Lawnbot's off road test drive video!

 Here is an updated video of the actual lawnbot running on the lawn.  (water rationing in southern Calif.  So not much actual lawn!)
 Initially it kept stalling out a couple times a minute.  Pause for just a second.  I thought it was pulling to many amps and the code was shutting the circuit down for safety.  This was not the case.  It was actually reading the radio to soon and was dropping packets.  This result in a no connection result that put the code into a loop till it received valid data from the transmitter.
  I did find that the current readings were topping out at 10amps (each motor)  with a quick change of directions.  So I installed the - 30 to +30amp current sensors and have them safety checking at about 15-17amps. I'll check after the added weight of the propane motor and it's electric starter motor,  to adjust it any further.  Right now the pwm is limited to 90 out of a possible 255, so there is still a lot of performance possible in this build!
  In the video,  you will notice that it manages to drive up and over the border bricks.  This was a surprise since I didn't think it had that kind of torque/power.  Still quite a bit of fun left in all these recycled scraps!
  Motor mounts for the propane motor and it's custom starter motor are next on the list (after weight/amp tests).  So be sure to check back.  Any questions,  please let me know!

New hardware including 3d Printers are being added!

I  got extremely sidetracked while waiting for a delivery of 10 ultrasonic sensors from China.  It basically took 3 months before the shipper would agree they were lost in transit.  In the mean time,  I received a Christmas gift that took over 100% of my hobby time.  A Printrbot Simple 2013 maker's edition 3D printer.  Since that time I have completely changed the design of that original printer and built 2 more.
  I started designing mod files and even recreating the original Laser-cut DFX files into Printable STL format. If you have a printer you can print your own 2014 Printrbot Simple 1405. If you don't you can commission an owner to print you one or even use a local 3d print service.  Those and all my files can be located at  http://www.thingiverse.com/metaled/designs
  I have a ton of subjects I would like to share hints and tips for.  Don't get me wrong,  I have ordered new Ultrasonic Sensors and do plan to continue sharing that robotics project.  But I  also plan to share Raspberry Pi,  PcDuino,  Arduino,  Intel Edison and lots of electronic circuits with the Lawn Mower Robot assembly!
  I'll try to find time to share as much as possible and if you have any questions,  please feel free to ask in the comment sections!

Brains behind Arduino Lawn Mower!

Finally got a delivery from China.  It is the new Arduino Mega 2560 R3 compatible MCU along with a the v2 Sensor Shield.  (this combination had the same pin to usb short I discussed in an earlier post.  Be sure to check that post for the fix or it will fry your mega 2560! (Arduino Mega 2560 shorts against v2 Sensor Shield)

 It took a couple weeks to be delivered,  but the price is less than a quarter of what the cheapest price vendors are offering it here in the U. S..  Not only do a lot of local vendors order them from china,  but a lot of auction sellers will take your money and have it drop shipped from china.  Well worth it to do some research and cut out the middle-man! 

Now that I started to put the components into the battery box,  it is getting very tight with the new SLA 12Ah 12v battery.  The solution is to build a multi-level control board that will slip right in beside the battery. Seems like it works very well,  but it might get a little tight after I start adding sensors and more wiring. 

Large mower-robot chassis progressing quickly !

Here's a quick update since I haven't posted in a bit.  Work is going on daily.  At least a couple hours a day is what I have been trying for.  Lately I  have been working on getting a physical chassis up and running.  What is pictured is a first mock-up of my 3 wheeled mower bot.  

The 2 rear wheels are salvaged, geared drive, dual 12v, 25 amp motors.  Taken from a kid's power wheels ride on jeep.  Along with the dual 45amp mosfets driven H-bridge should be more than enough to drive this bot through any urban environment . 

 The cutter motor is a 25cc, 4 stroke propane string trimmer (weed whacker) motor.  I had built the system around the string trimmer's 18" inch cutter head, but the body size of 18x24 inches is extremely large for my yard and would not only cut the lawn in a couple passes, but prevent me from maneuvering in the tight areas.  So I believe I  will not only shorten the cutter head, but also the overall size by about 2/3rds.

  The next step is to mount the battery box and some of the computer equipment so I  can start testing the base with a 6 channel remote control.  I will be sure to post some videos of this step as well. 

 The next hurdle is going to be cutting up the motor's clutch housing and fabricating a cutter head drive.  Obviously I won't be able to use the 8 foot drive shaft that came with the weed whacker. 

  So anytime I am not posting,  it's not that I have given up on any of this project!  It's more like I am so involved and barely have time to do anything but work on this bot.  I really want it to move forward quickly and have a working, remote controlled chassis in the next couple of days!  (did I mention a contractor has the front of my house torn off at the moment?  Ah,  Busy days!) 

Assembled the k8055 USB controller board!

Completed the assembly of the k8055 USB controller and Experimentation board.  Got it running and tested on my  laptop.
 It seems to be operating properly and tested well.  The next step is to get a Raspberry Pi configured for this controller.  I hope to have it set up and running tests on controlling robot hardware and processing sensor data direct from it this weekend.  I also hope to share some of the harder steps and some videos on creating circuits for use by not only the k8055, but direct sensor processing via the Raspberry Pi's GPIO port as well.

Robot Rover 5 with Arduino Mega2560

I haven't posted an update in a while, that's because I  have been very busy with every spare moment building an Arduino controlled Robot. I haven't given up on the Raspberry Pi. The goal of this project is to actually have the Arduino control the sensors and motors, report the data back to the Raspberry Pi which will be controlling a camera and Internet wifi communication, it will take all the data and instruct the Arduino on what it should do and where it should go.
So far it has been a fun and frustrating process.  As many of my followers know,  I

Arduino Bot is hot... Wait, no.. IT'S ON FIRE!!

For 3 nights I stayed up till 3am trying to figure out the insane wiring on this thing and trying to get everything correct. Finally completed it today, typed in some sample code and get ready to test it.  I flip the switch,  The lights come on, a good sign... Then they all go out.  A couple seconds to see if anything is going to happen and....  Nothing.  Damn,  now I have to trouble-shoot and do more research. But wait,  what is that I smell?  Plastic burning?  Yep I smell plastic!  Now I see smoke coming from the wiring/mounting holes.  The power is off so what the heck?  I see more and more smoke coming from the motor compartment and can't get to it because I tightened all the cover screws!  A race to get the cover off and remove the batteries before the whole thing goes up.

Arduino Mega 2560 + Raspberry Pi experimental platform

First experiment with a mobile platform using the Raspberry Pi and the Arduino mega 2560.  The kit comes from Sainsmart.com and is a very basic starter kit with the mega 2560, motor driver board and the sensor shield as well as most of the car parts themselves. I purchased them from Amazon.com for about $80 each.  Not bad when the Mega alone sells for $60+ bucks.