Hi all!
I am hoping on beginning a long term rover project as I aspire to become an astronautics engineer when Im older.
I was originally going to purchase a 4wd robotic platform, however I am now thinking of getting this Bogie Runt Rover - RobotShop . Will i need two adafruit shields to control this or would I be able to do it off one? Im using an arduino UNO. I will be developing this rover with sensors, a robotic arm (hopefully) and solar panels for power in the future. But first I need to sort this out xD.
Also do you have any other advice regarding this project?
Thanks a lot!!!
If you did, it wouldn't do any good, unless the motor shield allows you to select which pins to use.
Frankly, I can't imagine why you would consider that platform, when all they can tell you is that the thing has 6 motors pre-wired. Suppose you order it, and find that it comes with 6 140 HP, 440 Volt AC, 3 phase electric motors. What will you do then? (Not that I think the thing is likely to ship with those motors, but...)
The least they could do is tell you what the voltage and current requirements are.
The least you could do is tell us which motor shields you are looking at, and why you selected them with no details on the motors.
Are you planning to control the speed of all 6 motors independently?
Hi, sorry about the briefness, firstly, I'm not too bothered about controlling all 6 independently, however I do want to be able to do the two sides so I can make it turn. I might email them to confirm about the motors then..
I was thinking of using the adafruit motor shield v2, I've read that it uses i2c or something that let's you select which board and which pin
The motors are likely something like http://www.dagurobot.com/goods.php?id=158 - notice that the description says "140 RPM motors" and they are the standard cheapo yellow DC gearmotors; fairly ubiquitous on chinese made robots stuff.
That said, $70.00 USD for that platform seems a bit steep; you could probably homebrew it for half that price.
cr0sh:
The motors are likely something like http://www.dagurobot.com/goods.php?id=158 - notice that the description says "140 RPM motors" and they are the standard cheapo yellow DC gearmotors; fairly ubiquitous on chinese made robots stuff.
That said, $70.00 USD for that platform seems a bit steep; you could probably homebrew it for half that price.
I have several of the Runt rovers and like them a lot. They are well made and ServoCity stands behind them. The motors are the standard 1:48 yellow gear motors (now black) that take 4.8v-6v. You need @4-5amps at stall to run them all (to be safe).
Now.. You could get the Monster Motor shield clone from China (uses the VNH2SP30), but they are iffy. They do work fine, but out of three I have gotten, only 1 has worked on both channels. They may have gotten better from my last order in late 2014. They are very cheap though.
You could also run it with a L298P board like the motor shield R3. One side per channel (3/3) It will work, but plan for a good LION or lipo pack at @7v (7.2 or 7.4). This is to compensate for the voltage drop of the L298. You will want a heat sink as well.
I personally don't think this chassis is a good choice for a beginner. It will still lack in the power department with those motors. It's ok, but more of a novelty methinks.
If you want a larger chassis, I would go with one like the Gooseneck that the same company (ServoCity) offers. It cost 20$USD more, but has real motors, lots of room, mounting options and should be flexible for most uses.
I have one and love it. I have used it as a telepresence platform and a small arm. It worked well for both and I could use different wheels on it.
That has the 1:120 motors, and would be better to start with than the Bogie would. If it comes with the Nylon wheels shown, I would buy 4 rubber ones. The Nylons are quite slippery on most indoor surfaces. On my little four wheelers, I ramp the motors up as well to get better traction.
Well, I decided to try a Actobotics Runt Rover Bogie after my post here.
It's actually a very good chassis. A solid build and robust. I have it running with an Uno, a Seeedstudio V1 shield I got at RS closeout sales. The L298 works out fine for this bot, and with the 11.1v battery pack, the motors get just enough power for outside use and the chip stays cool. I think it will make a good indoor or beginner outdoor bot. There is a lot of room on top or underneath the bot for mounting stuff.
You can see it in action here. Forgive the video, It's hard to hold the camera, tablet and control the bot at the same time
