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Showing results for tags 'Arduino'.
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Hello! My Rescue Helicopter (9396) is about to be delivered ( ) and I have this idea to put enormous amount of LEDs in it. I have a plan to use Arduino to program proper blinking sequence. I was thinking about mounting also 2 M-motors to motorize rotor and functions. I would love to control them via Arduino but I do not have an idea how to connect motors in a proper way. Has anyone ever done it? Thanks in advance for any tips! -
I came up with the idea to build a robot that can get me a beer or soda from the fridge while I'm watching Die Hard... I'm building it completely from Lego Technic, mostly studded. I use my own designed electronics to control the motors, pneumatic valves and read out the sensors. It saves me hundreds of Euro's by not using the NXT platform ;) Next to that: the NXT platform is not as flexible as other programming platforms. I have been busy with it for a few months now and there were some problems to be solved so I've divided "the project" in smaller goals: 1. Get the rover over a bump in the living room (success!) There's a nasty bump between the kitchen and the living room. Since the robot is going to be well over 10kg, I had to find a way to get it over the bump. The solution was to use caterpillar tracks (the robot needs to be able to turn around its own axle) with on top of that studless beams for extra grip. I've put some filt on top of the beams so my wooden floor doesn't get damaged. Video 1: 2. Make the robot move sideward to be able to position itself (success!) Not being sure about the precision of the tracks, I need the robot to be able to move sideward for positioning itself in front of the fridge (to be able to grap the handle). I designed a pneumatic system with 8 pistons that push down 8 wheels, that lift up the robot just a bit. That way the robot can move sideward, which is impossible with caterpillar tracks. As you will see in video 3, the accuracy of the distance sensors is good enough that the robot doesn't need to move sideward. If the system isn't needed when the robot is completed, I could remove it. Video 2: 3. Indoor navigation: make the robot find its way to the frigde, couch and back (success!) Using 4 ultrasonic distance sensors and a digital compass, I make the robot navigate around the house. It works just perfect! Video 3: 4. Think of a way to make the robot open the fridge I'm working on this one now. This one is by far the hardest to complete. I have already a pneumatic system that can grab the handle and open the fridge a few centimeters by setteling itself against the fridge. As you know: sometimes the fridge door is a bit stuck and you need some force to open it. Grabbing the handle and just drive backward doesn't work because of the height of the robot. Right now I need to find a way to open the fridge door further and move the robot to the inside side of the door. This is tricky and I haven't figured it out yet. If you have any suggestions: let me know! Further things to do: 5. Make the robot able to grab a can of beer/soda 6. Make the robot do the whole thing: getting out of hibernation, getting a beer, bring it to the couch and go back to the hibernation spot 7. Design an Android app that communicates with the robot through Bluetooth so I can order a beer from the couch -
I've created an Arduino shield to control Lego Power Functions: An Arduino is a small, programmable microcontroller with lots of I/O (input/output) pins. It can be programmed from a computer, and it can interface with various devices. An Arduino shield is a circuit board that mounts onto the top of an Arduino to give it extra functionality. It is powered from a Power Functions plug, and has 3 channels that can be controlled via bluetooth, or programmed with the Arduino. See the kickstarter for more info: http://kck.st/1KqXFFV, and if you want one, please consider backing it. I will post some images of it in various models if you guys like it. What are your opinions on it, or do you have any improvements to suggest? -
After 7 months of engineering and building, I'm proud that I can present you my new video! In the video you'll see three coal trains riding around. They can load at two silos and unload at the main terminal. The unloaded coals are delivered by conveyor belts and an excavator to the loading silos, so a continuous loop is possible! The unloading part is the most complicated part of the structure: pneumatic cilinders will push a conductor to the bottom of the wagons, where also a conductor is located. These conductors power motors in the wagon which open a hatch in the bottom of the Lego coal wagon. The coals drop on a conveyor belt and are transported with other conveyor belts and an excavator to the silos. It's all automated by 6 Arduino controllers (including the arduino that controls the passenger trains). I cleared out the living room (GF was away for a few days, as planned) with a friend of mine and after 12 hours of setting the whole thing up we could finally begin with running some trains and commission the whole thing! Obviously the whole thing didn't work at once, so a hilarious fails-video is on the way too. Enjoy, share and let me know what you think of it!
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Some time ago a group I'm engaged in got some money to create projects for our city festival (sort of). For a bunch of reasons one of the main projects fell through and we needed a replacement. I suggested a display with Lego trains controlled by Arduino. Last week was presentation time. It's a first iteration so I wanted to make it simple yes a fit fun to look at. The trains go in opposite directions in an oval. There are two stations where the trains either wait five seconds or wait until the upcoming track part is clear. If the waiting time is up and there is no other train in the way it's go-time. Since the trains go in opposite directions, the switches can be static. You can check out a more in-depth description on my site: http://greytag.se/lt/showtime/ Let me know if you have any questions or comments.