Microduino-BOXZ MINI Robot

Outline

• Project: Microduino BOXZ Mini Robot
• Purpose: To control BOXZ Mini Robot by Microduino-Joypad
• Difficulty: High
• Time-consuming: 3-Hour
• Maker: Microduino Studio-YLB

Principle

Microduino BOXZ Mini Robot is driven by two wheels, which can move around under the control of Microduino-Joypad.

Structure

The structure of the robot is simple, including three parts:

• Wheel
  • The wheel adopts two speed reduction motors with big torque, which can be controlled easily. (Capable of PWN speed adjustment).
• Framework of the robot.
  • Adopt acrylic board with the size of 8cm*8cm*8cm.
• Control system
  • The whole control system includes four parts.
    • Power supply system
      • Since the size of BOXZ is small, so we adopt 9V battery for power supply. Users can change battery according to personal needs, but the voltage must be higher than 5V for the 5V core power supply Robot board adopts voltage drop schedule.
    • CPU
      • CPU is the core of the robot, which can handle complex event. ChooseMicroduino-Core+as the core.
    • Wireless communication
      • The robot adoptsMicroduino-nRF24 wireless communication, which has fast communication and a control range of about 100m.
    • Motor control
      • AdoptMicroduino-Motormotor drive module, capable of driving two motors with only one module. Besides, with Microduino-Robot/board, the core and motor modules can be connected perfectly.

Advantage

The robot is highly integrated with less wire, ready to plug in for use. It is simple and powerful.

Bill of Materials

• Microduino Equipment

• Other Equipment

Microduino-Joypad Debugging

Build up Microduino-Joypad

• Microduino modules needed

• Other equipment

Microduino-Joypad buildup reference Microduino-Joypad Getting start.

You also needMicroduino-nRF24 to stack on the base board of Microduino-Joypad.

Software Debugging

• Library file download：https://github.com/wasdpkj/libraries；
  • You will also need：_01_Microduino_TFT , _08_Microduino_Shield_Joypad,  _05_Microduino_10DOF,  _03_Microduino_nRF24_RF24, _03_Microduino_nRF24_RF24Network； Decompress the downloaded library file to libraries of Arduino IDE and restart IDE compiler.

• Downlaod Microduino_Joypad_Ctrl program:

https://github.com/Microduino/Microduino_Tutorials/tree/master/Microduino_Advanced_Tutori al/Microduino_Joypad_QuadCopter/Joypad_RC_2.4

• Open Microduino_Joypad_Ctrl program, select the right board ()Microduino Core (Atmega328P@16M,5V) after successful compiling and then download.

Debug Microduino- Joypad

• Adopt battery power supply, plug off the USB cable, turn on the switch of the remote controller and press the reset key (the one on the right of the left USB port) and then enter the system. Please press [key1 ](the first one from the left) within four seconds and enter the mode of adjustment and control.

Select control mode

• We can choose to control Quad. Or Robot via [key3]. Under the mode of Robot, we can control the self-balance robot and BOXZ mini. The black means “select”, so here we need to choose Robot mode.

Joystick adjustment

• Give a full spin of the two joysticks and see if there is data change on TFT screen. If no data change, please press [key2] and play.

Turn on the top left switch and move the joystick to watch changes on the screen.

Build BOXZ mini

• Microduino modules needed

• • Other Equipment

Hardware Buildup

• Structure Installation Video：

• Install the wheel on the speed reduction motor

Notice: Make sure Core+ is at the bottom and Microduino-Motoron the base board off M.A.

You can use USB cable to debug

Software Debugging

• Download Microduino_Robot_BOXZ program:

https://github.com/Microduino/Microduino_Tutorials/tree/master/Microduino_Joypad/Robot_v 0.1

• Open Microduino_Robot_BOXZ program, choose the right board (Microduino Core+ (Atmega644P@16M,5V)) after successful compiling and download.
• OpenMicroduino-Joypadafter the download, select “Robot” and “MCU OFF” mode and turn on the remote control and play. (Note: Please make sure the joystick is adjusted correctly.)

• You only need the right joystick. Please keep the direction of the joystick same with that of the BOXZ. You can try joystick to find if there is any problem. If there is, you can change the pin definition.

Eg. If the left and the right rotation is opposite, you can change:

• After the test, you can take off USB cable andMicroduino-USBTTLthen connect the battery for power supply.
  • First, turn off the Robot switch for fear that reverse connection of the battery may lead to circuit board burn-down.
• Connect the battery and the battery contact, then put it into BOXZ mini.