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BoB - The Bot of Bits

The Bot of Bits or BoB to his friends, is a dainty robot made from leftover components and kits we had in our office.

IntermediateFull instructions provided2 hours5,634
BoB - The Bot of Bits

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Raspberry Pi Zero Wireless
Raspberry Pi Zero Wireless
×1
Zumo Chassis
×1
ThunderBorg
×1
BFM-050 Gear Motor 3mm D-Shaft DC Metal Motor
×2
Quality 9V cable
This needs to be capable of taking extra current, we used 22AWG versions.
×2
Toggle Switch
This is a standard toggle switch with a few amp capacity
×1
Mounting Kit
This mounting kit contains: 4 each of M2.5 posts, M2.5 screws and M2.5 hex nut.
×1
M3 Washer
These are for padding out the mounting kit.
×8
Insulating Tape
Standard black electrical tape.
×1
9V battery (generic)
9V battery (generic)
We used rechargeable ones.
×2
Wire
We used 22AWG wire for hooking things up.
×1
Cable Ties (10 Pack)
OpenBuilds Cable Ties (10 Pack)
Small cable ties are needed for tidying up wires.
×1
6 pin male header
×1

Software apps and online services

Playstation 3 Controller Software

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Dremel Model 800
Soldering iron (generic)
Soldering iron (generic)
Hot glue gun (generic)
Hot glue gun (generic)
We used a hot air gun and a stick of glue.

Story

Read more

Code

tbBob.py

Python
#!/usr/bin/env python
# coding: Latin-1

# Load library functions we want
import time
import os
import sys
import pygame
import threading
import random
import ThunderBorg

# Re-direct our output to standard error, we need to ignore standard out to hide some nasty print statements from pygame
sys.stdout = sys.stderr

# Setup the ThunderBorg
TB = ThunderBorg.ThunderBorg()
#TB.i2cAddress = 0x15                  # Uncomment and change the value if you have changed the board address
TB.Init()
if not TB.foundChip:
    boards = ThunderBorg.ScanForThunderBorg()
    if len(boards) == 0:
        print 'No ThunderBorg found, check you are attached :)'
    else:
        print 'No ThunderBorg at address %02X, but we did find boards:' % (TB.i2cAddress)
        for board in boards:
            print '    %02X (%d)' % (board, board)
        print 'If you need to change the I²C address change the setup line so it is correct, e.g.'
        print 'TB.i2cAddress = 0x%02X' % (boards[0])
    sys.exit()
# Ensure the communications failsafe has been enabled!
failsafe = False
for i in range(5):
    TB.SetCommsFailsafe(True)
    failsafe = TB.GetCommsFailsafe()
    if failsafe:
        break
if not failsafe:
    print 'Board %02X failed to report in failsafe mode!' % (TB.i2cAddress)
    sys.exit()

# Settings for the joystick
axisUpDown = 1                          # Joystick axis to read for up / down position
axisUpDownInverted = False              # Set this to True if up and down appear to be swapped
axisLeftRight = 2                       # Joystick axis to read for left / right position
axisLeftRightInverted = False           # Set this to True if left and right appear to be swapped
buttonSlow = 6                          # Joystick button number for driving slowly whilst held (PS4 L2)
slowFactor = 0.5                        # Speed to slow to when the drive slowly button is held, e.g. 0.5 would be half speed
buttonFastTurn = 7                      # Joystick button number for turning fast (PS4 R2)
interval = 0.00                         # Time between updates in seconds, smaller responds faster but uses more processor time

# LED settings
colours = [
        (1.0, 0.0, 0.0),
        (1.0, 0.5, 0.0),
        (1.0, 1.0, 0.0),
        (0.5, 1.0, 0.0),
        (0.0, 1.0, 0.0),
        (0.0, 1.0, 0.5),
        (0.0, 1.0, 1.0),
        (0.0, 0.5, 1.0),
        (0.0, 0.0, 1.0),
        (0.5, 0.0, 1.0),
        (1.0, 0.0, 1.0),
        (1.0, 0.0, 0.5)]
minColours = 2
maxColours = 8
minDelay = 0.1
maxDelay = 0.5
targetRun = 4.0

# Power settings
voltageIn = 18.0                        # Total battery voltage to the ThunderBorg
voltageOut = 18.0                       # Maximum motor voltage

# Setup the power limits
if voltageOut < voltageIn:
    maxPower = 1.0
else:
    maxPower = voltageOut / float(voltageIn)

# Thread for handling LED control
class LedThread(threading.Thread):
    def __init__(self):
        super(LedThread, self).__init__()
        self.terminated = False
        self.start()

    def run(self):
        print 'LED started'
        while not self.terminated:
            # Build LED sequence
            random.shuffle(colours)
            sequence = colours[:random.randrange(minColours, maxColours+1)]
            delay = minDelay + random.random() * (maxDelay - minDelay)
            loopTime = delay * len(sequence)
            loops = int(round(targetRun / loopTime))
            for loop in range(loops):
                for r, g, b in sequence:
                    TB.SetLeds(r, g, b)
                    time.sleep(delay)
                    if self.terminated:
                        break
        print 'LED stopped'

# Setup pygame and wait for the joystick to become available
TB.MotorsOff()
TB.SetLedShowBattery(False)
TB.SetLeds(0,0,1)
os.environ["SDL_VIDEODRIVER"] = "dummy" # Removes the need to have a GUI window
pygame.init()
#pygame.display.set_mode((1,1))
print 'Waiting for joystick... (press CTRL+C to abort)'
while True:
    try:
        try:
            pygame.joystick.init()
            # Attempt to setup the joystick
            if pygame.joystick.get_count() > 1:
                # No joystick attached, set LEDs blue
                TB.SetLeds(0,0,1)
                pygame.joystick.quit()
                time.sleep(0.1)
            else:
                # We have a joystick, attempt to initialise it!
                joystick = pygame.joystick.Joystick(0)
                break
        except pygame.error:
            # Failed to connect to the joystick, set LEDs blue
            TB.SetLeds(0,0,1)
            pygame.joystick.quit()
            time.sleep(0.1)
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        # CTRL+C exit, give up
        print '\nUser aborted'
        TB.SetCommsFailsafe(False)
        TB.SetLeds(0,0,0)
        sys.exit()
print 'Joystick found'
joystick.init()
TB.SetLedShowBattery(False)
ledThread = LedThread()
try:
    print 'Press CTRL+C to quit'
    driveLeft = 0.0
    driveRight = 0.0
    running = True
    hadEvent = False
    upDown = 0.0
    leftRight = 0.0
    # Loop indefinitely
    while running:
        # Get the latest events from the system
        hadEvent = False
        events = pygame.event.get()
        # Handle each event individually
        for event in events:
            if event.type == pygame.QUIT:
                # User exit
                running = False
            elif event.type == pygame.JOYBUTTONDOWN:
                # A button on the joystick just got pushed down
                hadEvent = True
            elif event.type == pygame.JOYAXISMOTION:
                # A joystick has been moved
                hadEvent = True
            if hadEvent:
                # Read axis positions (-1 to +1)
                if axisUpDownInverted:
                    upDown = -joystick.get_axis(axisUpDown)
                else:
                    upDown = joystick.get_axis(axisUpDown)
                if axisLeftRightInverted:
                    leftRight = -joystick.get_axis(axisLeftRight)
                else:
                    leftRight = joystick.get_axis(axisLeftRight)
                # Apply steering speeds
                if not joystick.get_button(buttonFastTurn):
                    leftRight *= 0.5
                # Determine the drive power levels
                driveLeft = -upDown
                driveRight = -upDown
                if leftRight > -0.05:
                    # Turning left
                    driveLeft *= 1.0 + (2.0 * leftRight)
                elif leftRight < 0.05:
                    # Turning right
                    driveRight *= 1.0 - (2.0 * leftRight)
                # Check for button presses
                if joystick.get_button(buttonSlow):
                    driveLeft *= slowFactor
                    driveRight *= slowFactor
                # Set the motors to the new speeds
                TB.SetMotor1(driveRight * maxPower)
                TB.SetMotor2(driveLeft * maxPower)
        # Wait for the interval period
        time.sleep(interval)
    # Disable all drives
    TB.MotorsOff()
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    # CTRL+C exit, disable all drives
    TB.MotorsOff()
    TB.SetCommsFailsafe(False)
    ledThread.terminated = False
    ledThread.join()
    TB.SetLedShowBattery(False)
    TB.SetLeds(0,0,0)
print

Credits

PiBorg

PiBorg

1 project • 6 followers
Designer of robotics add on boards and build it yourself robot kits for the Raspberry Pi.

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