Need Help to Control Robot With Computer

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1

I bought a DFRobotShop rover and assembled it, but I have no idea how to code. DFRobotShop Rover V2 - Arduino Compatible Tracked Robot (Basic Kit) - RobotShop

I was wondering if someone could code something for me that would allow me to control this with the WASD keys on my laptop.

Thanks!

2

Did you buy it so you could drive it around with WASD or did you buy it to learn to program it?

3

I was wondering if someone could code something for me that would allow me to control this with the WASD keys on my laptop.

The W, A, S, and D keys on your laptop haven't a clue how to write anything to the serial port. So, you need some application on the PC that can:

  1. connect to the serial port that the Arduino is listening to
  2. recognize when any key becomes pressed
  3. recognize when any key becomes released
  4. send data to the serial port when one of the interesting keys becomes pressed or released.

Depending on your skill set, that could take anywhere from an hour to eternity to implement.

Then, you need a sketch on the Arduino that reads serial data, and takes appropriate action. There are only 8 interesting values, so a switch statement, with 9 cases (in case a non-interesting value sneaks in) would be appropriate.

As to what those cases would look like, you have not provided near enough information for anyone to begin writing the code.

Now, I don't know what your keyboard looks like, but on mine, I can't see any useful relationship between the W, A, S, and D keys that would suggest what each case would do. So, I'd probably make pressing the W key stop the robot from turning left, and pressing it would make the robot back up. Pressing the D key would stop the robot from going backwards, and make it go forward. Pressing the A key would make the robot turn right. Releasing it would make it turn left.

Or, maybe, you'd prefer to define what pressing each letter should make happen, and what releasing each key would make happen.

4

Thanks, frankly, I have no idea how to code, but now that I have some sort of idea of what I need to do really helps a lot. I got this for Christmas, but obviously I had no idea what I was getting in to!
Thanks to the both of you, thank god there are actually helpful people on this site!
Cheers,
Newbie