haven’t sussed how i’m going to power everythin quite yet, although my first thinking is:
Battery > Arduino motor shield (which then provides power to Arduino)
Arduino > Pi (using a hacked microUSB cable)
Interface
The interface will be delievered by the Pi in a Web Server - like configuration.
It will display the main controls for controlling the robot, plus several subset of controls depending on what Pods are attached to the vehicle.
Target - Semi-autonomous tracked robot, controlled by Raspberry Pi and Arduino
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/project-2