Revision as of 14:29, 14 October 2014

Hack it like a arduino or build on it like an AVR. Integrated DTMF and Motor driver, will help you build you're next superbot with ease!

Features

Robotics board based on Atmega8 MCU.
Sensor shield to make line follower, light follower and obstacle avoidance robot.
Inbuilt DTMF decoder (MT8870) to make a Mobile controlled Robot
USB to UART convertor (CP2102) for communicating with computer, make a computer controlled Robot.
MCU with bootloader, no external programmer required.
Compatible with Arduino Software.

Package Contains

Electronics
- Robotics Board Based on Atmega8, with L293D driver and MT8870 DTMF Decoder
- Sensor Sheild for line, light and obstacle detecting robots
Mechanical
- Chasis(Red and White Basis)
- BO Motor Clamps
- DC BO Motors 150 RPM
- Wheels x2
- Castor Wheel
- Screws
- Battery Holder x2
Other
- USB Cable
- 5 Pin Sensor cable

Mechanical

Assembling the Robot

Mounting the BO Motor with Clamps

Attaching BO Clamps to BO Motor

Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6

Attaching Wheels to chasis

Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4

Assembling the Base

Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4

Electronics

Robo Controller Board

The Robo Board: This is the heart of the robot. The board has following ICs
- Motor Driver: A L293D Motor driver on board is used to control the two driving motors of the Robot
- DTMF Decoder: A MT8870 or compatible IC is used to convert DTMF mobile tones to digits, which helps in making Mobile controlled Robot
- Microcontroller: The board feature a Atmega8 (Atmega328 can also be used) controller. Figure below shows the way in which various units are connected to the microcontroller.

Sensor Sheild

The sensor sheild has a comparator IC that gives logical high when any of the right, Middle or left sensors are detected.The sensor sheild has following sensors:

3 IR pairs for line following
3 IR Pairs for obstacle avoidance
3 Light Dependent Resistors

Notice the DIP switch shown in the image below, it used to select the above three sensor options.

Downloads

Bootloader: optiboot

The Explore Robo uses optiboot. Find the modified source code here. Fuse settings on Explore Robo:

L FUSE	H FUSE	LOCK
0xFF	0xDC	0xCF

Fuse bit details *Do not modify fuse bits unless you're sure of what you're doing!

Programming

Using the Board with AVR Studio and Flashing with XploreFlash

Step 1: Xplore flash is based on various opensource software, it requires avrdude. Avrdude is part of WinAVR GCC complier. Download and install it.

Step 2:To connect Development board with computer USB driver is required. Windows USB to UART Drivers for CP2102

For Other Operating system please download from Silicon Labs website.

Step 3: Download and install XploreFlash GUI. (XploreFlash GUI is based on AVRDUDESS)

Step 4: Follow the steps on images below to flash the board.

Note: The GUI software will require .NET framework 2.0 or later please download and install it.

Using the Board with Arduino Software

->

For the board to appear in the arduino software add the following lines in the boards.txt file.
File location:e.g: C:\Program Files\Arduino\hardware\arduino

#################################################
atmega8.name=Explore Robo w/ ATmega8
atmega8.upload.protocol=arduino
atmega8.upload.maximum_size=7168
atmega8.upload.speed=19200
atmega8.bootloader.low_fuses=0xdf
atmega8.bootloader.high_fuses=0xca
atmega8.bootloader.path=atmega8
atmega8.bootloader.file=ATmegaBOOT-prod-firmware-2009-11-07.hex
atmega8.bootloader.unlock_bits=0x3F

atmega8.bootloader.lock_bits=0x0F
atmega8.build.mcu=atmega8
atmega8.build.f_cpu=16000000L
atmega8.build.core=arduino
atmega8.build.variant=standard

1.The board shows up in arduino software
2.Check exact COM port
3.Select the COM port.

Arduino Examples

Computer controlled Robot with Arduino

@@ Line 104: / Line 104: @@
 ==[http://exploreembedded.com/wiki/images/b/b2/Schematic_sensor_board.pdf Sensor Sheild Schematic ]==
 ==Bootloader: optiboot==
-The Explore Robo uses optiboot. Find the modified source code here.
+The Explore Robo uses optiboot. Find the modified source code [http://exploreembedded.com/wiki/images/1/15/Optiboot_ExploreRobo.zip here.]
 Fuse settings on Explore Robo:
 {| class="wikitable"
@@ Line 115: / Line 115: @@
 [http://eleccelerator.com/fusecalc/fusecalc.php?chip=atmega8&LOW=FF&HIGH=DC&LOCKBIT=CF Fuse bit details]
 '''*Do not modify fuse bits unless you're sure of what you're doing!'''
 =Programming=
 =====Using the Board with AVR Studio and Flashing with XploreFlash=====

Difference between revisions of "Explore Robo"