Published February 11, 2019 © GPL3+

RobotBT

A Bluetooth-controlled robot car.

IntermediateFull instructions provided5 hours4,748

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Arduino UNO

HC-05 Bluetooth Module

Jumper wires (generic)

Adafruit Motor Shield

Male Header 40 Position 1 Row (0.1")

2WD Robot Car chassis

AA Batteries

Software apps and online services

MIT App Inventor RobotBT

Arduino IDE

Fritzing

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Soldering iron (generic)

Story

Hello there!

It's always fun having to control the movement of a robot from a remote control but it's more fun to control it from our smartphone.

This tutorial will guide you on how to design, build and control your own Bluetooth-controlled Car.

We will be making use of the HC-05 Bluetooth Module to receive data sent from the smartphone. The data received are in form of characters that enable us to change the direction of our car.

The Motor Shield used in this project is the Adafruit Motor Shield. It is stacked on the Arduino. It is used to drive the DC motors because the Arduino alone cannot drive them. It is advisable to use a power supply with good current rating(e.g 12V). This helps in giving your Robot Car traction on any surface you place it.

You may need to solder some headers to the Motor Shield. We made use of analog pins A3 and A4 as the Rx and Tx pins respectively.

About the App

To control the Car from my smartphone, I designed an App using MIT App inventor. The App was named 'RobotBT'. A screenshot of the app is shown below

RobotBT User interface

In order to use the App, the following steps are required:

Pair your smartphone with the HC-05 Bluetooth Module. A pin would be required. The default pin is 1234.
After pairing, launch the RobotBT app
Click on the Bluetooth icon to connect to the HC-05 Bluetooth Module.
Once you are connected, the label below the Bluetooth icon will change to 'Client connected'.
You are now ready to control your Robot Car using the RobotBT App.

To download the RobotBT app, click the link below:

RobotBT download

Coupling Phase

The following steps are required to couple the 2WD Robot Car:

Attach the speed encoders to the DC Motor.

Attach the Arduino Uno to the Chassis base

Connect the connectors to the rear castor

Mount the rear castor under the chassis base

Attach the DC Motors to the Chassis base.

Attach the wheels to the DC Motors.

Mount the motor shield on the Arduino.

Attach the wires from the DC Motors to the motor shield.

Connect the Arduino to the power source.

Code

RobotBT.ino

/*This controls the Robot car from a smartphone
 * The RobotBT App was designed using MIT App inventor 
 *    Creator: OJO AYOMIPO ISRAEL
 */
#include <AFMotor.h>
#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
SoftwareSerial robotBT(A3,A4);//Rx and Tx configured using software robotBT..NOTE->Do not use A5. It won't work.
char Data;

//Motors initialization
AF_DCMotor leftmotor(4, MOTOR34_1KHZ);
AF_DCMotor rightmotor(3, MOTOR34_1KHZ);

//Forward and backward function
 void Japaa(char what, byte vel)
 {
  leftmotor.setSpeed(vel);
  rightmotor.setSpeed(vel);
  leftmotor.run(what);
  rightmotor.run(what);
  robotBT.println(what);
 }

 //TurnLeft
 void turnleft(char what, byte vel)
 {
  rightmotor.setSpeed(vel);
  rightmotor.run(what);
  leftmotor.run(BACKWARD);
  robotBT.print("Turning left");
 }

 //TurnRight
 void turnright(char what, byte vel)
 {
  leftmotor.setSpeed(vel);
  leftmotor.run(what);
  rightmotor.run(BACKWARD);
  robotBT.print("Turning right");
 }
 
void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
//Serial.begin(9600);
robotBT.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
if (robotBT.available()){
  Data = robotBT.read();
  switch (Data){
    //Forward
    case 'F':
      Japaa(FORWARD,255);
    break;
    
    //TurnLeft
    case 'L':
      turnleft(FORWARD,255);
    break;

    //TurnRight
    case 'R':
      turnright(FORWARD,255);
    break;

    //Backward
    case 'D':
      Japaa(BACKWARD,255);
     break;

    //Stop
    case 'S':
      Japaa(RELEASE,255);
     break;
  }
  robotBT.println("Error connecting to the Smartphone!!!");
}
delay(200);
}

Credits

Ojo Ayomipo Israel

2 projects • 8 followers

I'm an enthusiastic and productive physicist. I'm interested in solving real-world problems through technological innovations.

RobotBT

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

About the App

Coupling Phase

Schematics

Circuit diagram

Code

RobotBT.ino

Credits

Ojo Ayomipo Israel

Comments

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RobotBT

RobotBT

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

About the App

Coupling Phase

Schematics

Circuit diagram

Code

RobotBT.ino

Credits

Ojo Ayomipo Israel

Comments

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