Introduction
Now, for the first in a series of reviews on Ro-Bot-X's boards. This one is on version 2 of the Robot Builder's Shield for the Arduino. I provided a brief review in a comment on the original version. Many other LMR members provided contructive feedback to Gabriel (Ro-Bot-X) as well. I'm happy to say that he listened and incorporated many of the suggestions.
The Kit
The Robot Builder's Shield is available in three options.
- Stand alone board (un-populated)
- A kit with all of the components needed to populate it
- Fully assembled:
I recommend the kit, unless you already have most of the part in stock yourself. Ro-Bot-X provides the kit parts at a price I couldn't beat searching for them myself.
Here's what you get:
- (1) Robot Builder’s Shield V2
- (1) SN754410 motor driver chip
- (1) 16 pin dip socket (for the above driver)
- (3) Two-connector screw terminals (2 in blue for the motors, 1 in green for power)
- (2) 10uF 25V electrolytic capacitors
- (3) 0.1uF ceramic capacitors
- (6) 6-pin male headers (for the servos and sensors)
- (2) 6-pin female headers (to connect to the Arduino)
- (2) 8-pin female headers (to connect to the Arduino)
- (1) momentary reset button
- (1) single pole, single throw power switch
- (1) jumper (to connect Vbat to Vin, if desired)
The kit itself is no frills and no nonsense. You get parts in a plastic bag, without instructions.
Ro-Bot-X does provide an assembly guide on his website:
http://robotxdesigns.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/RBS-guide.pdf
Assembly
Assembly is pretty easy, as long as you know how to solder. I was able to complete the board just by referring to a picture of the assembled shield on this web site, though I might have benefited by reading Gabriel’s assembly guide.
There is one important point to mention. Gabriel does a good job of explaining it in his assembly guide. If you use this shield with an Arduino or Arduino clone that uses the standard USB Type B connector, there is a risk of shorting out the power pins of the shield on the USB connector of the Arduino.
File down the solder joints of the power terminal on the bottom of the board as close as you can. Place electrical tape over them, or over the the USB connector, as I did in the picture below. (Ignore the sloppy soldering job.)
There are clones of the Arduino that use a mini version of the USB connector, such as the seeeduino. I plan to buy one of those next time.
Finished Product
Here's a picture of the shield installed on my Arduino Mega clone. Looks nice, doesn't it?
Here you can see a couple of pictures of the shield installed on Penny.
There's lot's of room for additional circuitry on the through hole proto-typing area. This area will also fit a mini-breadboard.
Notice how nice and clean the appearance of this board is. Here's what Penny looked like without Ro-Bot-X's shield. What a mess!
Nice Features
Power
The integrated power switch and reset button are very handy. There's also a jumper so you can decide if you want the power from the battery terminals of the shield to connect to the Vin of the attached Arduino.
Integrated Motor Driver
The shield includes a SN754410 motor driver, which is similar (and pin compatible) with the L293D motor driver.
Interfaces
All the digital, analog and power pins are broken out on the headers, as well as on through hole contacts. This provides easy access and simplifies interfacing to the board.
Analog pins 0 to 5 are also broken out into a block of 3-pin male headers (with power and ground) for sensors. Digital pins 8-13 are similarly broken out for servos.
Filtering Capacitors
There are 0.1uF and 10uF caps located next to each of the two interface blocks (one for servos, one for sensors). A 0.1uF cap is located right next to the SN754410 motor driver.
Prototyping Area
The board includes an area for prototyping. Two blocks of 4x16 through hole contacts are separated by a row of 16 contacts each for power and ground. The space is exactly large enough to fit a mini-breadboard, if you would prefer not to solder on the shield.
Silk Screen
The board is very nicely and clearly labeled in a black silk screen on yellow background. This makes assembly and prototyping with the board very easy.
Purchasing
You can buy the bare board or the kit from http://robotxdesigns.ca/ using PayPal. Various shipping options are provided, if you are in a hurry and can spend the extra money for quicker shipping. There's an option to add tracking, even for the economy shipping, but that does add to the cost. (These are Canadian Post costs, not Ro-Bot-X's.)
You can buy the fully assembled shields from: http://creatroninc.com/arduino/sheilds-for-arduino/ardrb-001200.html.
Summary
This is a very easy and flexible shield for turning your Arduino or clone into a robot. It is well designed, well made, and fairly priced. The only thing that might be better would be to have all these features with an integrated Arduino. Speaking of that...
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Also see... the (beta) uServotino Microcontroller Kit Review.
Coming soon... the uBotino Microcontroller Kit Review.